J.S. PALUCH VOCATION SEMINAR CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY

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National and regional vocation ministry leaders met at the Embassy Suites Hotel O’Hare-Rosemont in Rosemont, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, August 6-8, 2007, for the 20th annual vocation seminar sponsored by the J.S. Paluch Company, Inc.  Sr. Katarina Schuth, OSF, conducted this year’s seminar entitled A Culture of Vocations:  From Foundations to the Future. Sr. Schuth holds the Endowed Chair for the Social Scientific Study of Religion at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Sr. Schuth led participants through an exploration of the topic based on her research in Catholic theological education and the relationship between the Church and American culture. A highly-regarded expert in her field, Sr. Schuth has written and lectured extensively and has received numerous awards for her service to vocation ministry through her research, teaching, and publications, including the Margaret A. Paluch Award for Vocations from NCDVD in 1994.

Participants also heard reports from Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Burns, Executive Director, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat for Vocations & Priestly Formation; Rev. Mark A. Latcovich, Executive Committee Chairperson, National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) Seminary Department; Mr. Randall Cirner, Executive Director, National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors (NCDVD); Br. Paul Bednarczyk, CSC, Executive Director, National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC); Sr. Diane Poplawski, OP, Executive Director, National Coalition for Church Vocations (NCCV); and Rev. Eugene Hemrick, Director, National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood (JKNIRP).

 

OPENING BANQUET AND SPECIAL GUESTS

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At the 20th anniversary celebration banquet, Rev. J. Cletus Kiley, facilitator at the first Paluch Vocation Seminar in 1988 and currently President of The Faith & Politics Institute in Washington, DC, offered the invocation. Sr. Peter Mary Hettling, CSJ, Director of the Chicago Vocation Office, served as Master of Ceremonies. Joining in the welcome from the Archdiocese of Chicago were Very Rev. James Presta, Rector-President of St. Joseph College Seminary at Loyola University; Rev. Joseph T. Noonan, Archdiocese of Chicago Vocation Director; Mr. Mark Teresi, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Mundelein Seminary, University of St. Mary of the Lake; and diaconate representatives Deacon John and Mrs. Rae Pistone.
Other distinguished guests included Most Rev. Patrick J. Zurek, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of San Antonio; Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin, Chaplain for the United States House of Representatives; Very Rev. Donald Senior, CP, President, and Mr. Bill Booth, Director of Development, Catholic Theological Union at Chicago; and Rev. George Lane, S.J., President, Loyola Press.

Mrs. Margaret A. Paluch, Chairman of the Board, Mr. William Rafferty, President, and Mrs. Mary Lou Rafferty, Publisher, J.S. Paluch Company, also welcomed dinner guests. J.S. Paluch senior managers and executive office staff members joined seminar participants for this occasion as well.

NCEA AWARD AND MORE SURPRISES

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Following dinner, Dr. Karen Ristau, NCEA President, and Rev. Mark A. Latcovich, Executive Committee Chairperson, NCEA Seminary Department, presented the 2007 Pope John Paul II Seminary Leadership Award to Margaret A. Paluch in recognition of her distinguished service to the Roman Catholic seminaries in the United Sates and Canada.

In recognition of 20 years of service to vocation ministry, a surprise ceremony of appreciation, presented by the Executive Directors of NCCV, NRVC, and NCDVD, honored Margaret Paluch, Mary Lou and Bill Rafferty, and Dolores Orzel, Creative Director of the National Vocations Awareness Division of the J.S. Paluch Company. The honorees received commemorative plaques and letters of appreciation from around the country. In addition, a contribution was made to The Paluch Family Foundation, which supports those who minister in the areas of liturgy, stewardship, and vocations.


SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS

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Seminar participants included board members and regional coordinators from the NCDVD and the NRVC, the Executive Board of the NCCV, the Advisory Board of the National Vocations Awareness Division of the J.S. Paluch Company, and vocation personnel from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Also in attendance at the seminar were Rev. John Lemire, President, Diocesan Vocation Directors of Canada, and Sr. Maureen O’Keefe, RSM, representative of the Religious Vocation Directors of Canada; Very Rev. Thomas M. Dragga and Rev. Richard W. Siepka, NCEA Seminary Department Executive Committee;

Br. Bernard Stratman, SM, Executive Director of the NCEA Seminary Department; Sr. Charlene Herinckx, SSMO, Sisters Council, Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon; Rev. Martin O. Moran, III, Executive Director, Catholic Campus Ministry Association; Dr. Patricia Skarda, Secular Institute Liaison to the Bishops’ Committee on Vocations and Chair of the Vocations Committee of the U.S. Conference of Secular Institutes; Mr. Anthony Plaia, Bishops’ Committee on Vocations Consultant; Mrs. Judith Cozzens, Vocations Committee Chair, and Mr. Peter Cunningham, Membership Coordinator, USA Council, Serra International; Mr. Michael D. Wick, Executive Director, Institute on Religious Life; Mrs. Patrice Tuohy, Editorial Director, and Mr. Joel Schorn, VISION Magazine Managing Editor, TrueQuest Communications; Mrs. Carol Schuck Scheiber, Editor, NRVC Journal HORIZON.