For the sixth straight year, Catholic Social Services hosted 38 seminarians from St. John  Vianney Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., during their winter break to assist CSS with home repair projects in Mobile County.

Accompanied by the Rev. John Bauer, Spiritual Director at the Seminary, the group began their break with a two-day spiritual retreat at Visitation Monastery where they resided during the visit. The remaining three days were devoted to providing home repairs for pre-selected low-income families.

Each work group was supervised by skilled adult volunteers who assisted the young men in learning and utilizing their repair skills to help others. The volunteer supervisors, led by Frank Calagaz and John Wilson, included Paul David, Michael Dillaber, Lee Eilers, Deacon Ron Marin, John Prince, Jack Randall, Louis Seiter and the Tuesday Group.

CSS provided all materials for the 11 projects that were selected from the many submitted. Work on the homes included painting, door restoration, picket fence and porch repairs, as well as yard clean-up.

Staff members of the Sacred Heart Residence of the Little Sisters of the Poor prepared lunches which were delivered on-site by volunteers Ray and Janie Carney, and CSS staff member MK Sullivan.

During their brief Southern visit, the men toured the USS Alabama Battleship, attended a Mardi Gras parade, were breakfast guests of the Men of St. Joseph at Corpus Christi and Archbishop Rodi, and shared meals with Christ the King, Our Savior, and St. Pius X parishioners. Four of the seminarians were invited to be interviewed on Archangel Radio.

CSS looks forward to the next group arriving in late January 2017.

At one location, the seminarians made repairs to the kitchen belonging to Mrs. Katie Derks. They also repaired her fence, cut down a tree in front of her house and trimmed other shrubbery around the yard. Shown on the front porch after completing the work are, from left: Seminarian David Maslow from the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minn.; Seminarian Luke Miller from the Diocese of Sioux Falls, S.D.; Seminarian William Kratt from the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis; Deacon Ron Martin of Little Flower Parish; Mrs. Derks; and Seminarian Jared Clemens, from the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

As part of Catholic Schools Week, Corpus Christi School honored Mary Katherine Sullivan as their Distinguished Graduate of 2016! Mary Katherine graduated from Corpus Christi in 2004 and went to McGill-Toolen. She is also a graduate of the University of South Alabama with a degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She is currently the Volunteer Coordinator for Catholic Social Services and is a columnist for The Catholic Week.

She is pictured with her parents and sister.

We would like to express our appreciation for those in the community who take time to support our staff and our good works!

Thank you St. Pius X for the lovely gift basket!

Catholic Charities is a major source of funding for Catholic Social Services. Please show your support for our ministry by donating to the campaign.

The Curiosity Shoppe, an upscale resale store operated by Catholic Social Services, will be opening on November 30th. Located adjacent to CSS’ newly renovated buildings, the 3,600 square foot store will offer a variety of gently new and used clothing, household items, books, furniture, and collectibles for sale.

All proceeds realized from the store’s sales will be used to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families experiencing financial crisis.

In mid-November, CSS announced the resale store’s sales team: Mrs. Ruth Breland, Manager; Mrs. Judy Moore, Assistant Manager; and Mrs. Alice Turnbow, Donations/Sorting. The store has 11 active volunteers who have worked many hours to ready the store for opening day.

Volunteers are still needed to work in the donation room as well as on the sales floor. For more information on how to join this exciting new venture, contact Mary Katherine Sullivan, Volunteer Coordinator, at 434-1550.

Pictured above: Judy Moore, Assistant Manager; Ruth Breland, Manager; Sandra Finkley, Donations; Mary Roberts, Volunteer; Alice Turnbow, Donations; Sharon Ankum, Volunteer.

The mission of Catholic Social Services in the Archdiocese of Mobile is to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and people of good will to do the same.