Sister Mary Evelyn Jegen, one of the co-founders of Pax Christi USA and the group's first national coordinator, died July 4 after a long illness. She was 86. A funeral Mass for Sister Jegen, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de
Namur for 66 years, was scheduled for July 11 in the chapel at her
community's motherhouse in Cincinnati. In 1982, she became the third
recipient of Pax Christi USA's Pope John XXIII Teacher of Peace Award.
During her tenure as national coordinator, from 1979 to 1982, Pax
Christi USA's membership grew from less than 1,000 to more than 5,500
members, including 46 U.S. bishops. "Mary Evelyn Jegen was teacher and
mentor for an entire generation of Catholic peace activists like me,"
said a July 7 statement form Tom Cordaro, Pax Christi USA's "ambassador
of peace" and an author and lay minister. "She had that rare combination
of gifts that set her apart from many others in the movement. She was
an excellent theologian, a gifted writer and, most importantly, she was a
strategic thinker and visionary. Everything Mary Evelyn did as a leader
in the Catholic peace movement was strategically focused on her vision
of making nonviolence and peacemaking an integral part of Catholic
social teaching and practice at all levels of the church."
Finding St Anthony Among the Lost Items
Saint Anthony of Padua, though often associated with finding lost articles, was primarily known in his lifetime as a powerful and eloquent preacher. Originally a Canon Regular of St. Augustine, he was inspired to join the newly formed Franciscan order after witnessing the martyrdom of the first Franciscan missionaries in Morocco. His conversion to the mendicant life under St. Francis of Assisi transformed him, deepening his commitment to poverty, humility, and evangelical preaching. Gifted with profound theological knowledge and a captivating speaking style, he traveled across Italy and France, drawing immense crowds with his clear and passionate sermons, converting many and combating heresy with his unwavering faith and intellectual rigor. Beyond his public ministry, St. Anthony was a mystic who enjoyed profound spiritual experiences, most notably a vision of the Infant Jesus. This intimate connection with the Christ Child is a hallmark of his iconography, often depicting him c...
