After leading St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Bloomington for nearly 15 years, Father Thomas Kovatch knows well where to go for a pick-me-up. “If I’m having a bad day, all I have to do is walk into the school and visit the kids,” he said.

SELLERSBURG—Two members of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth religious order began their life and ministry at St. John Paul II Parish in Sellersburg at the start of the new year. The community, founded in 2011 in the Archdiocese of Boston, came to the Church in central and southern Indiana with the approval of Archbishop Charles C. Thompson through the mysterious workings of God’s providence during the past three years. (Related story: Mysterious work of providence brings women religious to Sellersburg parish)

Fifteen members of the Sisters of St. Francis in Oldenburg celebrated significant anniversaries of their time in religious life in 2025. The anniversaries are marked by the year in which the sisters entered religious life with the Franciscans. Some who entered in February celebrated their jubilees this year in anticipation of the actual anniversary of their entering religious life.

SELLERSBURG—How does a fledgling community of women religious, with less than 10 members and founded only 14 years ago in Boston, come to live and minister at St. John Paul II Parish, nestled in Sellersburg in the hills of southern Indiana?

Benedictine Sister Carol Falkner marked the 60th anniversary of her profession of vows as a religious. She entered Our Lady of Grace from her home parish of St. Joan of Arc in Indianapolis and made her first profession of vows at Our Lady of Grace in 1965.

Part two of two In 2025, 21 members of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods celebrated significant milestones in the congregation. This article will honor the life and ministry of jubilarians who marked 60, 50 and 25 years of religious life.

Part one of two In 2025, 21 members of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods celebrated significant milestones in the congregation. This article will honor the life and ministry of jubilarians who marked 75 and 70 years of religious life.

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has made a name for itself in the Church in the U.S. It hosts more large national Catholic events than any other diocese in the country.

For Father John Meyer, the pilgrimage on the Camino this summer was partly a gift to himself for his 70th birthday.

Thoughts about being a priest kept coming to Father John McCaslin 30 years ago when he was a young adult working for what is now Roche Diagnostics in Indianapolis.

Three archdiocesan seminarians were ordained as transitional deacons on Oct. 25 at the Archabbey Church of Our Lady of Einsiedeln in St. Meinrad.

ST. MEINRAD—A quarter of a century ago, Deacon Michael Fish couldn’t have imagined himself believing in God, let alone serving the Church as a deacon. In the spring of 2000, he set out on a journey of faith, vocation and ministry that led him and his wife Joy from their home in southern California to southern Indiana.

ST. MEINRAD—Benedictine Brother Jean Fish was a teenager growing up in southern California in 2007 when his father Michael Fish woke him up early to drive him to Prince of Peace Abbey near San Diego so his son could experience and take part in the monks’ Vigils and Lauds, two parts of the Liturgy of the Hours prayed at the start of the day.

“The idea of being a bride of Christ, the prayer life and the life of service were so powerfully beautiful to me.” These were some of the thoughts of Mercy Sister Maria Guadalupe Figueroa on her journey of discernment to religious life.

ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS—During a ceremony on Aug. 24 at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ann Duong and Maité Rodriguez-Mora entered the novitiate and were welcomed into the religious community at St. Mary-of-the-Woods in western Indiana.

Benedictine Sister Anne Louise Frederick will never forget the time when she helped celebrate the birthday of Benedictine Sister Betty Jean Coveney. On such a special day when a person usually receives presents, Sister Betty shared a gift from her heart with someone else.

Growing up in Navilleton, Catholicism was a life rhythm for Emily Naville, the third of Bob and Jenni Naville’s four children. “All of our family lived on the same road, and at the end of the road was