Jennifer Schack
Director of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Office | 513.263.6618
Cell | 859.512.5626
[email protected]

Release Date: June 30, 2020

Catholics ministering and meeting goals amid a pandemic

Dozens of Catholic ministries in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati have worked tirelessly to find unique ways to serve others during the recent months as the COVID-19 pandemic has gripped the world. Employees, volunteers, and clergy have remained committed to God’s call to serve others.

The Stewardship Department of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati oversees the yearly Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) that raises money to support six local ministries that teach, feed, and heal thousands in our community. Each of the ministries supported by the CMA has been impacted by the requirements of social distancing and the government order to shelter in place.

“Over the last few months, day-to-day operations for each of the CMA ministries dramatically changed. I am really proud of our ministries and the ways they engaged in the health crisis. They each found creative ways to continue to serve despite social distancing,” said Matt Reinkemeyer, Director of Development Operations in the Stewardship Department.

Some examples of ways that CMA-supported ministries have creatively responded to the pandemic are:

• Provided food pantry services via a drive-thru option
• Counseling calls/video-calls for clients in the following programs: Parenting Services, Senior Services, Refugee Resettlement, Mental Health Services, and more
• “Coffee and COVID” youth evangelization training sessions
• Youth online eucharistic adoration, teaching and praise and worship music
• Campus ministry online prayer groups and faith formation
• Continued hospital chaplaincy ministry that became vital for patients unable to see family members while hospitalized

These ministries continued to serve hundreds in the region through the pandemic, especially thanks to the generous donations that continued through the last several months. Each year the Catholic Ministries Appeal kicks off in January and runs through the spring. For the last 8 years the campaign goal has been $5 million. This year the campaign was off to a great start before the pandemic, reaching $4 million pledged faster than any previous year, but then the pandemic took hold.

“We didn’t know what to expect after the ‘shelter in place’ order was issued,” said David Kissell, Chief Development Officer for the Archdiocese. As it turns out, the campaign was still able to reach the goal, crossing the $5 million mark in mid-June. “We are so grateful and humbled by the support of so many donors across the Archdiocese. It really is a witness to the unity of our diocese.”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 450,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 211 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

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Jennifer Schack
Director of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Office | 513.263.6618
Cell | 859.512.5626
[email protected]

Release Date: June 17, 2020

Matthew Geerlings will be Director of Music for Cathedral and Archdiocese

Father Jan Kevin Schmidt, rector of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral and archdiocesan director of Pastoral Life and Evangelization, has named Matthew Geerlings as the new director of music for the cathedral and for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Geerlings replaces Anthony DiCello who recently announced his retirement after more than 40 years of service in the archdiocese. Geerlings’ appointment is effective July 20, 2020.

Matthew Geerlings has served as the Director of Music for the Cathedral of the Epiphany, Sioux City, Iowa, since 2000. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Memphis and a Master of Church Music degree from the University of Kansas. In 2006 he managed the commissioning, design and installation of a new pipe organ for the Cathedral of the Epiphany built by Wech Orgelbau of Buchloe, Bavaria. In 2017 the cathedral choir was invited to sing for the final mass of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. His work at the cathedral in Sioux City included directing choirs for the multi-lingual cathedral parish, as well as serving as the diocesan choir director and organist for all major diocesan liturgies.

“One of my first thoughts when becoming rector of the cathedral was that I hoped I wouldn’t have to fill Tony DiCello’s shoes as our music director, believing that would be next to impossible. In Matthew Geerlings, with his vast cathedral experience in Sioux City, I believe we have found that person who can at least try the shoes on for size! With Matt’s talent, expertise and experience, I have great expectations for the Cathedral music program,” said Fr. Schmidt.

“I look forward to Matthew’s leadership among the music ministers in our archdiocese. His experience in leading parish musicians, especially those of diverse communities, is important for the Church of Cincinnati,” said Jeremy Helmes, director of the archdiocesan Office for Divine Worship and Sacraments and member of the search committee.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve the faithful people of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” said Geerlings. “My family and I are looking forward to making new friends in the Cincinnati region.”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 450,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 211 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

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Jennifer Schack
Director of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Office | 513.263.6618
Cell | 859.512.5626
[email protected]

Release Date: June 2, 2020

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr releases a statement encouraging a conversion of heart

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has released the following letter which includes details of a “Holy Hour for Conversion and Peace”, to be held tomorrow at 5:15 p.m. at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Sunday, was Pentecost Sunday, we learned from St. Paul that “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:12-14).

These words are particularly poignant coming as they do just days after the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd at the hands of a law enforcement officer in Minneapolis. I join Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis and my brother bishops across the United States in praying for the repose of the soul of Mr. Floyd and all others who have lost their lives in a similar manner. This deeply disturbing incident reminds us once again of the divisions that continue to plague our human family which is called to be one body in Christ.

Through creation, as a divine gift, God has endowed each person with intrinsic worth and value. Human life is sacred. Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. The dignity and sanctity of each person, without exception, is inherent and permanent, and is to be respected from conception to natural death. Because of this, the Catholic Church opposes as profoundly sinful racism and anything that is antithetical to God’s will and the Gospel of Life. We cannot turn a blind eye to the humiliation, indignity, and unequal opportunity experienced by millions of our brothers and sisters simply because of their race or the color of their skin and yet still profess to respect every human life. Opposing racism must therefore be an integral part of our pro-life witness as Catholics.

What is needed, and what I am urging for each of us, is a genuine conversion of heart, a conversion that will compel change and ultimately reform our institutions and society. As Catholics, we are called to radiate the love of Christ to all people and to be witnesses to His kingdom on earth. We need to look deep within ourselves, in prayerful humility, and ask our Lord to remove any vestige of prejudice or hatred from our hearts, any sinful inclination that keeps us from loving as He does.

Please join me either in person or online this Wednesday, June 3, the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga, at 5:15 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains for a “Holy Hour for Conversion and Peace”. Many parishes across our archdiocese are also engaging in prayer for conversion and peace.

As one body in Christ, let us pray:

We thank you, O Lord,

For in your loving wisdom

You created one human family

With a diversity

That enriches our communities.

We pray to you, O Lord,

That we always recognize

each member of this human family

As being made in your image and beloved by you,

With worth and dignity.

We pray to you, O Lord,

That we may envision a way forward

To heal the racial divisions

That deny human dignity and

the bonds between all human beings.

We pray to you, O Lord

That we may affirm each person’s dignity

Through fair access for all

To economic opportunity, housing,

Education, and employment.

We pray to you, O Lord,

That we may have eyes to see

What is possible when we reach out

Beyond fear, beyond anger,

To hold the hand of our sisters, our brothers.

We thank you, O Lord,

For your call and challenge to us

That we may reveal your teachings and your love

Through our actions to end racism

And to proclaim that we are all your children,

heirs to your sacred creation.

Amen.*

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr
Archbishop of Cincinnati

* Copyright © 2018, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 450,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 211 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

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