Archives for December 2023

December 22, 2023 by Colin Rahill

Effective November 1, 2023

Reverend Simon Peter Wankya (from Soroti Catholic Diocese – Uganda), Parochial Vicar of SE4 Family of Parishes which includes St. Columban and St. Margaret of York, Loveland.

Effective December 1, 2023

Reverend Gadagotti Arogyaiah (from Nalgonda Diocese – India), Parochial Vicar of SW4 Family of Parishes which includes Resurrection of Our Lord, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Lawrence, and St. William, Cincinnati.

Effective December 3, 2023

Reverend Paul Lickteig, SJ, Pastor of S-15 Family of Parishes which includes St. Francis Xavier, and St. Robert Bellarmine, Cincinnati.

Effective December 10, 2023

Reverend W. Michael Hay, retirement from active ministry.

Effective January 5, 2024

Reverend James Romanello, Pastor of C-1 Family of Parishes which includes St. John the Evangelist, New Paris; St. Mary, Camden; St. Mary, Oxford; Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Eaton.

Effective January 8, 2024

Reverend David Doseck, Pastor of S10 Family of Parishes which includes St. Monica-St. George, Holy Name, and Annunciation, Cincinnati.

December 21, 2023 by Colin Rahill

Release Date: Dec. 21, 2023

New Superintendent of Schools Appointed

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr has announced the appointment of Matthew J. Daniels as Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, effective July 1, 2024. Mr. Daniels will assume this responsibility from Kathleen C. Kane, who is serving as Interim Superintendent for the 2023-24 academic year following the retirement of Susan M. Gibbons at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

Mr. Daniels is currently the Senior Director, Department of Catholic Education for the Diocese of Toledo in Ohio, overseeing 60 schools educating nearly 16,000 students, a position he has held since November 2018. Prior to his current position as Senior Director, Daniels served as principal at St. Rocco Catholic School in Cleveland, Ohio and principal at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Assumption, Ohio. He began his career in education as a member of the English faculty and as Faculty Technology Coordinator for St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo.

Mr. Daniels earned his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University, where he was a four-year member of the Buckeyes football team, and holds a Master of Arts in Education Administration from the University of Notre Dame. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Catholic Educational Leadership from Saint Louis University. He and his wife Jennifer are the parents of seven children.

Archbishop Schnurr commented, “Matt Daniels is a true champion of the critical importance of Catholic education to the evangelizing mission of the Church. His strong, faithful leadership will be a blessing to the schools of our archdiocese. At the same time, I am deeply grateful for the servant leadership shown by Kathy Kane who is guiding our Catholic Schools Office so professionally during this interim period.”

“I am humbled by the great tradition of Catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,” said Mr. Daniels. He continued, “I am grateful to serve alongside an excellent team in the Catholic Schools Office, and thrilled to toil with school leaders, faculty, staff, students and families to make Jesus Christ known, loved, and served in our Catholic schools. Catholic education is at the heart of the Church, so we educators must joyfully and zealously work to form saints and scholars for God’s greater glory.”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 51^stlargest Catholic diocese in the country, with around 435,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with nearly 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 206 canonical parishes organized into 57 Families of Parishes, and 109 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

December 20, 2023 by Colin Rahill

Release Date: December 19, 2023

Closure of St. Martin of Tours Catholic School, Cincinnati

St. Martin of Tours Catholic School, operated by St. Martin of Tours Parish in Cheviot, will close following the completion of the 2023-2024 school year.

The pastor, pastoral council and finance council of St. Martin of Tours Parish — in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office of the archdiocese — recommended closure of St. Martin of Tours Catholic School, after the completion of the current school year. In accordance with archdiocesan procedures, the recommendation for closure was submitted to, and accepted by, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr.

In October of this year, Saint Martin of Tours Parish began an evaluation process to examine the future viability of the school. As part of the announcement of the evaluation process, Fr. Matthew Robben, Pastor of St. Martin of Tours Parish reported the following:

“Over the last five years, St. Martin of Tours School has incurred a cumulative deficit of $1.9 million. This deficit is projected to grow to $2.3 million by the end of this school year. Despite parish cost-cutting measures that have reduced annual expenses by about $125,000, the parish net surplus over the past five years has totaled only $106,500 which is obviously not enough to cover the school deficit. This trend is not projected to improve. . . .

What has caused this rapid decline in revenue? There are two major factors: stewardship and enrollment/tuition. The parish and school continue to experience decline in donations and tithing. Total income in FY 2018-2019 was $1,182,786 but by FY 2022-2023 had declined by more than 36% to $756,335. Our projections for FY 2023-2024 anticipate another 3-5% decline. Secondly, our School continues to experience a decline in enrollment, which reduces tuition revenue. In the 2018-2019 academic year we enrolled 271 students. In the 2022-2023 academic year, that number dropped to 202. The current 2023-2024 academic year has seen another 20-student decline to 182 students. In addition, data from the most recent Census, projects that the number of eligible grade-school aged students in our area will decline over the next five years.”

Upon conclusion of the evaluation process, after an extensive review of the parish and school finances and giving trends, it was determined that the parish could no longer afford to subsidize the school at the current rate due to the depletion of its financial reserves.

“It is with great sadness that St. Martin of Tours Catholic School is closing for the 2024-2025 school year,” said Ms. Kathy Kane, Interim Superintendent of Catholic Schools. “St. Martin has provided spiritual development and academic excellence for more than 100 years on the west side of Cincinnati. The Catholic Schools Office remains committed to supporting the students, families, staff and community during the upcoming transition.”

St. Martin of Tours Parish is part of The Family of the Most Holy Eucharist Family of Parishes. In addition to St. Martin School the Family has four additional schools: Our Lady of Lourdes School, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga School, Saint Antoninus School, and Saint Catharine of Siena School. The four other Catholic schools within The Family of the Most Holy Eucharist have been asked to give priority acceptance to St. Martin of Tours Catholic School students.

St. Martin of Tours Catholic School was founded in 1912, in conjunction with the establishment of St. Martin of Tours Parish. The school’s present enrollment is 182 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The school employs 22 paid teachers and staff.

Fr. Matthew Robben has informed the staff, school and parish families of the upcoming closure. “The decision to close St. Martin School naturally comes with many emotions such as anger, sadness, fear and anxiety . . . As we move through this difficult transition, please pray for our school families, faculty, and staff as we begin this journey. May Saint Martin of Tours lead us, guide us, and pray for us!”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 51st largest Catholic diocese in the country, with around 435,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with nearly 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 208 canonical parishes organized into 57 Families of Parishes, and 110 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

December 1, 2023 by Jennifer Schack

Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

On Christmas morning, in the opening prayer of the Mass at Dawn, e ask God to allow the light of faith, which radiates from the incarnate Word, to shine through in our deeds. This prayer reminds us of a beautiful truth: the gift of our faith is not something we keep to ourselves; rather, having received the very life of God within our souls, He then calls us to share that divine goodness with others.

Jesus Christ is the model of such self-giving. Out of love for us, with nothing to gain for Himself, He entered into our human nature and offered Himself for our redemption from sin. During the season of Advent, we prepare ourselves to celebrate this mystery at Christmas. Christ’s birth into this world invites us to renew our awareness of the humble nature of God’s saving love and His desire to reveal the truth of our humanity by becoming human Himself.

The Lord, who has given us everything out of love, asks us, in turn, to give of ourselves for others. We live in a world desperately in need of love. Our faith invites us to put the love we have received from God into action, thereby recognizing the inherent dignity of each person created in the image and likeness of God. The Church has outlined the 14 Works of Mercy, the practical, time-honored ways we can put our love into action. The Corporal Works of Mercy are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, and bury the dead. The Spiritual Works of Mercy are to instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, bear wrongs patiently, forgive others, comfort the afflicted, and pray for the living and the dead. There are so many ways in which we can strive to love others as God has loved us!

As we prepare this Advent to celebrate the mystery of the Lord’s Incarnation, it is a fitting time to reflect on the love we have received from God and what our response to that love may be. As individuals and families, we can discern how God may be inviting us to grow in our love for others. There are many opportunities to share Christ’s love with others through our parish communities and other groups, including the many charitable ministries which offer assistance or provide services addressing the wide range of needs in our society. Maybe there is one such ministry which is uniquely suited to your own talents and interests. If so, this might be the perfect time to get involved.

I pray that this Advent may be a fruitful period of prayer and preparation for each of you, for your families, for our parishes, and for our archdiocese as a whole. May we welcome the Christ Child and know that with the love He has come to offer us, He also calls us to offer that love to our brothers and sisters here on earth. And may the peace, joy and fullness of life that only Christ can bring be yours this Advent and Christmas!