CMA News & Updates

Father Chris Geiger, director of Apostolic Works & Internship Program at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology recalls his pastoral internship at Holy Angels Parish in Sidney as a true blessing and affirmation of his vocation to the priesthood. At the time, Father Dan Schmitmeyer was serving as pastor, and Father Dan Hess as the associate pastor.  

The ministry of presence and prayer is always an integral part of a hospital chaplain’s role, but even more so during the pandemic. Anne Petratis is a longtime chaplain who currently serves at six medical facilities: Kettering, Grandview, Southview, Sycamore, Kettering Behavioral Health, and Soin hospitals, all in the Dayton area. “Our ministry is constantly changing to provide support between the hospitals,” she said.

Sometimes people say that teachers have it made. They get summers off, work only 8 hours a day, and get built in breaks in the winter and spring.  We can’t speak for other schools, but if you spent time with our teachers in their classrooms at St. Rita, you would realize the energy, effort, and time they put into giving their students the best possible education doesn’t stop when they leave. Take a peek into Miss Meaghan’s K-2nd grade class at St. Rita.

The statistics are real, and many parents could share the heartbreak they feel over their adult children who have left the Catholic faith. The world in general is hostile to faith, and college campuses across the country are particularly so. That environment combined with these young adults experiencing more choices and freedom than they’ve ever had are a toxic formula to any kind of faith life.

As a child growing up in our Lady of Mercy Parish in Dayton, the young Tom Shearer had the opportunity to get to know “some really good priests.” Among them was Father George Steinkamp,