Beloit — Maria Niewald hopes that not only young women were motivated and educated by the Pure Fashion show but that their male peers and relatives were, too.

“I think every girl wants to be a seen as beautiful and noticed, but there’s a proper sense of how you define yourself as beautiful,” said Niewald, who helped promote the fashion show featuring modest apparel after a nine-month series of classes for Beloit girls.

“But it’s not just educating girls. If you’re a dad or a husband, it’s how you treat your wife … or your son, how he understands how to treat women,” she said.

Pure Fashion is an affiliate of Mission Network, sponsored by Regnum Christi, a Catholic apostolic movement. Niewald said she previously worked with the program when she lived in Atlanta, where it began.

The program is now national, and Beloit is easily the smallest locale that has hosted it, Niewald said.

The fact that Beloit could do that should be encouraging to other parishes in the Salina Diocese who might be interested, she added.

About 35 middle and high school girls, mostly members of St. John the Baptist Parish in Beloit, participated. They represented both St. John Catholic Schools and the Beloit public school system.

The project was an outgrowth of a program Niewald leads, called the Challenge Girls Club. It has been meeting for about four years and includes girls of all faiths, although most are Catholic, she said.

Great Bend — This year’s Summer Institute offers four classes the first week of June for individuals wanting an educational and spiritual retreat.

The institute takes place at the Heartland Center for Spirituality in Great Bend. It begins at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 3, and ends at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 7.

Housing on site is available and encouraged, but commuters also are welcome.

Instructors include clergy and lay ecclesial ministers in the diocese as well as a visiting professor.

Father Frank Coady, director of the institute, said the summer sessions offer catechists and other lay ministers “the opportunity for time away from family, work and other activities to be with other lay ministers in an atmosphere of study and prayer.”

In addition to the course work, there is daily Mass, communal meals, morning and evening prayer and social time at the center, which is housed at the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Great Bend.

Participants can take one course in the morning and one course in the afternoon.

Instructors are:

• Kevin Willmott, professor of film at the University of Kansas, who will teach the session “Christ in Film.” A graduate of St. Francis Xavier High School in Junction City and Marymount College in Salina, Willmott has written and directed several films. His course will examine films that feature a “Christ figure,” a character who epitomizes the embodiment of Christ in contemporary society.

• Deacon Larry Erpelding and Wayne Talbot of St. Thomas More Parish in Manhattan, who will teach “Sacraments of Service,” examining the second phase of the “Stewards of Hope” diocesan pastoral plan that focuses on vocations. Deacon Erpelding is a retired associate dean of agriculture at Kansas State University. Talbot, a candidate in the permanent diaconate program, is director of adult education at St. Thomas More.

• Father Steve Heina, who will teach “Liturgy of the Hours,” focusing on the official prayer of the Church. Father Heina is pastor at St. Bernard Parish in Ellsworth and St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Kanopolis.

• Nancy Sherffius, who will teach “Methodology for Catechesis,” offering theoretical and practical approaches to religious education. Sherffius is pastoral assistant and director of faith formation at St. Mary, Queen of the Universe Parish in Salina. This course is available for college credit through Newman University.

Preregistration for Summer Institute is due by May 23. Afterward, a $25 late fee is applied. The total cost is based on the number of courses taken and if they are for credit, room and board, and the number of meals selected.

For more information, call Father Frank Coady or Karen Taylor at (785) 827-8746 or email ministry@ salinadiocese.org.

Salina — At an annual Mass of appreciation for women religious, Bishop Edward Weisenburger offered his “gratitude and admiration for what you have been and what you will be for the Church.”

Sisters representing four congregations were invited to the Mass and luncheon afterward on May 10 at Sacred Heart Cathedral. The vast majority of the sisters were members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, the only community based in the Diocese of Salina.

Other congregations represented included the Sisters of St. Agnes of Fond du Lac, Wis., and the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharistic Heart of Christ the King of Mexico City. Also attending was Sister Rita Thouvenelle, a Eudist Servant of the Eleventh Hour, who is temporarily working in Hays.

In his homily, Bishop Weisenburger spoke of those chosen by God, not only those called to be religious men and women and priests but all believers.

“We did not choose him; he chose us,” he stressed.

The problem in today’s culture, he said, is “we are uniquely a people who do not want to be called,” because, he added, answering God’s call means “some kind of commitment.”

“A call from God entails a commitment, and it’s only when we live out that commitment that we experience the joy that he promises,” Bishop Weisenburger said. “When God calls, when God chooses, our response demands a life and a lifetime, not just religious and priests, but for all who hear.”

To the sisters, “those who have answered,” he urged them to continue to live out that commitment “and to live out the joy you have received.”

Leoville — The Salina Diocesan Rural Life Commission celebrated St. Isidore Day with parishioners and guests May 5 at Immaculate Conception Church.

The day began with a prayer service at Sacred Heart Church in Selden. Following lunch, the group toured McCarty Family Farms, a family-owned and operated dairy near Rexford.

The farm was established in 2000 when the McCarty family left their small dairy in northwest Pennsylvania. The Kansas dairy expanded with they contracted with Dannon Yogurt. They ship 90,000 pounds of condensed milk daily to Dannon’s Dallas-Fort Worth plant. They also provide milk for the Daisy sour cream manufacturer. The McCarty farm employs 100. An expansion will add another 40 to 50 workers.

The group then toured Bainter Elk Ranch south of Leoville. The ranch, which was started in 1998 with four cows and one bull on 30 acres, has grown to 135 elk on 210 acres. About 15 cows and 12 bulls are sold each year for meat and hunt animals.

Father Mark Berland celebrated Mass at Immaculate Conception and blessed soil and seeds as part of the St. Isidore Day celebration. He and those present processed to a nearby field, which he also blessed.

About 200 people attended the Mass and a dinner.

Gene Lorson, president of the commission, told those gathered that what members saw on their tour shows that with hard work and ingenuity, rural communities and businesses have opportunities to grow in western Kansas.

Others serving on the commission are Peter Lorenz, vice president; Greg Stephens, secretary; Janice Kruse, treasurer; George Gassman; Rosann Felder; Ted Hauser; and Sister Carmella Thibault.

The celebration is named after St. Isidore, the patron saint of farmers and the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. Canonized in 1622, he worked to improve the quality of life for farmers, laborers and peasants in Spain during the 11th century.

Years of discernment and studies will come to fruition next weekend for two men who will be ordained the newest priests of the Diocese of Salina.

Deacon Brian Lager and Deacon Gale Hammerschmidt will be ordained at 10 a.m. May 19 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, and both will assume their assignments at two of Salina’s three parishes at the end of June.

Deacon Lager, 31, said he was inspired by his uncle, Capuchin Father John Lager, while growing up in St. Paul Parish in Angelus, in southwest Sheridan County.

He attended discernment retreats with Father Lager while in high school, enrolled in Benedictine College in Atchison and worked for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students.

Still, he said, he did not easily arrive at his decision to enter the seminary

“It took spending an hour every day for two years in front of the tabernacle to finally make the decision to enter,” he said.

In addition to his uncle becoming a priest, he said, the Angelus parish has had three other men enter the priesthood and another enter religious life. Father John Lager and Mercy Father Tony Stephens, two of the Angelus vocations, will be at his ordination.

“I have always had a great love for the Mass from an early age. I remember playing Mass with my brothers when I was a child,” Deacon Lager said. “I was really excited to learn how to serve Mass in fifth grade and continued to do so throughout college.”

That involvement has continued through seminary, where he trained and served as master of ceremonies for a bishop and as a sacristan and head sacristan.

(Editor's note: This week's print edition of The Register is being printed and mailed two days later than normal to accommodate coverage of the ordination events.)

Salina — In front of more than 1,200 people at Sacred Heart Cathedral, and before countless others watching live on television and the Internet, Bishop Edward Weisenburger was ordained May 1 as the 11th shepherd of the Diocese of Salina.

The overflow cathedral crowd watched a lengthy procession of more than two dozen archbishops and bishops and more than 150 priests, permanent deacons and seminarians as the rite of ordination began.

Afterward, the new bishop offered his gratitude to the papal nuncio, his fellow bishops and priests, and his family, then spoke to his new flock at large.

“The truth is I owe you, and most especially the people of the Diocese of Salina, more than just the emotion of gratitude,” he said. “I actually owe you a life well-lived, poured out in service as your brother in Christ, your spiritual father, your shepherd, your bishop — a life lived out in such a way that it points to Christ, reflects Christ and calls us all to an ever deeper union with Christ.

“It is a huge task, and I tremble before it,” he acknowledged. “I know my limitations and weaknesses all too well. Were it not for my trust and hope in the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit, I would be too shaken to even try.”

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kan., ordained the new bishop and was joined by co-consecrators from Bishop Weisenburger’s home Archdiocese of Oklahoma City — Archbishop Paul Coakley, the most recent bishop of Salina, and Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius Beltran.

All of the visiting bishops and archbishops laid hands on the new prelate as the congregation sang “Come, Creator Spirit.”

The ceremony, which ran 21/2 hours, was televised live on EWTN and CatholicTV and streamed live on the diocesan website, affording far more people the chance to watch than those able to secure a ticket.

Afterward, at a public reception, Bishop Weisenburger greeted a seemingly endless line of well-wishers for about 90 minutes before leaving for a celebratory dinner with fellow bishops, family, diocesan priests and other guests.

Archbishop Carl Maria Vigano, the papal nuncio to the United States, read the apostolic mandate from Pope Benedict XVI appointing the new bishop and offered his remarks on behalf of the Holy Father.

“I bring warm greetings to each of you and thank Msgr. Edward Weisenburger for generously answering God’s call,” he said.

Archbishop Vigano, who was named nuncio in October, is responsible for vetting candidates to become bishops and announced Msgr. Weisenburger’s appointment on Feb. 6.

He spoke of Pope Benedict’s call for Americans to be “public witnesses of the Church on the moral issues of the day.”

The papal nuncio said the people of the Diocese of Salina, together with their new bishop, “will effectively face these challenges for the good of your diocese and society as a whole.”

In addition to Archbishop Coakley, the only other former living bishops of Salina also were in attendance — Bishop Emeritus George Fitzsimons, the ninth bishop of Salina from 1984 to 2004 and who continues to serve here, and Archbishop Emeritus Daniel Kucera of Dubuque, who was the eighth bishop of Salina from 1980 to 1984.

In his homily, Archbishop Naumann recounted the common history of his archdiocese and the Salina Diocese and told the new bishop that “rest assured, our Lord will provide you all you need to shepherd your flock.”

But he also stressed that it would not be easy.

“As a bishop, you are not permitted the luxury of remaining silent. Your words take on added importance; now they are the words of a successor to an apostle,” Archbishop Naumann said.

He challenged Bishop Weisenburger “to be an effective preacher of the Gospels” and that his words “be amplified by a life of virtue and unselfish service.”

(Here are Bishop Edward Weisenburger’s remarks following his ordination May 1 as the 11th bishop of Salina.)

It is indeed humbling to stand before you today. The only advice offered me by the few people I asked — “What should I focus on at the end of Mass?” — was that I shouldn’t turn the moment into a giant thank-you. But you’ll have to forgive me just for a few moments, as there are a few who have done so much for us and served us so well.

Archbishop Vigano, as the nuncio to the United States, you represent our Holy Father. Your presence here today, as well as the help you provided me behind the scenes from the time of my appointment, is very deeply appreciated. Please be assured of my enduring gratitude as well as my heartfelt appreciation to the one you represent, our Holy Father, whose goodness continues to stir the hearts of the world.

Secondly, the diocesan administrator, Father Barry Brinkman, rose to the occasion for the last 15 months and instead of doing his usual three full-time jobs, did about seven. His administration was exemplary. And I trust these humble words of thanks are offered not only on my own behalf, but on the behalf of your grateful brother priests and the good people of this Diocese whom you serve with distinction. God bless you Barry for “holding it all together.”

Thirdly, Archbishop Naumann, the metropolitan archbishop of our province, you have done me an extraordinary kindness by your own words of encouragement as well as by imparting to me, today, the fullness of Holy Orders. You are an exceptional bishop, and I hope to learn much from your own good example.

My brother bishops who have traveled far to be here: You have all done me a great kindness as well. Your goodness to me today, by gifting me with your presence, will never be forgotten. I was surprised to learn, just a few days after discovering I was being called to be bishop of Salina, that I was likewise expected to go to Rome for 10 days for the ad limina visit. I was a little hesitant in going, fearing I would be a little out of place among bishops. The truth is, each of you reached out to me with great kindness and fraternal concern. I’ve come to discover that there is a great fraternity among the bishops. Please know that just as you have reached out in kindness to me, I pray to be ever faithful in friendship and service to you.

And lastly, to my dear family, and as well as the friends of a lifetime: You are the ones who, so often, have been Christ for me. Any added physical distance that separates us now will be more than made up for in the renewed affection I feel for you and the gratitude I feel for you, for the blessing that you are in my life.

Salina — The evening before his ordination, Bishop-elect Edward Weisenburger joined fellow priests, bishops and the faithful for a prayer service at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

The vespers traditionally have been a more private gathering, but parishioners across the diocese were afforded the opportunity to attend because seating in the cathedral for the ordination the next day would be limited.

In his homily, Bishop-elect Weisenburger reflected on the Scripture reading recounting St. Paul’s words to new believers that their love of Christ would be central to their lives.

For centuries, the Jewish people had focused on adhering to God’s law in attempt to be one with him, the bishop-elect said.

“That was not a bad thing; the law was God’s great gift to the Jewish people,” he said. Their effort to be faithful to the law was part of their “deep desire to know a perfect unity with God.”

“But there was still a nagging sense that their daily efforts toward perfection could not mend the rupture with God,” Bishop-elect Weisenburger said. “Then the Creator sent his only son to heal forever the rupture between God and his people.”

The law, he said, “was replaced by a relationship of profound love. Never again would Paul need to be motivated by anything but a love for God.”

That same love for Christ is reflected in the 125-year history of the Diocese of Salina, he noted. The faithful built churches, communities and the body of Christ.

More than 40 vocalists and instrumentalists provided music for the ordination of Bishop Edward Weisenburger.

Frank Schmeidler, director of worship for St. Isidore Catholic Student Center in Manhattan, directed the choir comprised of singers from across the diocese. He also helped to plan the music liturgy with Father Frank Coady, diocesan director of liturgy, and Preston Sauers of Ellsworth, organist at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Before the ordination began, violinist Denise Blehm of Abilene and pianist Judy Weber of Salina played various selections.

Michelle Dolan of Salina sang “Alleluia” by Mozart before the processional began.

Cheryl Glassman of Hays was the cantor during the Mass, singing “Psalm 23: My Shepherd Is the Lord,” by Joseph Gelineau, “Psalm 95” and the Litany of Saints.

During Bishop Weisenburger’s first blessing, Schmeidler sang “Make My Life an Alleluia” by Ruth Elaine Schram.

Sauers was organist during the ordination, with Weber providing piano accompaniment.

Gina Sanders of Beloit and Emily Sanders of Salina played flute, Roy Schmeidler of Hays played violin and Dan Diederich of Salina played trumpet at various times throughout the liturgy.

There were 25 archbishops, bishops and an abbot participating in the vespers service, ordination or both. Those attending were:

Archbishop Joseph Naumann, Kansas City, Kan.

Archbishop Paul Coakley, Oklahoma City

Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius Beltran, Oklahoma City

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States

Bishop Emeritus George Fitzsimons, Salina

Bishop Michael Jackels, Wichita

Bishop John Brungardt, Dodge City

Bishop Emeritus Ronald Gilmore, Dodge City

Bishop Martin Amos, Davenport

Archbishop Jerome Hanus, Dubuque

Archbishop Emeritus Daniel Kucera, Dubuque

Bishop Charles Thompson, Evansville

Bishop William Dendinger, Grand Island

Bishop John Gaydos, Jefferson City

Bishop Robert Finn, Kansas City-St. Joseph

Bishop Emeritus Raymond Boland, Kansas City-St. Joseph

Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, Lincoln

Bishop Anthony Taylor, Little Rock

Auxiliary Bishop Shelton Fabre, New Orleans

Archbishop George Lucas, Omaha

Archbishop Emeritus Elden Curtiss, Omaha

Bishop James Johnston Jr., Springfield-Cape Girardeau

Bishop Emeritus John Leibrecht, Springfield-Cape Girardeau

Bishop Edward Slattery, Tulsa

Abbot Gregory Polan, Conception Abbey, Mo.