April 2026
The
COURIER
Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, MN | dowr.org
Medical Mission Pilgrimage
Preparing for
Cotter Families Serve Winona Community and Beyond
DOW-R Religious and Laity to Participate in 2026 Walk to Mary By BRIAN HANSEN
Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation.... Go and fear nothing, I will help you. -Our Lady of Champion, to Adele Brise
By JANA KORDER
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otter Schools proudly celebrates the faith, service, and leadership lived out by its families, values exemplified by two Cotter mothers and medical professionals: Dr. Bethany da Rocha and Dr. Courtney Dembiec. Recently, they participated in a medical and dental mission trip to Guatemala with International Medical Relief, bringing along their children to experience firsthand what it means to serve others through faith in action.
Dr. da Rocha, an emergency room physician, and Dr. Dembiec, a dentist, provided essential medical and dental care to more than 400 patients during their week-long mission. Their children, Gabriel (Grade 7) and Lucas (Grade 5) da Rocha, and Harper (Grade 7) and Graham (Grade 5) Dembiec, all Cotter students, were active participants throughout the trip, assisting with community education efforts and dental sterilization while observing the impact of compassionate care.
Medical Mission, cont'd on pg. 6
�n Friday, May 1, 38 pilgrims from the Diocese of Winona-Rochester will travel to Wisconsin. Led by their chaplain, Fr. Tim Welch, this group of pilgrims will participate in the annual Walk to Mary, a 22-mile pilgrimage walk. Every year in early May, people of various ages, races, and nationalities all come together to participate in this sacred pilgrimage experience. On Saturday, May 2, the pilgrimage walk will commence, and, in one day, our diocese’s pilgrims will walk 22 miles to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion (OLC), in the Champion neighborhood of the town of Green Bay, northeast of Green Bay proper. This shrine is the only Church-approved Marian appa-
Pilgrimage, cont'd on pg. 10
INSIDE this issue
Crucifixion Begins School and Church Expansion page 7
MCC Inside the Capitol pages 8-9
Silver Rose Holy Hour page 10