NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE
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Many tongues, one prayer By Emily Booker
words into Spanish. “Good evening. It is good to welcome you to our cathedral church tonight. The many voices of God’s people will be represented here tonight, as at Pentecost. All the languages of humanity are beautiful to God, and so are you.” Each section of the rosary, such as the Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, and Hail Mary, was prayed in different languages. Nearly 20 languages were represented, including Akateko, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Indonesian, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. “It was beautiful to hear prayers in languages that are not familiar to us and to know that somewhere close and far, there are people and communities that pray the same prayers we do,” Mrs. Primm said. After each decade, a song was performed from a different culture. A Korean choir sang a song expressing the words of a Korean martyr, while a Swahili choir sang two Marian tunes, “We Thank You Mom Maria” and “Mother Mary.” A Spanish choir sang about Christ’s love for His people and His creation in “Donde Nace la Flor.” A bilingual choir sang the last song, “We Are the Body of Christ,” in both English and Spanish and encouraged the faithful to sing along. At the end of the rosary, the Salve Regina was prayed in Latin. After the conclusion of the rosary, there was a special prayer for
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t was an evening of sacred prayer, inspiring song, and joyful celebration as faithful Catholics, representing dozens of cultures and backgrounds, gathered to pray for migrants and refugees at the fourth annual multilingual rosary. The Diocese of Knoxville’s Office of Hispanic Ministry hosted the rosary event at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville on Oct. 3, preceding the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Oct. 5. The annual World Day of Migrants and Refugees emphasizes the positive contributions and inherent hope of migrants and refugees. Before he passed away, Pope Francis chose “Migrants, Missionaries of Hope” as this year’s theme. The Diocese of Knoxville multilingual rosary celebrates the diverse backgrounds of the diocese and offers prayers for those uprooted from their homes. “This is a rosary that gathers everyone, in particular, the immigrant individuals and families present in our diocese, in this case, the ones in the Knoxville area, to pray together as brothers and sisters to commemorate National Migration Week that ends with the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and this year, also, with the Jubilee of Migrants,” said Blanca Primm, director of the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry. Bishop Mark Beckman welcomed the participants, with Deacon Fredy Vargas translating the bishop’s
Rosary continued on page B2
EMILY BOOKER
An annual multilingual rosary unites the faithful to pray for migrants and refugees
Love for Mary A group of women sing the Marian songs “We Thank You Mom Maria” and “Mother Mary” in Swahili during the multilingual rosary for migrants and refugees on Oct. 3.
Our Lady of Fatima Parish celebrating 75th anniversary The East Tennessee Catholic
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ur Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa will cap a yearlong celebration of its 75th anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 22. Bishop Mark Beckman will preside at a bilingual Mass at 5 p.m., with pastor Father Peter Iorio and priests of the diocese concelebrating. A music prelude will begin at 4:30, and the Mass will be followed by a dinner and program at 6:30 at the Hilton Knoxville Airport hotel in Alcoa. The dinner will feature
live entertainment and recognition of those who have been instrumental in the parish’s growth and service. In honor of Pope Francis designating 2025 as a Year of Jubilee and a time for Catholics to renew themselves as “pilgrims of hope,” Our Lady of Fatima is calling its celebration through the year a pilgrimage. Another anniversary kicked off the milestone year on March 11 as Our Lady of Fatima marked 25 years in its current church building. A Anniversary continued on page B3
She writes to Pope Leo XIV—and receives a reply Notre Dame High School senior Selena Mullinax’s ‘surprise’ leads to a gift blessed by the Holy Father By Bee Goodman
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A rosary blessed by Pope Leo XIV Selena Mullinax, a senior at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga, holds a rosary blessed by Pope Leo XIV and a letter from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, that came with the rosary.
BEE GOODMAN
any have written fan mail to celebrities and imagined getting a reply. In 2017, an 11-year-old kid was granted his wish to mow the White House lawn after sending a request to President Trump. Now, high school senior Selena Mullinax of Chattanooga has received a special blessing from the first American pope, Pope Leo XIV. Selena is an 18-year-old senior at Notre Dame High School and is a parishioner of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. In September, she wrote a letter to Pope Leo but wasn’t sure if she’d receive a reply. The letter passed through diocesan levels to the papal nuncio, the American representative of the Vatican, in Washington, D.C., and to her surprise, Selena received an envelope from the nuncio. It started as a senior prank, or more a “senior surprise.” Selena and her friends discussed how unique it would be if the Holy Father could make a visit to their Chattanooga school. The idea arose that she would write a letter and have it sent to Bishop Mark Beckman. Selena shared that, during a recent visit by the bishop to Notre Dame, she became instantly connected to him. She spoke highly of how kindhearted he was. Selena discussed with peers how it would be a funny prank to invite the Holy Father to the school. She shared that she’d rather do some-
thing kinder: “I thought this would be the perfect prank—it’s very wholesome. I don’t like the mal-intent behind pranks to get back at a teacher or someone you don’t like,
like sticking the football field with forks for somebody else to clean. I don’t like that kind of thing.” The bishop had previously visited the school and spoken to students,
answering many of their questions. Selena shared that her fellow classmates “adored him and wanted him to visit again…He’s an incredibly nice person. I think that was so special for the seniors, and it would be awesome if we could see him again. Getting his approval on this kind of thing feels really special.” Bishop Beckman was happily surprised to find that Selena received a response. He said, “That is fantastic. I’m glad she was able to do that. It is a great gift and a testament of her faith.” Selena said that she felt she needed someone to give her a boost of confidence in her faith. “I was overwhelmed and stressed, and it got better with this,” she said. “I went to God and thought ‘OK, whatever you want, get a letter back, get nothing back, Pope Leo coming or not—I will be satisfied.’ But I think I needed someone to go to and it happened to be the pope.” Selena received a manila envelope containing a letter from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio. Along with the letter from Cardinal Pierre was a special gift blessed by Pope Leo. Selena opened a small navy pouch with an adorned rosary inside. With white beads, the rosary also includes a pendant showing the Vatican crest on one side and a portrait of St. Mary holding a young Jesus on the other. Getting a response from the nuncio was special, but receiving a gift blessed Letter continued on page B3