SEPTEMBER 29, 2023
mississippicatholic.com
God and country: St. Alphonsus pastor becomes an American citizen By
Mack Spencer, prise-Journal
Enter-
MCCOMB – St. Alphonsus Catholic Church is having a celebration as American as apple pie on Sunday. There are no guarantees that dessert will be available in Liguori Hall, but those summer staples of hamburgers and hot dogs will be plentiful. As American as the food fare will be, so, too, is the honoree. St. Al’s pastor, Father Suresh Thirumalareddy, is the star of that show, and a naturalized citizen of the United States after a ceremony in New Orleans in June. Growing up in India, Father Suresh didn’t think much about visiting the United States, and had never harbored a desire to seek American citizenship, though many Indians view this country positively and want to visit, if not immigrate. “In India, people look at the United States as being a powerful nation – the greatest, most powerful nation on earth,” Father Suresh said. “That’s what we are taught. When people think about leaving, the first option is always to go to America.” Eventually, he felt a call to take the opportunity afforded through a loan program between his home Guntur Di-
MCCOMB – Father Suresh Thirumalareddy sits in the sanctuary of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. He became an American citizen in June 2023. Fathers Augustine Palimattam Poulose and Anthonyclaret Onyeocha became American citizens earlier this year as well. (Photo courtesy of Enterprise-Journal)
ocese in southern India and the Jackson Diocese to become what could be called an exchange priest here, where there is a shortage of priests to fill the pulpits – but just for a while. “My dad’s intention was that I would come here and serve as long as I wanted, and then I would come back to my home church,” he said. “I abided by that when he was alive.” His father died at home after the start of the second wave of COVID-19 in India, following a 15-day stay in a hospital’s intensive care unit with the virus and complications, including two heart attacks. Father Suresh became close to his predecessor, Father Brian Kaskie, in 2014, when he moved to Pike County after a year in Meridian with an appointment at St. Teresa Catholic Church in Chatawa, which served the nuns of St. Mary of the Pines. The death of Kaskie, a friend and mentor, as well as his father, coupled with the ongoing priest shortage, led Father Suresh to seriously consider seeking American citizenship. “I wanted to settle here and join the community,” he said. “My family said, ‘you have given your life to the
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Faith and friendship: Catholic Moms group offers fellowship, spiritual growth By John Surratt, The Vicksburg Post
moms. We need Jesus and we need Mary as our model. That’s kind of the why, why VICKSBURG – Kathleen Harris and Brittany McFall are seeking ladies interest- we do it, why Brittany and I felt we needed a Catholic moms group in town.” Each meeting consists of four parts – prayer, catechesis, fellowship and then a ed in fellowship, growing spiritually and sharing their experiences of motherhood. Members of St. Paul Catholic Church, the women are looking to expand the call to action of what members bring from the meetings. “We have a wonderful group of multi-generational mothers, so a range of moms Vicksburg Catholic Moms Group they began in February 2022 to share their experiat different phases of motherhood, so that we can kind of share our unique experiences in faith and family life. “Our local Catholic Moms group is partnered with CatholicMomsGroup.com; ences and support from wherever we’re at,” Harris said. “Our group is Catholic moms looking for fellowship with other moms and an it’s a ministry run by the Dynamic Women Association of Ontario (Canada),” Harris said. “It’s based in Canada and it’s through the Archdiocese of Toronto. We are opportunity for faith formation so our meeting materials are typically geared tojust one of 55 groups worldwide within the ministry. The goal is to revive the voca- ward the moms, but kids are welcome at meetings,” she added. “Whatever works better for the mom that day if they want to bring a kid along and we do have some tion of motherhood and encourage Catholic moms.” The goal of the ministry, Harris said, is to revive the vocation to motherhood dedicated moms and tots and we have activities to get some of the young, younger and encourage Catholic moms to belong to a parish-based – Continued on page 6 – community. INSIDE THIS WEEK “All of our materials are from the larger ministry and are in compliance with Catholic Church’s teaching, and so it includes things like bible studies, a DVD series, speakers, books and information about liturgical living and then they’ve got some webinars,” she said, adding the materials are used during the meetings. “We gather to pray together and share parenting joys and woes and tips and just to support one another as Catholic moms and to learn about our Catholic faith together and grow spiritually,” Harris said. “I think something very important to note is that we hold our Blessed Mother Mary as our model and for motherhood Synod 7 Youth 14 Vandals hit statue 11 and a patroness for our ministry. Ten things to know about Youth photos from around Louisiana Catholic school “The why (for forming the club) for us is just simthe Synod of Bishops the diocese Jesus statue vandalized ply because we need each other; our kind of village of