Rebecca Omastiak

4 days ago | osvnews.com | Rebecca Omastiak

4  ST. PAUL, Minn. (OSV News) — A report released earlier this year estimates that the Catholic Church in Minnesota contributes more than $5 billion annually in economic benefits to the state. Called “Fruits of the Vine,” the report on this economic impact was commissioned by the Minnesota Catholic Conference and sponsored by the Institute for Policy Research at The Catholic University of America in Washington and the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul.

5 days ago | osvnews.com | Rebecca Omastiak

4 ST. PAUL, Minn. (OSV News) — A recently installed chimney on the roof of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul billowed white smoke into a clear, blue sky May 8, mirroring the smoke that emitted from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney in Vatican City and signaling the election of a new pope.

1 week ago | thecatholicspirit.com | Rebecca Omastiak

The decision to proceed with a renovation project at Carmel of Our Lady of Divine Providence stemmed from a desire to care for aging nuns in the comfort of the cloistered community. Meanwhile, the neighboring community at the Carmelite Hermitage of the Blessed Virgin Mary has also sought to grow, with a new chapel.

1 week ago | thecatholicspirit.com | Rebecca Omastiak

“The chimney was one of the three phases that we came up with to prepare for the celebration of the new Holy Father; we just we wanted to have some sort of celebration as soon as he was elected,” said 20-year-old Brennan Crow, a junior at SJV. Crow said planning was underway less than a week before Cardinal Robert Prevost was named Pope Leo XIV. Crow said Father Jonathan Kelly, rector of the seminary, had the idea to install the chimney; “he had a friend who owns a sauna company,” Crow said.

3 weeks ago | thecatholicspirit.com | Rebecca Omastiak

The event is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) and Minndependent, an Edina-based nonprofit that focuses on private and independent schools. According to the MCC — which represents the public policy interests of Minnesota’s Catholic bishops — eliminating this aid from the state’s budget would cut roughly $100 million in aid over the biennium, including funding for services such as transportation, nursing and standardized testing.