Chesapeake parish honors military: St. Stephen, Martyr, Chesapeake, dedicated a corner of the church as the St. Michael Military Alcove, a place of prayer where parishioners can pray for military members. The alcove includes photos of the parish’s deployed military members, their families, and a Gold Star family. Father Charles Ssebalamu dedicated and blessed the St. Michael Military Alcove on May 25. “Hampton Roads is home to one of the largest military complexes in the world,” said parishioner Tom Klocek. “This corner is intended to be a permanent fixture, as we have people deploying and returning all the time.”
Two parishes feed families (below): St. Jude, Mineral, and Immaculate Conception, Buckner, hosted a Meals of Hope packaging event June 15. The event took place at St. Jude, one of several events held to celebrate the parish’s 50th jubilee. In 90 minutes, 120 volunteers from the two parishes packaged 37,000 meals for local families in need.
Silver jubilee Mass (below): Sister Maria Theresia of the Most Holy Trinity renewed her vows at a jubilee Mass on June 26, the 25th anniversary of her entry into religious life with the Sisters of the Poor Clares. Bishop Barry C. Knestout was the chief celebrant at Mass at the cloistered Bethlehem Monastery of the Poor Clares in Barhamsville; five other priests concelebrated, including Father Harry Quaedvlieg, Sister Maria Theresia’s brother. Father Quaedvlieg traveled from the Diocese of Roermond, in the Netherlands, which is Sister Maria Theresia’s home diocese. (Photo/Deborah Cox)
Students’ experiments launched: From Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore, eighth grader Becky Smolka of St. Mary’s School, Richmond, watched her experiment get carried into space by a NASA rocket June 20. Smolka was the team leader and representative of more than 50 St. Mary’s students who collaborated on the Cubes in Space program, in which students design, research, and test experiments on NASA missions. For the project, St. Mary’s students created a cube that used live yeast to detect radiation; it was launched by a sounding rocket from the Wallops Island Flight Facility. Smolka also presented the experiment at the Cubes in Space Flightfest in Chincoteague.