Catholic college youth attend teaching seminar at Pilsen
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The grounds of St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Pilsen became a college campus this past week as at least 60 young men and women from five Midwest dioceses spent the week studying Catholic catechism and Scripture. They came May 25 and stayed through Saturday.
Students came from dioceses headquartered in Wichita, Salina, Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., Tulsa, Okla., and Duluth, Minn. Many of them are involved in Newman centers on college campuses, and some are seminarians studying to be priests.
Half of the church basement became a large classroom. The other half was the lunch room. Church women and other volunteers provided meals. The men slept in the community center and the women slept in the rectory. They utilized portable showers installed in a semi-trailer.
The week-long teaching seminar is held at a different location each summer. It is known as Totus Tuus, meaning "totally yours." The young men and women will return to their dioceses and will go out in teams to the various parishes to teach youth what they have learned.
Totus Tuus is sponsored by the Wichita Diocese and focused on specific aspects of Catholic catechism and various portions of Scripture. The instructor was Father Bernie Gorges.
During breaks in the teaching sessions, the men and women could be seen taking walks around the church grounds, meeting in small groups to chat, and engaging in various forms of recreation.
Travis Gear of the Wichita diocese directed the group.
"Pilsen was chosen for this year's Totus Tuus because it has a great spot in my heart because of Father Kapaun," Gear said. "I wanted to promote the canonization process."
He is married to Maria Jirak, the daughter of Frances and Mary Jirak of the local Holy Family Parish.
