Bishop William F. Medley wanted to bless his people who had been in the path of the tornadoes that struck western Kentucky during the night of Dec. 10, 2021, and with the help of a local pastor, some Knights of Columbus, and an airplane, he did just that.

Following a 400-mile road trip on Dec. 15, 2021 across his tornado-ravaged Diocese of Owensboro in western Kentucky, Bishop William F. Medley said he will not forget the destruction, “but what will stay with me are the people I saw.”

The creaking sound of the swaying chains was eerie. What usually held the red candle above the tabernacle at Resurrection Parish in Dawson Springs was now an empty metal structure suspended by chains, spinning in the cold December wind but not quite hitting the damaged walls on either side of it.

St. Jerome Church in Fancy Farm, Ky., known for its politics and picnic fare, became a makeshift shelter for storm survivors over the weekend and shifted on Monday to become a distribution site for relief supplies.

Early in the morning of Saturday, Dec. 11, following a tornado warning for Daviess County the night before, Bishop William F. Medley found that his cell phone service was down – and that Gov. Andy Beshear had made an announcement about lives lost in a sudden tragedy.

Each fall, the Steering Committee of the Council of Religious for the Diocese of Owensboro sponsors a celebration of the jubilees for the women religious in the diocese.

Msgr. George H. Hancock, a priest of the Diocese of Owensboro who died on Nov. 8 at the age of 102, was “the epitome of everything you want in a priest,” according to one of his longtime friends, Charlie Kamuf.

When it comes to the Catholic Church’s tradition of relics – venerating the mortal remains of saints or objects that have been touched to saints’ bodies or personal items – Kevin Schwartz often thinks of St. Paul in Acts 19:11-12.

The Diocese of Owensboro will hold the Retirement Fund for Religious collection Dec. 11-12.