Bishop Nickless tours several Catholic schools and celebrates Mass with students, teachers, parishioners

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
April 27, 2006

Although he has only been in the diocese for about three months, Bishop R. Walker Nickless has already made it out to nine of the Catholic schools to meet the people and celebrate Mass. He was impressed and uplifted in every visit.

"I wanted to see as many different parts of the diocese as soon as possible. Visits to the schools accomplished two things at once because not only could I see the young people of the diocese, but at almost every school we also invited parishioners and other people from the vicinity to attend," he noted. "After the school Mass, I had a chance to meet with the people and express my appreciation for the welcome they have given me."

He mentioned that he had planned to celebrate Mass during Catholic Schools Week at several schools, but was unable to because he had been called home to Denver to be with his mother who was ill and then died.

Shortly after he was back in the diocese, arrangements were made for a series of school visits.

Bishop visited Carroll Kuemper on March 9, LeMars Gehlen March 16, Algona Garrigan March 21, Fort Dodge St. Edmond on March 23, Spencer Sacred Heart on March 28, Storm Lake St. Mary on March 30, Remsen St. Mary on March 31, Boone Sacred Heart on April 6 and Granville Spalding on April 25. He will celebrate Mass at Bishop Heelan Catholic High School on May 5.

These visits, in conjunction with confirmations, have enabled the bishop to see a large portion of the diocese. In all of the school visits, the bishop toured the classrooms and celebrated Masses that were usually planned by the teachers and students.

"The Mass is the most important prayer we have as Catholics and it is the most important thing we can do together around the Lord," said Bishop Nickless. "With the bishop there, it is a nice symbol of the unity not only of the diocese but of the church - that we gather around the altar and celebrate the Mass which is the most important prayer that we can pray."

The bishop pointed out that during the homily, he took the time to dialogue with students. He asked them questions about the readings of the day and other questions relating to their Catholic education.

"I would ask them what is the difference between Catholic schools and public schools? What I wanted to hear is that we can talk about Jesus, we can talk about our faith, and we can pray and have Mass. They usually were very quick to respond to that," he said.

The bishop encouraged the students to have gratitude for their teachers and asked them to thank their parents for sending them to a Catholic school.

Bishop Nickless also used it as an opportunity to talk about the symbols of the bishop - the zucchetto, miter, ring and crozier (staff).

"I talked about the miter being the symbol of the bishop's teaching authority. I talked about the crozier being a shepherd's staff. It has two ends - one having a hook to pull people back who stray and wander from the fold. The other end is the poker. Sometimes people need to be pushed and prodded to use their talents and abilities for the church," said the bishop.

His discussion about his ring, the bishop noted, usually brought a few chuckles. Being a symbol of marriage, when the bishop asked the students if he was married they almost always said no.

"I tell them yes I am," said Bishop Nickless, who added that most of the students then responded that he is married to God, but then he informed the young ones that he was married to them - the people that he has given himself to. In return, the people love him back and thus they are bound together in a loving relationship.

In all of his visits, the bishop said he was surprised by the innocence, enthusiasm and respect of the students.

"I was also impressed with the teachers. As we would go into a classroom, you can sense that the teachers are very caring and they love what they do," he said.

On most of the visits he also ate lunch with some students and members of the faculty.

"That gave me a chance to see how they were doing and learn what was going on in their lives," said the bishop.

At Gehlen, the school had just renovated a classroom and transformed it into a chapel. The bishop blessed it.

Most of the schools gave the bishop T-shirts, hats and sweatshirts.

"I love them all," he said.

He described the schools as a blessing and a worry.

"They have to be sound financially and we are constantly challenged to make sure that happens," stressed Bishop Nickless. "They are a blessing because there is no other proven way to pass on the Catholic faith. It is the primary way that the faith can be shared in a substantial, full way."

He acknowledged that it is becoming harder all of the time for parents to pay the tuition which is set to meet the necessary expenses.

"The biggest challenge for all of us in the diocese concerning Catholic schools is to continue to do the same thing but in a different way and to look for new ways to provide the great benefit of Catholic education," said Bishop Nickless.

Unlike years ago, there is no longer an abundance of women religious to serve in the schools. He noted that there are very competent and gifted lay teachers, but it costs more to pay them.

A challenge for the Office of Education will be to look at the shifts in population and determine how best to use available resources.

"Unfortunately that may mean that a school with low enrollment may have to close or merge with another school. That is a horrible thing to think about but we would only do it as a last resort and for the very best of reasons," said the bishop, who added that the same could be said of parishes. "It may take us years to work through and try to sort out."

He stressed that he never wants the Catholic curriculum to be diluted in any way as a means to draw non-Catholic students.

"We will not dilute the message to attract students. The Catholic faith is primary, otherwise there is fine education in public schools. We can add another dimension, the Catholic values," said Bishop Nickless.

Despite challenges, the bishop views the Catholic schools as a great gift to the diocese.