A September Photo Review

The first three weeks of September have been full of local Catholic news, so I thought it would be fun to take a quick look at some photo highlights (all photos were taken by me unless marked otherwise):

(Photo by Joe O'Brien, Catholic Times Correspondent)

Flood Relief: This is one of the photos that went with Joe's Sept. 6 story on flood relief in Gays Mills, the hardest hit town on the Wisconsin side. A good portion of the town was still under water when Joe was on the scene to interview affected families.

Monsignor Edwin Knauf: He turned 100 years old on Sept. 9. The oldest diocesan priest in the whole state of Wisconsin, Monisgnor Knauf was ordained a priest the year Pope Benedict was a six year old boy. He was featured on the Back Pew page of our current edition after I spent a day with him at his River Falls apartment.

Wirkus Family: The Wirkus family, which farms near Edgar, won this year's Strangers and Guests Award, given annually to a Catholic farming family. I spent last Saturday hanging out on their farm. They are also highlighted in this week's paper. They will receive their award at the Rural Life Day conference next Wednesday, at Holy Rosary Parish in Lima, Wis.

Chimney Destruction: The Holy Cross Center, which hosts the diocesan offices in La Crosse, such as the office of yours truly, was originally built for a coal-fired furnace, and thus had a tall chimney. That chimney has become dangerous, and went through a "lowering" last week.

Father Lee donation: I took this photo this summer actually, but it's just now entered the public domain that Father Henry Lee, a retired priest of the La Crosse Diocese, has donated $1 million to the same diocese with no strings attached. The gift really is a generous one, and certainly substantial and needed!