Notre Dame, Ind.To mark theSolemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows on Sept. 15, Rev. Thomas O’Hara, C.S.C., provincial superior of the United States Province of Priests and Brothers, has named six recipients for the 2014 Spirit of Holy Cross Award.
The award, named forOur Lady of Sorrows, the patroness of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is given annually to lay collaborators who faithfully serve the Province in the United States and abroad. The Spirit of Holy Cross Award recognizes lay collaborators who devotedly work to makeBlessed Basil Moreau’svision and mission to “make God known, loved, and served” a reality at the Congregation’s education, parish and mission apostolates.
Fr. O’Hara said he is thankful for the Province’s lay partners who work with Holy Cross religious daily to advance the Congregation’s mission throughout the world. “On our Congregation’s feast day the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows we thank our lay collaborators who are living examples of stewardship to the Word of God and the embodiment of Our Lady’s love for all her children,” Fr. O’Hara said. “This year’s Spirit of Holy Cross recipients live their vocation through their work with Holy Cross. May God continue to bless them as they give of their time and talents.”
The 2014 recipients are:
- Melanie Chapleau,assistant to Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C.,University of Notre Dame
- Lori Gorny,office and payroll manager,Provincial Administration Office (Notre Dame, Ind.)
- Patti Schlarb,seamstress at theBasilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame
- Gary Malecha,professor of political science,University of Portland(Ore.)
- Edwin J. and Lea M. Zorn,parishioners,Sacred Heart Parish (Tri-Community Parish),Colorado Springs, Colo.
Honorees’ biographical information:
Melanie Chapleauhas been employed by the University of Notre Dame for 37 years and has been the assistant to Fr. Hesburgh since 1987. “During that time she has been responsible for handling the many demands associated with running his officewhether scheduling meetings with everyone from presidents to freshman students, arranging travel, keeping papers and accommodating the numerous personal requests that come to Fr. Ted’s office,” said Rev. James King, C.S.C., who nominated Melanie for the award on behalf of the Holy Cross Community at Notre Dame.”Beyond being extremely efficient in juggling many demands and constituencies, her personal devotion to Fr. Ted has been extraordinary and she is known throughout the University for her gracefulness and tact to the many people with whom she interacts.”
A South Bend native and lifelong resident, Melanie is a graduate of St. Joseph High School and has attended Holy Cross parishes throughout her life. She is a member of the Christ Child Society and is the mother of three, including two Notre Dame graduates and grandmother of eight, with one of those currently a senior at the University.
Lori Gornybegan her career with the Congregation of Holy Cross in September 1984 as a clerk with the Holy Cross Association. Over the years, she worked as a library assistant, bookkeeper, clerical assistant, administrative assistant, andpayroll/office manager, the position she has held since 2003. Lori is a member of Little Flower Catholic Church in South Bend, where she taught second grade religion class for six years and also assisted with the middle school youth group. She is a graduate of St. Joseph High School. Lori and her husband, Bob, own a local small business and have two children, Alex and Meghan. Lori received a 30-year service award from the Congregation this year.
Lori was nominated for the award by Provincial Administration because of her many years of service and vast knowledge of Holy Cross. “Lori is an amazing and generous individual whom Holy Cross religious seek out when they need a quick response on something that may range from some historical tidbit that she remembers well, orsome other need they have at the moment,” said Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C., one of the assistant provincials.
Patti Schlarbhas been making vestments for the Congregation at the Basilica for 17 years. She had worked in the interior design business for about 20 years before working at the Basilica, but she has been sewing for almost 45 years. A native of South Bend, she is a member of Sacred Heart Parish at Notre Dame, which is located very closeto where she spends her days each week.Patti was nominated by several different houses in the Notre Dame area, which indicates how respected and appreciated she is by the priests and brothers she assists in the course of a given year.
Rev. Peter Rocca, C.S.C., rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, has worked with Patti since she came to Notre Dame.”We are so blessed to have Patti on our staff,” he said. “Patti can literally provide almost anything we need in the Basilica from vestments and banners to altar paraments and mitres for bishops. She has become our ‘go to person’ for measuring priests and brothers for the habit, as well as cords for the cassocks and cording our profession crosses for the seminarians and our medals of St. Joseph for the brothers. Her work literally goes all over the world where Holy Cross exists. She is so deserving of the Spirit of Holy Cross Award.”
Gary Malechais a professor of political science at the University of Portland, where he has served as chairman of the Department of Political Science since 2000. He earned a bachelor’s of political science,Magna Cum Laude, from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. (1976); a master’s of science in political science from Notre Dame (1978); and a doctorate in political science from Notre Dame (1987). Gary also has served as a lecturer, teaching assistant and assistant or associate professor at Purdue University North Central; Indiana University South Bend; Notre Dame; University of Northern Iowa; California Polytechnic State University; Trinity College; and Weber College. He has been married to Linda Gammill, Ph.D., for 27 years.
Gary was nominated by Rev. Jeffrey Allison, C.S.C., on behalf of the Holy Cross Community at the University of Portland. Fr. Allison said Gary is supportive of the mission of Holy Cross and is deeply committed to students at the University. “He is highly regarded by the faculty and students here,” Fr. Allison said, noting that Gary won the Becky Houck Award for Excellence in Advising and the James Culligan Award, the highest award a UP faculty member can receive. “In many ways, Gary embodies the Spirit of Holy Cross. His concern for educating the whole person is evident in his genuine concern for his students both in and out of the classroom.”
Edwin J. Zorn and Lea M. Zornhave been married for 62 years and parishioners at Sacred Heart Church for 50 years. They raised six children in the parish and started coaching boys’ and girls’ sports when they first arrived. They were the only two employees at the parish when Holy Cross arrived at Sacred Heart in 1984. They were involved in keeping the parish running in the transition from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The couple welcomed Rev. LeRoy Clementich, C.S.C. and Rev. Ron Raab, C.S.C., in June of 1984.They took a “sabbatical” from Sacred Heart for several years, moving to St. Michaels, Ariz., where Lea taught high school at St. Michael Indian School and Ed was in charge of maintenance. Thirty years after the Congregation of Holy Cross arrived at Sacred Heart, Ed and Lea are still actively involved. They unlock the church doors every day for morning prayer and Mass and serve as sacristans. They are servers for all the funerals at Sacred Heart, about 50 a year. They both serve as Eucharistic ministers and lectors for weekday and weekend Masses. Lea still keeps a journal of all their activities in the parish after all these years. “Lea and Ed have inspired and supported many Holy Cross priests, novices and deacons in the parish community by their sense of humor and profound faith,” said Fr. Raab.The Zorns were nominated for the Spirit of Holy Cross Award by Fr. Raab on behalf of Tri-Community Parish.
Honorees will be recognized in their local communities by the Holy Cross ministry for which they work during the month of January as part of the celebrations of Blessed Moreau’s life(Father Moreau died on January 20, 1873 in Le Mans, France). At that time, they will receive a proclamation of gratitude signed by Provincial Superior Fr. Tom O’Hara on behalf of the entire U.S. Province.
More about Holy Cross
The Congregation of Holy Cross was founded in 1837 by Rev. Basil Moreau, C.S.C. and has served the Catholic Church for more than 175 years. Today there are approximately 1,200 Holy Cross religious working to educate both the hearts and minds of believers of Jesus Christ in 16 countries and on five continents.
The United States Province of Priests and Brothers is a community made up of approximately 500 priests, brothers, and seminarians and is headquartered in Notre Dame, Ind. The United States Province fulfills Blessed Moreau’s vision in its education, parish and mission settings around the world.
Education
The priests and brothers are educators in the faith at the Province’sfour colleges and universities: the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.,1842), University of Portland (Portland, Ore., 1901), King’s College (Wilkes-Barre, Pa,1946.), and Stonehill College (Easton, Mass., 1948).
Parish
There are 13 parishes in the United States, from Vermont to Texas to Oregon to Florida, as well as 10 abroad.
Mission
The Province’s ministries/apostolates includesAndre House (Phoenix), which serves the homeless and working poor, and Saint Andre Bessette Catholic Church (Portland, Ore.), a parish which also provides a soup kitchen and other services to the marginalized.Ave Maria Press in Notre Dame, Ind., is one of the oldest Catholic publishing houses. Holy Cross Family Ministries in North Easton, Mass., encompassing Family Theater Productions, Family Rosary and Father Peyton Family Institute,promotes the power of the Rosary and the spiritual well-being of the family.Holy Cross Retreat House, also in North Easton, is a retreat facility run by Holy Cross religious and lay staff.
The Province’sinternational missionwork reaches into Districts of Chile, East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania), and Peru, as well as the region of Mexico.Globally, the U.S. Province’sHoly Cross Mission Centersupports the international mission work of the worldwide efforts of the Congregation of Holy Cross, spanning 16 countries on five continents. But it also directly supports those international locations for which the U.S. Province has direct jurisdiction, and those countries with which the U.S. Province has a special relationship.
To learn more about Holy Cross, visitwww.holycrossusa.org.
To learn more about discerning a call to religious life in Holy Cross, please visitwww.holycrossvocations.org.
