What's Happening in Cougar Country

Distributing Holy Communion to fellow worshipers.

Carrying someone’s loved one to their final resting place.

Over the past few months, Lake Catholic students have taken on these responsibilities through two ministries rooted in faith and care for others.

“So often we hear people say that our teens are the future of the Church, but they are part of the Church now, so it is wonderful to see our students stepping up to begin what I hope is a call to lifelong service in and for the Church,” said Lake Catholic Chaplain Fr. Ian Kelly.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

During the annual Red and Blue Mass on September 11, six seniors and four juniors were commissioned as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.

An Extraordinary Minister is any layperson in the Church who is authorized to assist with the distribution of the Eucharist. Each minister must have received the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation. They also must go through training before they can be commissioned.

“The training is more than just what to do, although that is important – what to do if the host drops, or you spill the wine,” said Lake Catholic Director of Mission and Formation Sarah Knapp. “But one of the biggest things for our students to understand is why it’s important what they’re doing.”

The students completed diocesan training in May and now help distribute Holy Communion during all school Masses.

Those commissioned were seniors Olivia Daher, Mady Little, Ava Passerell, Ella Raddell, Matthew Ridler, and Jasmenja Urh, and juniors Olivia Gresko, Ava Iannini, Haven Kinsley, and Ashlyn Travers.

“I wanted to be more involved in our school Masses and more present at my parish,” said Raddell, who attends both St. Mary of the Assumption and Ss. Robert & William.

Nine of the ten Extraordinary Ministers had already been involved in the all-school Masses, either as Liturgical Ministers (planning the Masses, doing the readings, etc.) or as Music Ministers (part of the choir). But now their experience at Mass has expanded even further.

“As with any call to service, being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion takes us out of ourselves and calls us to live for others,” Fr. Kelly said. “It also makes us focus on what we are doing within the Mass.”

Frassati Society

At the most recent all-school Mass on November 2, six seniors and one junior were commissioned into the newly formed Frassati Society.

The Frassati Society allows students to offer compassion and dignity to those who have died and support to the families who mourn them. Through their service as pallbearers at funerals, members carry out the Corporal Work of Mercy of burying the dead. Their presence offers a quiet expression of faith and care by accompanying others during a difficult moment and honoring the life of someone they may never have known.

This past summer, a few parishes reached out to Service Coordinator and Theology Teacher Beth Paskey looking for students who could serve as pallbearers. With the help of Principal Tom McKrill (’07), the school was able to provide students to help.

And now, just a few months later, the Frassati Society was formed and has students who are ready when called upon.

“The commissioning of this Society was a celebration of what these students are doing,” Knapp said. “We, as a community, are sending out these students to represent our school.”

Those who were commissioned are seniors Mary Thacker, Connor Brugh, Peter DiCello, Dylan Knapp, Carter Matejka, and Xander Sederholm, and junior Sarah Thacker.

“To me, service means recognizing when someone needs you and being willing to step up,” DiCello said. “You don’t always have to do something big to make a difference in someone’s life.”

The Society is named after St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, the patron saint of youth, young adults, and students. He devoted much of his life to helping people living in poverty. He visited families and cared for the sick. He died when he was just 24 years old. He was canonized in 2025.

This Society revives the work of Lake Catholic’s former Nicodemus Pallbearer Ministry.

“One of our Corporal Works of Mercy is to bury the dead, and our students are actively engaging in that call,” Fr. Kelly said.

“Like all service, it is a call out of oneself and an opportunity to show others that we don’t just read the ‘Exit to Serve’ sign, but that we live by it.”