What it’s like to get to know your bishop on pilgrimage. Ep. 128

It’s not surprising that most Catholics—especially young
Catholics—don’t personally know their bishops. Sure, they might
have put some oil on your forehead at confirmation and made you
worry about what it would do to your acne problem (this is 100
percent hypothetical), but otherwise, you’re busy, and bishops are
in charge of a zillion things and a zillion people. And even if you
get to sit down with them, it’s probably in a formal setting where
everyone is doing their best to look buttoned up. Our guest this
week is Mychael Schilmoeller. She works in pastoral care at St.
Michael’s Church in Prior Lake, Minn., in the Archdiocese of St.
Paul and Minneapolis. She also was part of a delegation of young
adults who accompanied their bishops on their “ad limina” visit to
Rome to meet with Pope Francis. That means she got to spend a lot
of time with her bishops. Like, jet-lagged, layover-in-the-airport
kind of down time. Long Italian dinners kind of time. We talk to
her about what it was like to get to accompany her bishops on this
trip and how this influenced her perspective on the church. Oh, and
we ask her what it was like to get her and her unborn child blessed
by Pope Francis and have the scene posted on His Holiness’s
Instagram. On Signs of the Times, we look at the shifting political
home of abortion in American politics and where that might leave
Catholics. We also talk about how Pope Francis celebrated the first
official Sunday of the Word of God and discuss the tragic death of
Kobe Bryant. This week, we also hit 3,000 members in our Facebook
group for listeners! It’s a place where you can interact with hosts
and the rest of the Jesuitical team, as well as other listeners.
You should check it out if you haven’t yet.    Links from
the Show:  Will pro-life democratic voters be courted in the
2020 primary? So far, it’s not likely. Trump: a ‘profound honor’ to
be the first president to attend March for Life Pope Francis’
Homily for 1st Sunday of the Word of God (Full Text) A
(Complicated) Prayer for Kobe Young adults make ‘deep dive’ into
faith during ‘ad limina’ visit Mychael’s Instagram with Pope
Francis (second photo) Inside the Vatican   What’s on
Tap?  Hot Toddies, to cure the common cold Learn more about
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