Five Ave authors were honored for excellence in publishing by the Association of Catholic Publishers.
Fr. Joe Laramie, SJ, took second place in the spirituality category for Love Him Ever More. Marcia Lane-McGee and Shannon Wimp Schmidt won third place in the same category for
Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s.
Christine Valters Paintner earned a third-place award in the inspirational category for her book Birthing the Holy.
Leonard J. DeLorenzo won third place in theology for Our Faithful Departed.
You can view all of the winners on the ACP website.
All four books also earned awards from the Catholic Media Association.
Ave Maria Press designers and authors earned thirteen awards from the Catholic Media Association on Friday, June 9, 2023, at the annual Catholic Media Conference in Baltimore.
Timothy P. O’Malley won first place in the future church category for his book Becoming Eucharistic People. Judges said, “Apropos to the concern the Church has with respect to an understanding of the Eucharist, O’Malley offers a deep appreciation of what the Eucharist means personally and communally and how it truly is the 'source and summit' for the Christian life in the world.”
Gregory Smith earned first runner-up for videographer/video producer of the year for his work on the seasonal multimedia projects Behold and Restore.
Restore also earned a third-place for best multimedia package—seasonal issue. Contributors included: Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, author; Valerie Delgado, illustrator; Gregory Smith, video production; Brianna Dombo, designer; Kate Coates, campaign graphics; Katie Prejean McGrady, Ave Explores: Lent; and Erin Pierce, parish resources and project manager.
Behold earned an honorable mention in the same category. Josiah Henley was the illustrator on the multimedia team.
Behold and Restore also earned honorable mentions in the healing and self-help category.
Other winners include:
Fr. Christopher S. Collins, SJ, Habits of Freedom, second place in the classical spirituality;
Vinita Hampton Wright, Set the World on Fire, honorable mention, classical spirituality;
Fr. Joe Laramie, SJ, Love Him Ever More, honorable mention, classical spirituality;
Christine Valters Paintner, Birthing the Holy, third place, contemporary spirituality;
Kevin Schmiesing, A Catholic Pilgrimage Through American History, third place, pilgrimages/Catholic travel;
Leonard J. DeLorenzo, Our Faithful Departed, third place, grief and bereavement;
Brianna Dombo, designer, Living the Word Catholic Women’s Bible, honorable mention for design and production; and
Shannon Wimp Schmidt and Marcia Lane-McGee, Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s, honorable mention, inclusion in the Church.
The complete list of winners is available on the Catholic Media Association website.
Eight Ave Maria Press authors are finalists in eight categories as part of the 2023 Excellence in Publishing Awards from the Association of Catholic Publishers.
The finalists are:
• Our Lady of Hot Messes, Leticia Ochoa Adams, biography
• One Church, Charles Camosy, general interest
• Birthing the Holy, Christine Valters Paintner, inspirational
• The Way of Beatitude, Fr. Casey Cole, OFM, inspirational
• Fat Luther, Slim Pickin’s, Marcia Lane-McGee and Shannon Wimp Schmidt, spirituality
• Love Him Ever More, Fr. Joe Laramie, SJ, spirituality
• Habits of Freedom, Fr. Christopher S. Collins, SJ, spirituality
• Our Faithful Departed, Leonard J. DeLorenzo, theology
First-, second-, and third-place winners in each category will be announced in June. A resource of the year will be selected from among the first-place winners in sixteen categories.
Read more about all of the finalists on the ACP website.
Fr. Patrick Neary, CSC, has been appointed by Pope Francis as bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud. Fr. Neary’s episcopal ordination and installation will be February 14.
"No one is more surprised than I am to be asked to serve as bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud," Neary said. "Yet I have always trusted that Christ has guided me through every stage of my life as a priest. I so look forward to meeting everyone who is a part of this diocese, my new family. I especially ask God to help me build on the legacy of Bishop Kettler and all the clergy and personnel who serve in the diocese with zeal and devotion."
Neary is the oldest of six children of Jacob and Marybelle Neary of LaPorte, Indiana. He attended the University of Notre Dame as an undergraduate seminarian with the Congregation of Holy Cross, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1985. Neary entered the Holy Cross novitiate the following August in Cascade, Colorado. He received his master of divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, in 1990 and took final vows that September. Neary was ordained to the priesthood on April 6, 1991.
Neary has served in a variety of ministries with Holy Cross, including associate pastor at St. John Vianney Parish, Goodyear, Arizona; assistant vocations director for campus ministry at the University of Notre Dame; formation staff member and rector at Moreau Seminary at Notre Dame; and pastor of Holy Redeemer Church in Portland, Oregon. He also served the congregation in Africa as rector of the McCauley House of Formation in Nairobi, Kenya, and district superior of East Africa.
"Fr. Pat is a highly respected and deeply faithful priest and pastor," adds Rev. William M. Lies, CSC, provincial superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross, U.S. Province of Priests and Brothers. "His leadership at our seminary at Notre Dame, as well as in our District of East Africa when he was superior, was exemplary. I could not be happier for Fr. Pat and the Diocese of St. Cloud, my home diocese. It is all a blessing! We will pray for Fr. Pat as he prepares to take on this important role as shepherd of the good people of the St. Cloud Diocese."
Fr. David E. Schlaver, CSC
December 5, 1942–December 10, 2022
NOTRE DAME, Ind.—Fr. David E. Schlaver, CSC, 80—former editor and publisher of Ave Maria Press—died on December 10, 2022, at Holy Cross House.
He was born on December 5, 1942, in Kewanee, Illinois, the oldest of three children of Clarence and Elizabeth (Cronau) Schlaver. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Niles, Illinois, in 1960. In 1966, Schlaver graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, where he heard God’s call to the priesthood. He entered the Congregation of Holy Cross' Sacred Heart Novitiate in Jordan, Minnesota, on August 15, 1963; professed final vows on April 9, 1969; and was ordained a priest on December 18, 1971. Schlaver earned a master's degree in theology from Notre Dame in 1969 and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Michigan in 1979.
Schlaver served as editor and publisher at Ave Maria Press for ten years, from 1984 to 1994. His other ministries included stints in Notre Dame; St. Michael Community in St. Louis, Missouri; Casa Santa Cruz in Phoenix, Arizona; Holy Cross Mission Center; parish ministry in Saco, Maine; and Bangladesh. He moved to Holy Cross House in 2022.
Schlaver is survived by his brother, Paul J., his sister, Marcia L. Steffens, and his many nieces and nephews.
The funeral Mass will be at 9:30 a.m. EST on December 16, 2022, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame. The service will be live-streamed at https://livestream.holycrossusa.org. Burial will be in the Holy Cross community cemetery at Notre Dame. Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, Indiana, is in charge of the arrangements.
In his general audience on October 5, 2022, Pope Francis quoted from the Ave Maria Press book Weeds Among the Wheat by Thomas H. Green, SJ.
The Holy Father was discussing self-knowledge, part of an ongoing series on discernment. He said:
“Underlying spiritual doubts and vocational crises, there is — not infrequently — insufficient dialogue between religious life and our human, cognitive and affective dimension. A writer on spirituality noted how many difficulties on the theme of discernment are indicative of problems of another kind, that should be recognized and explored. This author writes: ‘I have come to the conviction that the greatest obstacle to true discernment (and to real growth in prayer) is not the intangible nature of God, but the fact that we do not know ourselves sufficiently, and do not even want to know ourselves as we really are. Almost all of us hide behind a mask, not only in front of others, but also when we look in the mirror’ (cf. Thomas H. Green, Weeds Among the Wheat, 1984). We all have the temptation to wear a mask, even in front of ourselves.”
In the book, Green—who died in 2009—engages discernment with both wisdom and common sense, showing that it is a function of an individual’s personal relationship with God.
Green was an internationally recognized teacher, spiritual director, and author, best known for his classic works on prayer. Four of his books are still in print from Ave Maria Press.
To read the entire catechesis from Pope Francis or to watch the video, see the Vatican’s website.
PHOENIX—Most Rev. John P. Dolan was installed as bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix on August 2, 2022.
Dolan previously served as auxiliary bishop of San Diego. He is the coauthor of When a Loved One Dies by Suicide and Responding to Suicide.
In a letter read during Dolan's installation, Pope Francis wrote, "The transition from the oceanfront diocese you have known to a desert diocese will be a challenging one. But Christ, who taught and worked miracles on both the water and in the desert, will be with you and will surely give you the needed strength for the great mission ahead of you."
Ave Maria Press designers and authors earned thirty one awards—including eight first-place honors—from the Catholic Media Association.
First-Place Honors:
Real Presence: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter? by Timothy P. O’Malley, McGrath Institute for Church Life, for the popular presentation of the faith category
Adore: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation by Fr. John Burns and illustrated by Valerie Delgado for classical spirituality and best cover artwork by designer Brianna Dombo
Awaken My Heart Prayer Journal for design and production by designer Brianna Dombo
A Deacon Prays: Prayers and Devotions for Liturgy and Life by Deacon Greg Kandra in collections of prayers
Finding Sanctuary: How the Wild Work of Peace Restored the Heart of a Sandy Hook Mother by Jennifer Hubbard in memoir
St. Dymphna’s Playbook: A Catholic Guide to Finding Mental and Emotional Well-Being by Tommy Tighe in the healing and self-help category, also won ACP honors earlier this year
Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Said, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church by Fr. Blake Britton for first-time author of a book
Ave swept the following two categories:
Presentation of the Catholic Faith:
Real Presence: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter? by Timothy P. O’Malley, McGrath Institute for Church Life, earned first place.
Reclaiming Vatican II: What It (Really) Said, What It Means, and How It Calls Us to Renew the Church by Fr. Blake Britton won second place.
What to Say and How to Say It: More Ways to Discuss Your Faith with Clarity and Confidence, vol. 2, by Brandon Vogt took third place.
Healing and Self-Help:
St. Dymphna’s Playbook: A Catholic Guide to Finding Mental and Emotional Well-Being by Tommy Tighe earned first place.
Give Up Worry for Good! 8 Weeks to Hopeful Living and Lasting Peace by Gary Zimak won second place.
Be Restored: Healing Our Sexual Wounds through Jesus’ Merciful Love by Bob Schuchts took third place.
Ave Explores won second place for Best Podcast, Expression of Faith, and host Katie Prejean McGrady took third runner-up for Podcaster of the Year. The judges said Ave Explores has “excellent production value, deep subject matter, and a conversational and highly engaging format. A podcast others can aspire to.”
Other winners include the following:
Return to the Root: Reflections on the Inner Life by Joyce Rupp earned third place for contemporary spirituality.
Just Rest: Receiving God’s Renewing Presence in the Deserts of Your Life by Sonja Corbitt earned second place for popular scripture studies.
Real Presence: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter? by Timothy P. O’Malley, McGrath Institute for Church Life, earned second place for pastoral ministry catechetical resource.
#Rules_of_Engagement: 8 Christian Habits for Being Good and Doing Good Online by Ann M. Garrido earned third place in the professional church category.
Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy by Mary Pezzulo won second place in Catholic social teaching.
The Ave Prayer Book for Catholic Mothers, edited by Heidi Hess Saxton, won third place for collection of prayers, and Called by Name: 365 Daily Devotions for Catholic Women, edited by Kelly M. Wahlquist, Alyssa Bormes, and Allison Gingras, won honorable mention in the same category.
Give Up Worry for Lent! 40 Days to Finding Peace in Christ by Gary Zimak earned third place for backlist beauty.
Finding Sanctuary: How the Wild Work of Peace Restored the Heart of a Sandy Hook Mother by Jennifer Hubbard earned second place in best cover artwork designed by Brianna Dombo and third place for first-time author of a book.
Awakening at Lourdes: How an Unanswered Prayer Healed Our Family and Restored Our Faith by Christy Wilkens won third place in the memoir category.
The Engaging Catholicism Series from the McGrath Institute for Church Life won third place for best new religious book series.
Seriously, God? Making Sense of Life Not Making Sense by Michael White and Tom Corcoran won third place in grief and bereavement.
Our Not-Quite-Holy Family won second place for family life and took the first-place award from the Association of Catholic Publishers last month.
Tenderness: A Gay Christian’s Guide to Unlearning Rejection and Experiencing God’s Extravagant Love by Eve Tushnet won second place in gender issues, inclusion to the Church.
The Old Testament [Third Edition] Our Call to Faith and Justice earned honorable mention in design and production by designer Andy Wagoner, and Adore: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation earned second place in the same category by designer Brianna Dombo.
