by John Sorce
john.sorce@theleaven.org
WILLIAMSBURG — As Archbishop Shawn McKnight toured Prairie Star Ranch here on July 26, he could not have expected what was waiting for him at the top of a hill.
A bobwhite quail — a central feature in the archbishop’s coat of arms and his favorite type of bird to hunt — was perched on the grass in the open field past the line of trees.
Quail are considered a symbol of God’s providential blessing and an Old Testament symbol of the Eucharist, as the Lord provided for his people in the desert with manna in the morning and quail in the evening.
“That was awesome just to see it right out there in the open,” said the archbishop. “I always like providential signs, and that certainly was a good sign for me.”
It was Archbishop McKnight’s first visit to the ranch, and he was impressed with what he saw.
“Very impressive grounds and facilities,” he said. “I was very happy to see things in very good condition.
“We have a very nice facility not only for our youth, but for anybody who needs to come out and have a retreat or a place to get away — even our priests.”
Archbishop McKnight arrived at the ranch late in the afternoon and began his visit by walking around the facility’s main building with Deacon Dana Nearmyer, his wife Deborah and ranch director Gregory Wellnitz.
He was then treated to dinner alongside Father Luke Doyle, who was being honored with the Echo of Kateri Award that evening.
A golf cart ride gave him a final look around the rest of the facility grounds before the archbishop began preparations for Mass.
“Everything was planned out well,” Archbishop McKnight said. “There is obviously a good staff here, which gives me a lot of confidence that we’ve got a lot of good programming going on here for our youth.”
The occasion also marked the final day of the High School Extreme session of Camp Tekakwitha, with Archbishop McKnight celebrating the traditional closing Mass for the campers in the evening.
His message to the students in his homily was to return home with a new perspective, and to stay strong in following the Lord and in prayer.
“My prayer for you is that you will go back to your regular lives with a different perspective — perhaps a different motive and perhaps with better clarity — because God desires to be among us,” he said.
“There’s plenty of chances to be kind and charitable,” he added. “That’s what it means to be a follower of the Lord. That’s what it means to be a person of prayer.”
For Archbishop McKnight, the experience was a fresh one in the sense that many dioceses do not have this kind of space.
“This is not very common,” he said. “The fact that we’ve been able to find a way to meet the need to evangelize our youth and for them to come back year after year testifies to the importance of the church providing a way for them to connect to their faith, to God and the rest of the church in a different way than they might experience in their own parish.”
“My hope would be that when they come here,” he continued, “they learn more about God and how to pray more deeply and are able to take that back with them to their school, their parish and their families.”
As he goes forward as the shepherd of Catholics here in the archdiocese, Archbishop McKnight expressed his gratitude for the people that laid the foundation to make Prairie Star Ranch what it is today.
“I am grateful for all of those who made [a] sacrifice for us to have this facility for our mission as a church in the archdiocese,” he said. “For the benefactors and those who did all the planning, I’m sure a lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into this place.
“To all those people who have made a sacrifice, I am very grateful.”
Echo of Kateri Award winners
Paul and Mary Thompson
Paul and Mary Thompson have been members of Church of the Nativity in Leawood for 32 years and have been volunteering in various capacities for their parish, archdiocese and other local Catholic organizations.
“We’re certainly humbled and very appreciative for this award,” said Paul. “But we feel somewhat undeserving because we’re just trying to do our best as being Catholic parents and being part of the Catholic community of Kansas City.”
The couple celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in April and have five grown children and seven grandchildren, all who have attended and served on staff at Camp Tekakwitha.
“Prairie Star was very formative in their faith life, which effects our family life,” said Mary, who also serves on the Prairie Star Ranch advisory board. “We could see it when they returned in how joyful they were and wanting to participate more in church and youth group.”
The couple continues to support the camp as they view the campers each year as the future of the church.
“Father Mike (Hawken, pastor of Nativity) talks about how when you hear kids crying at Mass early in the morning, that’s the future of our church,” Paul said. “And I like to think about these kids that are going down there as the future of our church who will lead by example and help others along in their journey.”
Father Luke Doyle
Father Luke Doyle served as a counselor at Camp Tekakwitha and continues to be a strong advocate of the program. He has been generous in offering camp Masses and staff involvement and has encouraged youth participation in his parish assignments.
He is a National Eucharistic Preacher and is the chaplain and director of St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas.
To be honored with an award named after St. Kateri Tekakwitha hits home for him.
“I studied for the priesthood in St. Louis and Rome and was blessed to be present at the canonization Mass for St. Kateri Tekakwitha,” he said. “It’s been a great privilege to have St. Kateri as a holy helper from heaven as I have tried to discern how Jesus is asking me to serve him with my life.
“Being able to receive an award that honors a saint that is part of my story is a tremendous privilege and gift.”
To view more photos from Archbishop McKnight’s visit to camp and the closing Mass, follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
