Cathedral group prays for Catholic schools

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK IS JAN. 26-FEB. 1, 2025

In the fall of 2023, the Holy Spirit inspired Susan Torborg to start the Cathedral High School Prayer Group to bring together prayerful Catholic parents and build a foundation of prayer blanketing the Cathedral community.

After meeting with Cathedral’s high school principal, Kathy Crispo, and then with each principal of the Catholic elementary schools in the St. Cloud area, Torborg received permission to start a prayer group at all the schools.

The group at Cathedral meets each week from 8 to 9 a.m. on Thursdays in the adoration chapel. The CHS Prayer Group has grown to 10 to 15 attendees, mostly moms. Besides the CHS Prayer Group, she said the one at All Saint Academy was meeting weekly.

“We pray with the Eucharist exposed,” Torborg said. “Jesus is with us! We choose to be in his presence. Our members have become strongly connected by the Holy Spirit to Christ and with each other. Beautiful, solid holy friendships have blossomed.”

While centered on the Catholic Community Schools, especially Cathedral High School, they also pray for Bishop Patrick Neary, all priests in the diocese, seminarians and all religious. Then they turn their attention to the Catholic Community Schools board members and staff, the new CCS president, principals, teachers, all staff, all alumni, all students — and the senior students at Cathedral by name and families.

“We’ve developed a prayer list of needs as they arose — increased faith, health, everything associated with running a school, for all the schools to be blessed and for Jesus’ true presence within the schools to be focused upon,” she said.

Amanda Achtman talks to high school students in the Holy Angels Auditorium at Cathedral High School Jan 23.

One event they are particularly excited about, which they helped sponsor, is bringing in Amanda Achtman, a human rights speaker from Canada who presented two talks Jan. 22 at St. Andrew Church in Elk River on the upcoming canonization of the Blessed Carlos Acutis and eucharistic adoration. At Cathedral Middle and High Schools on Jan. 23, she again spoke on the witness of Carlos Acutis and led students in eucharistic adoration.

As a young person similar in age to their students, the Blessed Carlos Acutis’ canonization is very important to their prayer group. Acutis, a teen who documented eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions before his death from leukemia, was beatified Oct. 10, 2020, and will be canonized April 27.

The group has witnessed many miracles, answered and unanswered prayers and healings, she said. New leaders have emerged in the CHS Prayer Group — it is now led by Susie Hagen, Joy Brew and others.

Coming soon: Click to listen to a new podcast with Amanda Achtman.

Pictured above: The group prays in the Guardian Angels Chapel at Cathedral High School Jan, 23. (Dianne Towalski / The Central Minnesota Catholic)
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Author: Kristi Anderson

Kristi Anderson is the editor of The Central Minnesota Catholic Magazine for the Diocese of St. Cloud.

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