Each year in Madison, Wisconsin, Edgewood College presents the Mazzuchelli Medallion to individuals who exemplify the spiritual and intellectual resources to empower others. The award’s 26th year coincides with the opening of the Dominican Order’s 800th Jubilee this week. As such, the college chose two Dominicans, Fr. Jim Marchionda, O.P. and Sr. Ann Willits, O.P. as this year’s recipients.

“With this award, we recognize two Dominicans who individually and together, through scripture, music, story, poetry, and a network of worldwide relationships are building a more just and compassionate world,” Maggie Hopkins, O.P., Vice President for Dominican Life and Mission, said.

“Sr. Ann and Fr. Jim’s witness and partnership as preachers and teachers encourages our Edgewood College community to be faithful to our mission to educate students for ethical leadership and service in a lifelong search for truth.”

“We thought, who better to represent the preaching and teaching of the Order than two people that so many of us know personally,” said Hopkins. “It’s an effort to give a nod of recognition, and these are two deserving Dominicans, among many.”

Both Marchionda and Willits are well-known for parish ministries, and have preached together as a team at times for the past 23 years. They were recently profiled in National Catholic Reporter (September 25-October 8, 2015), along with itinerant preachers Fr. Mike Champlin, O.P., Fr. Nick Punch, O.P., and Sr. Joan Bukrey, O.S.F., who serve the United States and Australia out of the Thomas More Center for Preaching and Prayer in Webster, Wisconsin. Dominicans, Sr. Patricia Bruno, O.P. and Fr. Jude Siciliano, O.P. were also highlighted for the variety they bring to preaching by the inclusion of a female voice.

In the NCR article, Fr. Marchionda was quoted, saying, “Just the witness of her being in the sanctuary, for anyone who has eyes to see, it speaks volumes. People come up after the Mass and say how important it is to them.”

“Men and women preach differently,” he added. “Interpreting the Scriptures from both the male and female perspectives gives you a different take on the Scriptures.”

The Mazzuchelli Medallion is given as part of the school’s annual Heritage Celebration, recognizing its many founders, as well as the founder of the Sinsinawa Dominicans, Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P., himself. This year’s award ceremony coincides with Mazzucheilli’s birthday (November 4) in 1806 and the beginning of the Order’s 800th Jubilee (November 7).

Brother Loren Tran will make first profession to the Dominican Order on Sunday, August 9 along with five other classmates.  Brother Loren is the son of Tuan Viet Tran and Thoa Thi Nguyen of Kansas City, MO.  They are members of ­­­­The Vietnamese Martyrs Church in Kansas City.

Loren was very involved with his parish in Kansas City, with Cursillo, and with the Vietnamese Catholics.  He attended Lincoln College Prep, graduating in 2001, and attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he studied science.  This led him to pursue studies in medicine at Michigan State University.  During his studies he concluded that this was not going to fulfill his incredible desire to serve others.

Loren met two Dominicans at Michigan State during a vocations weekend.  In this encounter he saw the direction for his life embedded in an apostolic religious community: the Order of Preachers.

He applied to the Order and was accepted to the novitiate, a one-year time of discernment under the guidance of a novice master.  The emphasis of this year is growth in personal self-awareness and development, and growth in prayer and learning the ways of Dominican community life.   During first profession, these men take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Afterwards, they will append the suffix “O.P” to their name for the Order of Preachers, founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman; the Friars will celebrate the 800^th anniversary of the Order next year (2016).

The six novices making profession will join seventeen other student brothers in St. Louis.  The students live in community at St. Dominic Priory and attend Aquinas Institute of Theology for their theological education as seminarians for the next six years.

The Province of St. Albert the Great consists of 14 Midwestern states, including Missouri.

Click on their names to learn more about the other novices: Pierce Cavanaugh, Ben Keller, Adrian McCaffery, Justin Scapini, and John Steilberg.

Brother John Martin Steilberg will make first Profession to the Dominican Order on Sunday, August 9 along with five other classmates.  Brother John is the son of William (deceased) and Theresa Ann Steilberg of Louisville, KY and the youngest of the siblings.  The Steilbergs are members of St. Agnes Church. Before entering the novitiate John attended St. Louis Bertrand Church in downtown Louisville.

Growing up, Brother John attended Catholic grade and high school before enrolling at Bellarmine University in Louisville, where he graduated with a degree in history. John spent a number of years teaching and coaching and was eventually hired at Ball State University and then at Western Michigan University where he served as assistant athletic director as well as an administrator for the football program.  While serving in this capacity at Ball State he also obtained a MA in Sports Administration.   Before entering the Order, Brother John worked for the PGA of America-Vahlalla Golf Course.

John will say that the intuition of pursuing religious life was in his heart for many years while he was working.  He joined the Dominican Laity while in Michigan, and still the sense of making commitment to the Order as a friar persisted.  He decided he needed to trust the Lord in this calling and applied to the Central Province of Dominicans where he was accepted for the novitiate.

John enters as a Cooperator Brother candidate.  All Dominicans make profession to the Master of the Order, but some as clerical brothers and other as non-ordained Cooperator Brothers.  The “Lay Brothers” have been part of the Order’s history from its very beginnings.  Formerly, most of these Brothers maintained the order of the priory in order to free other brothers for the outward work of evangelizing and preaching.  Today, Cooperator Brothers are active in a wide variety of ministries.

The novitiate is a one-year time of discernment under the guidance of a novice master.  The emphasis of this year is growth in personal self-awareness and development, and growth in prayer and learning the ways of Dominican community life.   During first profession, these men take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Afterwards, they will append the suffix “O.P” to their name for the Order of Preachers, founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman; the Friars will celebrate the 800^th anniversary of the Order next year (2016).

The six novices making profession will join seventeen other student brothers in St. Louis.  The students live in community at St. Dominic Priory and attend Aquinas Institute of Theology for their theological education as seminarians for the next six years.

The Province of St. Albert the Great consists of 14 Midwestern states.

Click on their names to learn more about the other novices: Pierce Cavanaugh, Ben Keller, Adrian McCaffery, Justin Scapini, and Loren Tran.

Brother Justin (nee Matthew) Scapini will make first Profession to the Dominican Order on Sunday, August 9 along with five other classmates.  Brother Justin is the elder son of Dr. Mark and Susan Scapini of Troy, MI.  They are members of St. Hugo of the Hills Church in Troy.

Justin graduated from Troy High School in 2004 and attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he studied history and graduated in 2008.  He discerned his religious vocation for several years before entering the Dominicans as a novice last summer.

Brother Justin speaks about the influence of Sr. Dorothy Ederer, O.P., a Grand Rapids Dominican Sister, who was on the campus ministry staff at St. Mary University Parish.  Part of Brother Justin’s discernment has been to enter a religious order and also in what capacity.  He will be making profession as a Cooperator Brother.

All Dominicans make profession to the Master of the Order, but some as clerical brothers and other as non-ordained Cooperator Brothers.  The “Lay Brothers” have been part of the Order’s history from its very beginnings.  Formerly, most of these Brothers maintained the order of the priory in order to free other brothers for the outward work of evangelizing and preaching.  Today, Cooperator Brothers are teachers, preachers, or administrators.

The novitiate is a one-year time of discernment under the guidance of a novice master.  The emphasis of this year is growth in personal self-awareness and development, and growth in prayer and learning the ways of Dominican community life.   During first profession, these men take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Afterwards, they will append the suffix “O.P” to their name for the Order of Preachers, founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman; the Friars will celebrate the 800^th anniversary of the Order next year (2016).

The six novices making profession will join seventeen other student brothers in St. Louis.  The students live in community at St. Dominic Priory and attend Aquinas Institute of Theology for their theological education as seminarians for the next six years.

The Province of St. Albert the Great consists of 14 Midwestern states, including Michigan.

Click on their names to learn more about the other novices: Pierce Cavanaugh, Ben Keller, Adrian McCaffery, John Steilberg, and Loren Tran.

Brother Adrian (nee Patrick Brandon) McCaffery will make first profession to the Dominican Order on Sunday, August 9 along with five other classmates.  Brother Adrian is the son of Patrick and Cheryl-Lee McCaffery of South Bend, IN.  They are members of St. Matthew Cathedral Church in South Bend.

Adrian graduated from Marian High School in Mishawaka in 2007 and attended Immaculate Heart of Mary minor seminary in Winona, MN from 2007-2011.  Adrian then worked for the Dominican Sisters Home Health Care in Denver and began a graduate program at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. at which time he decided to enter the Dominican Order in the Central Province.

The novitiate is a one-year time of discernment under the guidance of a novice master.  The emphasis of this year is growth in personal self-awareness and development, and growth in prayer and learning the ways of Dominican community life.   During profession, these men take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Afterwards, they will append the suffix “O.P” to their name for the Order of Preachers, founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman; the Friars will celebrate the 800^th anniversary of the Order next year (2016).

The six novices making profession will join seventeen other student brothers in St. Louis.  The students live in community at St. Dominic Priory and attend Aquinas Institute of Theology for their theological education as seminarians for the next six years.

The Province of St. Albert the Great consists of 14 Midwestern states, including Indiana.

Click on their names to learn more about the other novices: Pierce Cavanaugh, Ben Keller, Justin Scapini, John Steilberg, and Loren Tran.

Brother Benjamin Paul Keller will make first Profession to the Dominican Order on Sunday, August 9 along with five other classmates.  Ben is the son of John and Lauren Marie Keller of Andover, MN.   The Kellers are members of St. Stephen Church in Anoka, MN.  Ben graduated from Andover High School in 2009 and attended Minnesota State University-Mankato, studying Mechanical Engineering.  He was a member of the University baseball team during these years.

Ben was invited by a friend to a bible study hosted by FOCUS (Fellowship of College University Students).  He found this so fruitful for his life that he became a small group leader and was active during his college years.  He decided to join FOCUS as a campus missionary upon graduation and served at the University of Mary in Bismark, ND for one year.

The summer of his junior year he did an engineering internship at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  During that summer he met the Dominican friars who staff the University parish of St. Thomas More.  He joined the friars on a number of occasions.  This experience eventually led him to investigate religious life, and more particularly, the Dominicans of the Central Province.  He entered the novitiate in August 2014.

The novitiate is a one-year time of discernment under the guidance of a novice master.  The emphasis of this year is growth in personal self-awareness and development, and growth in prayer and learning the ways of Dominican community life.   Upon making profession, these men can append the suffix “O.P” to their name for the Order of Preachers, founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman.

The six novices making profession will join seventeen other student brothers at St. Dominic Priory in St. Louis.  The students live in community and attend Aquinas Institute of Theology for their theological education as seminarians for the next six years.

The Province of St. Albert the Great consists of 14 Midwestern states, including Minnesota.

Click on their names to learn more about the other novices: Pierce Cavanaugh, Adrian McCaffery, Justin Scapini, John Steilberg, and Loren Tran.

Brother Pierce Cavanaugh IV will make first profession to the Dominican Order in Denver, CO on Sunday, August 9 along with five other classmates.  Pierce is the son of James Pierce III and Marianne Cavanaugh of Indianapolis.  They are members of St. Pius X Church.

Pierce graduated from Bishop Chatard High School in 2010 and attended Indiana University where he graduated in December 2013 with a degree in sports broadcasting.

During Pierce’s years in Bloomington, IN he attended St. Paul Catholic Center, the campus ministry at Indiana University; the Dominican friars staff this Center.  When he started broadcasting women’s volleyball and softball for the Indiana Hoosiers, it seemed like the beginning of the fulfillment of a career dream, but, he says, there was something missing.   A student Dominican intern, Br. Raphael Christianson, O.P. suggested that he visit St. Louis just “to see what the Dominicans are about.”  He did, and it opened his eyes to the joy of a religious vocation; it touched the yearning of his heart.  He pursued this intuition and entered the novitiate in Denver, CO in August 2014.

The novitiate is a one-year time of discernment under the guidance of a novice master.  The emphasis of this year is growth in personal self-awareness and development, and growth in prayer and learning the ways of Dominican community life.  During first profession, men take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Upon making profession, these men can append the suffix “O.P” to their name, joining the Order of Preachers founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman.

The six novices making profession will join seventeen other student brothers in St. Louis.  The students will live at St. Dominic Priory and attend Aquinas Institute of Theology for their theological education as seminarians for the next six years.

The Province of St. Albert the Great consists of 14 Midwestern states, including Indiana.

Click on their names to learn more about the other novices: Ben Keller, Adrian McCaffery, Justin Scapini, John Steilberg, and Loren Tran.