Courtesy of the Texas Catholic Herald
Fr. Norbert Maduzia of St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring, Texas, greeted Pope Francis at the Vatican on Feb. 6, 2018, while on pilgrimage.
Fr. Maduzia, whose parish saw at least six feet of water during Hurricane Harvey, presented the pontiff a pen carved out of warped wood from the flooded parish, an ornament made by a St. Ignatius parishioner inscribed with a passage from Isaiah: “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you,” and a Houston Astros baseball cap. The Spring parish previously planned a pilgrimage to Rome, but it was postponed due to Harvey’s record-breaking rainfall that catastrophically damaged the church grounds
Fr. Maduzia and Fr. James Burkart of Christ the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Houston also concelebrated Mass with Pope Francis on Feb. 6, 2018.