Virginia Evers, the creator of Precious Feet" died just 2 months shy of her 100th Birthday. Mrs. Evers died in Chandler, AZ, July 17th. "She spread the pro-life message until her last breath," said her daughter, Dinah Monahan.
Virginia, a devout Catholic, and her husband, Ellis, founded heritage House 76, a company that distributed patriotic jewelry and materials, and were involved in pro-life efforts.
When Mrs. Evers saw Dr. Sacco's photo (it was the 1st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, when Virginia Evers opened the San Diego Union to find a full-page ad showing a photo of a man's fingers grasping the tiny, perfectly formed feet of a baby aborted at 10 weeks. The photo was taken 4 years earlier by a young physician in Oregon, Dr. Russell Sacco, whose colleague had shown him the remains of aborted babies).
'The picutre haunted me," Virginia Evers recalled later in explaining what let her to create the Precious Feet pin that became the international symbol of the pro-life movement. When Mrs. Evers saw Dr. Sacco's photo she was moved to create a lapel pin of those feet. Through Heritage House, tens of millions of Precious Feet have been distributed around the world, becoming the international symbol of the pro-life movement.
In the late 1980s, Fr. Frank Pavone was a priest at St. Charles Church in Staten Island, and Janet Morana was one of his parishioners, they began ordering the Precious Fee for all their pro-life events.
Fr. Pavone became national director of Priests for Life in 1993. Fr. Pavone became a very good customer of Heritage House and met the Evers and Monahans then. Heritage house created various versions of the Precious Fee pin, including one with pink and blue ribbons, an idea Janet developed at St. Charles.
Brandon Monahan runs Heritage House. The precious feet are still available but Mrs. Monahan worries that younger generations of pro-lifers haven't fully grasped the importance of this heartbreaking and tangible reminder of the humanity of abortion victims.
"The Precious Feet are due for a resurgence," she said.
To order Precious Feet go to Heritge house at www.HH76.org.
The information was taken from "Priests For Life" Newsletter, September 2020, Vol. 30 Number 5. The newsletter and other pro-life information and inspiration is available by email. Subscribe free of charge at subscribe@priestsforlife.org.
For more information visit website www.priestsforlife.org.
Jean Woods has joined the Catholic Charities of North Louisiana Shreveport as their new Case Manager.
Jean has been in social work since she started at St. Vincent de Paul disaster services. She worked as a Case manager and then was promoted to Office Manager assisting people throughout Shreveport, Bossier, Natchitoches, and Monroe. Their mission assisted with damages to homes due to the flood of 2016, food, clothing, utilities, and helping others achieve their GED, as well as home visits for the elderly and physically challenged. In 2019, when the program closed, she participated in several volunteer projects at Sacred Heart of Jesus CatholicChurch. She worked on the Parish Directory, Catholic Black History Program, and the St. Vincent de Paul conference.
Jean is working to assist clients in achieving financial stability. She is also responsible for interviewing clients for emergency assistance and teaching Money School financial management classes for Catholic Charities of North Louisiana. Her mother instilled in her to "Be happy, make a difference, and always remember to help someone along the way."
Look for Jean in the Catholic Connection.
Fr. Francis becomes a United States Citizen, June 12, 2020.. We are very happy to have you as a new American. Congratulations on your new citizenship.
Raney was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon through the imposition of hand and the invocation of the Holy Spirit by his excellency Most Reverend Francis I. Malone, Bishop of Shreveport on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. in the morning at St. Mary of the Pines Catholic Church, 1050 Bert Kouns Industrial Loop, Shreveport, LA 71118.
PLEASE READ THESE TWO THANK YOU NOTES FROM RANEY AND FROM HIS MOM BONNIE:
TO: Black History Committee of Sacred Heart &
Parishioners
FROM: Deacon Raney Johnson
I want to thank you all for honoring me at the Black History Celebration at your church on February 9th. I was humbled by the entire experience. The kindness that you all showed me will forever be remembered in my heart. Please extend my thanks to all of the parishioners who go to Sacred Heart. I also want to thank the children’s choir. They did an amazing job. I especially want to thank all of you, the members of this great committee, for inviting me to attend and putting on an excellent program. I have shared with many here at the seminary how impressed I was with everything.
I encourage you all to please do the program again next year. However, this time there will be no need to honor me, a simple invitation will work. I would even love to help you all plan it.
Again, I want to express my deepest gratitude. There is no way that I can return sufficient thanks for all the generosity you all showed to me. Thank you for your material, financial, and spiritual gifts that you gave to me. You all will be in my daily prayers. Please continue to pray for me.
In Christ through Mary,
Raney Johnson
TO: Fr. Mike, Deacon Nash and & All
Committee Members
FROM: Bonnie Johnson
So many ways to do the job, To earn the Priase . . . .
To play the role,
To be the rock,
To share the care
To walk the Talk . . . .
To take the time
To know what’s BEST. . . . . .
And shows the LOVE,
With a Shining Light!
Thank you!, Thank you!, Thank you!
Thanks so much, to the “Little Church with the BIG HEART.”
Love, Bonnie Johnson