In God’s Providence, the Lord has brought many people to plant seeds of faith into the ground upon which we now stand—Michael Portier, Thomas Judge, the Visitation sisters, Harold Purcell, the many Vincentians and the list goes on and on. Now is our time! Consider how God wants to weave you into the next chapter of the rich history of our Native Soil.

In 1624, St. Vincent de Paul started the Congregation of the Mission dedicated to the religious instruction of the poor, the training of the clergy, and foreign missions. This very same mission found its way to our Native Soil in 1896. Fr. Bruce Krause, the pastor of St. Mary’s in Opelika—the first Vincentian mission in our Archdiocese and the last remaining parish still staffed by Vincentian priests—helps us explore the Vincentian roots in our Native Soil.

Father Harold Purcell, the founder of the City of St. Jude, came to Montgomery, Alabama in 1934. His dream was to create a “center for the religious, charitable, educational and industrial advancement of the Negro people.” And amazingly…despite being a Yankee…despite being white…and despite being a Catholic priest, he was able to do just that!

How important is prayer? How powerful is it? How much does it affect us here on our Native Soil? Our first bishop Michael Portier really believed in prayer. So much so, at the onset of his ministry, he worked hard to bring the Visitation Sisters to Mobile—cloistered nuns who would dedicate themselves above all to saturate our Native Soil with prayer.

Did you know that a religious order started right here on our Native Soil? Have you ever heard of Fr. Thomas Judge? If not, now is the time! The Lord called Fr. Judge to come to our Archdiocese and minister to the poor, both spiritually and physically. He discipled the people of our area and empowered them to do the same with his conviction “Every Catholic, An Apostle.”

In his latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis challenged us with these words— “We need to sink our roots deeper into the fertile soil and history of our native place, which is a gift of God” (145).