Archbishop McGovern shares Lenten wisdom at women’s and men’s gatherings

Archbishop Michael G. McGovern drew upon Scripture, the saints, and witnesses in his own life to inspire about 500 people who attended Lenten Mornings of Recollection on the first two Saturdays of Lent.

The mornings included Mass, refreshments, a talk by Archbishop McGovern, the Stations of the Cross and opportunities for Confession and reflection.

About 330 women attended the Women’s Lenten Morning of Recollection on Feb. 21 at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in Omaha.

On the following Saturday, Feb. 28, about 180 men gathered at St. Wenceslaus Parish in Omaha for the Men’s Lenten Morning of Recollection.

Sarah Bowman, a member of St. Matthew the Evangelist Parish in Bellevue, said she didn’t know much about the archbishop before attending the women’s event. But once she listened to him, she said, “I was blown away.”

What he taught about prayer and Lent was “very down to earth, tangible, applicable, and relatable to everyone,” Bowman said.

An insight the archbishop shared about the Seventh Station of the Cross, “Jesus Falls a Second Time,” was particularly moving for her and her friends. The insight, Archbishop McGovern said, he learned from Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wisconsin.

Bishop Hying points out that many people are good at starting things or finishing them. But, as Archbishop McGovern conveyed, “it’s in the middle in our lives that we really need the strength to get up and keep going.”

That Christlike perseverance might be needed “in the middle of your life, in the middle of your marriage, in the middle of your career, in the middle of your priesthood,” the archbishop said. “It is being able to set out again, even though you might have a lot of stress or things that weigh you down, to rise again and keep going, keep walking, keep pressing on.”

Archbishop McGovern was phenomenal in his presentation, Bowman said. “We’re blessed to have him.”

Jesuit Father Timothy Lannon, superior of the Omaha Jesuit community and former president of Creighton University, also gave a brief presentation at the men’s event on the Examen prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Jesuit Father Timothy Lannon, superior of the Omaha Jesuit community, speaks to attends at the Lenten Morning of Recollection for Men inside Cain Hall at St. Wenceslaus Parish on Feb. 28, 2026.

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