The winners of the inaugural Missionary Essay Contest, sponsored
by the diocesan mission office, met with Bishop Michael F. Burbidge Sept. 28 in
Arlington to receive their awards.
Aaron Peiffer, a parishioner of St. Leo the Great Church in
Fairfax, took first place and received a cash prize of $200 and an additional
$200 donation in his name to Salesian Missions. Julie Schoenman from St. Thomas
à Becket Church in Reston
placed second, and Mary Grace Coltharp from Sacred Heart Church in Manassas was
the third-place winner. They both received a $100 cash prize and a $100
donation in their names to Salesian Missions.
The contest was announced around Easter, with a submission
deadline of Pentecost Sunday. The winners’
essays will be published in the Catholic Herald
in the three issues leading up to World Mission Sunday, starting with this
issue.
