House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, wants Catholics on the Hill to be able to recognize one another by more than a cross they may wear or Ash Wednesday ashes on their foreheads.
Emmer’s office has spearheaded a new group called “Catholic Connections,” dedicated to fostering a faith-based community among Catholics working on Capitol Hill.
“This is a huge Catholic community around here,” Emmer told EWTN News in an interview at the group’s latest event on March 6, which centered on a Lenten reflection delivered by the pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish on Capitol Hill.
“They don’t have anything like this,” he said.
The Friday morning event, hosted in the Members’ Dining Room on the House side of the Capitol, drew roughly 50 participants, including several members of Congress.
Emmer told EWTN News he was inspired to start the group this past January after witnessing a surge of young people on the Hill attending Mass in the wake of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September 2025.
“All of a sudden, we started to see a lot of young people showing up for daily Mass,” he said. “It dawned on me that they’re looking for something that’s bigger than themselves, that they want to be part of.”
“Catholic Connections is not only giving a community of Catholics a place to go,” he said. “Like somebody just said to me out the door, ‘Hey, the biggest identifier of Catholics on the Hill is Ash Wednesday,’ and he said, ‘Thanks for doing this because now we all see who each other is, and we don’t have to wait and try to guess.’”
Emmer said the group plans to meet every month and that he hopes to see more staffers attend.
The Republican leader emphasized the importance of Capitol Hill staffers grounding their work in “something bigger than yourself” rather than trying to achieve a level of perfection that is beyond their human capacity. “You’ve got to believe; otherwise, all of this is pointless,” he said.
“I think you’re going to see more young staffers show up because they will know that the door’s open to them,” he said. “If they think it’s a networking thing, I’m all for it.”
Finding common ground
David Planning, a principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs, expressed gratitude to the whip’s office for giving Catholic lobbyists and staffers on the Hill the opportunity to “settle down, reflect on our shared faith, and build community outside of work.”
“It’s funny,” he said. “You see members walking around these events with big smiles on their faces, happy to engage with their friends. Some folks are on opposite sides of issues in the professional world. But coming together under that shared faith is something that I hope we see expand. It’s something that is worth growing.”
Sarah Donovan, another lobbyist who serves as a senior policy adviser at Venable, told EWTN News that she was “struck” by the opportunity “to come together as a group of Catholics.”
“We do so many meetings on the Hill all day long and advocate for a lot of different causes,” she said. “But this is an opportunity to come together as Catholics and stand in a room with other members of our Catholic community and pray together, and be together, and reflect on what’s really important.”
“I find it to be very grounding and inspiring,” she said.
‘Building up a spiritual network’
Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-North Dakota, expressed excitement for the group, especially as a freshman member, to have the opportunity “to build up a spiritual network that goes beyond just the politics here.”
“There’s a large number of Catholics in our class,” she said, naming Reps. Michael Baumgartner, R-Washington; Jeff Hurd, R-Colorado; and Robert Onder, R-Missouri.
“We all loved that, when we got to know each other and realized that there’s a strong network of pretty faithful Catholics,” she said, noting that the event “is just an extension of that.”
According to data from the Pew Research Center, 150 members of Congress are Catholic, making up about 28% of the total 535 members.
“So, with Emmer being a strong Catholic and really trying to be outward in his faith and use it to ground his work, that’s something that I aspire to do as well and try to focus on, on a daily basis,” she said.
Fedorchak, who is the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives from North Dakota, is married with three children and serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of Mary. The youngest of eight children, Fedorchak described herself as “a diehard Catholic.”
Reflecting on the Lenten address given by Father William Gurnee, which focused on temptation, Fedorchak said: “I think the temptations when you’re in an office in Washington are even stronger because of all the demands.”
The freshman member said she especially appreciated the talk because of her own Lenten practices. “I am trying to abstain from hopelessness,” she said.
“That’s an easy feeling to set in when you’ve got daunting challenges and you’re just one voice in a sea of people here. And you can feel sometimes like it’s hopeless,” she said. “But I’m trying to abstain from that this Lent and realize that God is ultimately in control. So do what you can and then trust that he’s going to take care of the rest.”
‘Catholic Connections’ aims to unite Catholics working on Capitol Hill – #Catholic –
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, wants Catholics on the Hill to be able to recognize one another by more than a cross they may wear or Ash Wednesday ashes on their foreheads.
Emmer’s office has spearheaded a new group called “Catholic Connections,” dedicated to fostering a faith-based community among Catholics working on Capitol Hill.
“This is a huge Catholic community around here,” Emmer told EWTN News in an interview at the group’s latest event on March 6, which centered on a Lenten reflection delivered by the pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish on Capitol Hill.
“They don’t have anything like this,” he said.
The Friday morning event, hosted in the Members’ Dining Room on the House side of the Capitol, drew roughly 50 participants, including several members of Congress.
Emmer told EWTN News he was inspired to start the group this past January after witnessing a surge of young people on the Hill attending Mass in the wake of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September 2025.
“All of a sudden, we started to see a lot of young people showing up for daily Mass,” he said. “It dawned on me that they’re looking for something that’s bigger than themselves, that they want to be part of.”
“Catholic Connections is not only giving a community of Catholics a place to go,” he said. “Like somebody just said to me out the door, ‘Hey, the biggest identifier of Catholics on the Hill is Ash Wednesday,’ and he said, ‘Thanks for doing this because now we all see who each other is, and we don’t have to wait and try to guess.’”
Emmer said the group plans to meet every month and that he hopes to see more staffers attend.
The Republican leader emphasized the importance of Capitol Hill staffers grounding their work in “something bigger than yourself” rather than trying to achieve a level of perfection that is beyond their human capacity. “You’ve got to believe; otherwise, all of this is pointless,” he said.
“I think you’re going to see more young staffers show up because they will know that the door’s open to them,” he said. “If they think it’s a networking thing, I’m all for it.”
Finding common ground
David Planning, a principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs, expressed gratitude to the whip’s office for giving Catholic lobbyists and staffers on the Hill the opportunity to “settle down, reflect on our shared faith, and build community outside of work.”
“It’s funny,” he said. “You see members walking around these events with big smiles on their faces, happy to engage with their friends. Some folks are on opposite sides of issues in the professional world. But coming together under that shared faith is something that I hope we see expand. It’s something that is worth growing.”
Sarah Donovan, another lobbyist who serves as a senior policy adviser at Venable, told EWTN News that she was “struck” by the opportunity “to come together as a group of Catholics.”
“We do so many meetings on the Hill all day long and advocate for a lot of different causes,” she said. “But this is an opportunity to come together as Catholics and stand in a room with other members of our Catholic community and pray together, and be together, and reflect on what’s really important.”
“I find it to be very grounding and inspiring,” she said.
‘Building up a spiritual network’
Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-North Dakota, expressed excitement for the group, especially as a freshman member, to have the opportunity “to build up a spiritual network that goes beyond just the politics here.”
“There’s a large number of Catholics in our class,” she said, naming Reps. Michael Baumgartner, R-Washington; Jeff Hurd, R-Colorado; and Robert Onder, R-Missouri.
“We all loved that, when we got to know each other and realized that there’s a strong network of pretty faithful Catholics,” she said, noting that the event “is just an extension of that.”
According to data from the Pew Research Center, 150 members of Congress are Catholic, making up about 28% of the total 535 members.
“So, with Emmer being a strong Catholic and really trying to be outward in his faith and use it to ground his work, that’s something that I aspire to do as well and try to focus on, on a daily basis,” she said.
Fedorchak, who is the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives from North Dakota, is married with three children and serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of Mary. The youngest of eight children, Fedorchak described herself as “a diehard Catholic.”
Reflecting on the Lenten address given by Father William Gurnee, which focused on temptation, Fedorchak said: “I think the temptations when you’re in an office in Washington are even stronger because of all the demands.”
The freshman member said she especially appreciated the talk because of her own Lenten practices. “I am trying to abstain from hopelessness,” she said.
“That’s an easy feeling to set in when you’ve got daunting challenges and you’re just one voice in a sea of people here. And you can feel sometimes like it’s hopeless,” she said. “But I’m trying to abstain from that this Lent and realize that God is ultimately in control. So do what you can and then trust that he’s going to take care of the rest.”
Catholics on Capitol Hill are beginning to build a tight-knit community amid their busy schedules.
