Local News
Delco Young Disciples Keep Flame of Faith Alive in Teens
A new ministry in Delaware County is helping young adults grow in their faith, while keeping them connected with the Church, as they mature into adulthood.
Catholic mission school uses $500K grant for innovative program
The mid-July announcement that Germantown’s DePaul Catholic School was awarded a $500,000 grant by the Philadelphia School Partnership to adopt an innovative instructional program was big news. Well it should be. The instructional model put together by New York-based Seton Educational Partners, called Phaedrus, divides the students’ school day into 25- to 30-minute sessions between computer time and traditional oral instruction.
Church property auction nets almost $2 million for parishes, archdiocese
Of the eight church properties listed in an auction by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 24, seven attracted bids that archdiocesan officials had hoped they would. “We got our asking price on all of them,” said Deacon Thomas Croke, director for real estate services of the archdiocesan Office for Property Services.
Catholic Charities staff in Pa., N.J. to meet in Philadelphia
The City of Brotherly Love is certainly a fitting gathering place for those who carry out the Gospel message of “helping the least among us.” More than 300 staff members who work for Catholic Social Services’ agencies or organizations that serve the poor and disadvantaged will participate in a regional Partners in Excellence Conference sponsored by Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) July 29-30 in Philadelphia.
Archdiocese announces five clergy assignment changes
Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia, announces the following appointments effective as noted: SPECIAL MINISTRY Reverend Monsignor Francis W. Beach, from Delegate for Stewardship and Development, to Special Consultant to the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, effective July 1, 2013 PAROCHIAL ADMINISTRATOR Reverend Kevin J. Kelly, to Parochial Administrator, pro tem, […]
Black Catholics from across U.S. pack cathedral for convention Mass
It was possibly the most elegant gathering of Black Catholics in the history of the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. Almost 1,000 Knights and Ladies (especially the Ladies) of the Knights of Peter Claver filled the grand old cathedral on July 21 for the opening Mass of Thanksgiving as part of their annual convention, and first ever in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Fetuses from Gosnell clinic won’t be released for burial, coroner says
Despite requests by Archbishop Charles Chaput and Priests for Life founder Father Frank Pavone to bury 47 fetuses killed at the Women’s Medical Society led by abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office says the remains “will not be released to any unrelated third party,” said spokesman Jeff Moran in a statement.
1808 Society helps Catholics support Church far into the future
The 1808 Society, with its motto “Serving God by Serving One Another,” targets older Catholics who might wish to leave a bequest in their will, set up a charitable trust or charitable gift to benefit the Archdiocese or any of its entities -- perhaps a parish, a school, the Catholic Charities Appeal or a facility for the young or the aged.
New figures show signs of hope amid long slide in Mass attendance
On any given weekend during the month of October 2012, there were approximately 253,338 Catholics attending Mass in churches throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to figures compiled by the archdiocesan Office for Parish Service and Support. If that sounds like a lot, it isn’t. Approximately 21.8 percent of all the registered Catholics attended Mass that month.
Divergent priest barred from parishes, will speak at Catholic college
An Austrian priest whose views of the Catholic Church, including the priesthood, “diverge very seriously from Catholic belief and practice” has been barred from speaking at any parish or facility of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, according to a July 18 statement by the archdiocese.
Tiny Chester County church marks 175 years with prayers, singing – and horse and carriage
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was the principal celebrant of an anniversary Mass July 7 at St. Malachi Church in Cochranville, Chester County, which was followed by a Celtic celebration on the grounds. St. Malachi is a mission church of Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Parkesburg, which will celebrate its 160th anniversary in September. Father Victor J. Eschbach, pastor of Our Lady of Consolation, and principal concelebrants rode to the church via horse and carriage, symbolic of the Jesuit priests who sporadically rode into the area from Delaware, Maryland and Philadelphia to celebrate Mass in barns and fields prior to the church's completion in 1838.