Local News
In Advent, the faithful pray special prayers at Mary’s shrine
Amidst all the decorating and shopping, Christians are also praying more intently this season in their homes, parish churches and, for Catholics near Germantown, at the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal.
Catholic congregation of former Anglicans seeing growth
St. John the Baptist Parish, part of a personal ordinariate in the Catholic Church for former Anglican and Episcopalian Christians, needed a larger church and found a home in a merged Catholic parish in Bridgeport, Montgomery County.
5,000 pounds of food from Goya will feed hungry families
The food company donated a truckload of food to archdiocesan Nutritional Development Services, which will distribute it to 50 food cupboards in the archdiocese. NDS provided 2.3 million meals last year, up 6 percent.
Fathers key to strong family and society, writer tells Serra Club
Members of the club that prays and works to promote vocations heard a speaker reflect on fatherhood and warn of the societal dangers when children grow up without a father. Almost half of those kids will live in poverty.
Villa Joseph Marie students dance for 10 hours, raise $89K to fight child cancer
Students of the Bucks County girls' high school wore out shoe leather all year by gathering donations from the community ahead of the dance-a-thon last Friday night. The money they raised blew away last year's total of $12,000.
Four churches to close in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Chester counties
The churches, which mostly had been worship sites of merged parishes, include St. Augustine, Bridgeport; Assumption B.V.M., West Grove; and St. Therese and St. Madeleine Sophie, both in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy section.
Christians in Middle East face grim reality, Villanova speakers say
The university hosted an international conference this week on religious minorities in the Holy Land. Panelists described the complex causes of Christian diaspora including the 2003 Iraq War. Peaceful resolution may take a generation to enact, said one speaker with local ties.
Catholic young adults in Montco talk it up with Archbishop Chaput
The Theology on Tap event at a Lansdale watering hole featured a Q&A with the archbishop, who recently returned from meetings in Rome on engaging the talents of young people to proclaim the Gospel.
Archdiocese casts ‘halo’ on Phila. region of at least $4.2 billion, report says
A new study presented Nov. 30 at Penn estimates the economic impact of the Catholic Church's service to the region. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia's service "always has a deeper religious purpose," Archbishop Chaput said in his address.
Miraculous Medal Shrine draws diverse faithful for prayers
The shrine in Germantown hosts Masses in English and Spanish, space for private prayers and of course, novenas for many needs. Christians from across the Philadelphia region come to offer their prayers to God through Mary.