Local News
Community garden sprouts in Bensalem, celebrates first harvest
The Fatima Community Garden marked its opening season with a new gazebo and a bumper crop of support from members and benefactors, who have sown both seeds and prayer into rich soil.
Amid conflict and pessimism, St. Rita shrine offers ‘impossible hope’
Through retreats, youth outreach and even a few contests, the South Philadelphia site (devoted to a patron of difficult situations) is bringing a message of peace, forgiveness and patient suffering to the faithful of all ages.
Fewer in number, Father and Sister can’t minister alone
An analysis of the number of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese over the past 50 years and projections for the next 20 years shows marked decline in numbers available for ministry, and the need for greater participation by lay people.
Catholic school teachers need not burn out, become cynical, says author
Education is a divine calling that only the Lord himself can sustain, author Jonathan Doyle reminded some 2,000 Catholic school educators during an Oct. 2 professional day held at two area high schools. Teachers need to "get to the end of themselves" and rely on God.
Agency works to end hunger, one jar at a time
Throughout October, archdiocesan Nutritional Development Services will collect 50,000 pounds of peanut butter and jelly to stock food cupboards throughout the five-county area. The lunchtime favorite plays a key role in preventing malnutrition.
Parish finds its own identity helping others gain theirs
St. William in Northeast Philadelphia recently hosted two on-site application sessions for Philadelphia's new PHL City ID cards, which enable often marginalized and vulnerable populations to access a wide range of services. Parishioners say the outreach shows that "the church lives within the community."
Fatima Day at Doylestown shrine draws faithful for Mass, procession
Father Frank Pavone was the celebrant and homilist for a day to remember Our Lady of Fatima at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, where a diverse congregation prayed the rosary for peace.
Peace officers at Blue Mass respond to Gospel’s call to serve God
Police officers "need to lean on God, we know he is there for us,” a belief shared by the firefighters and other first responders who gathered for a special Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.
Local events focus on everyone’s call to be missionaries
October is the extraordinary month of missions, and several happenings in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will remind the faithful how, as Pope Francis has said, "every baptized man and woman is a mission."
Once a refugee, he helps those in search of a better life
Having survived war in both his native Liberia and the Ivory Coast, Samuel Abu obtained asylum in the U.S., and now assists fellow migrants through his work with archdiocesan Catholic Social Services.