Local News

Five parishes learn of reorganization in Port Richmond

Archbishop Chaput has accepted a two-phase plan for the lower Northeast Philadelphia parishes. Two will merge, as others will begin a new partnership model expected to be complete by June 2017.

Go to Mass if you can, pray at home if you can’t

With about a foot of snow and blizzard conditions expected this weekend in the region, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia offers advice for keeping the Lord’s day holy, even during an act of God.

A faster, easier and free path to healing after divorce

The Philadelphia Archdiocese has put in place Pope Francis' changes to the process of granting annulments for marriages that ended in divorce. Online forms and waived fees can ease the path toward remarriage.

Pro-lifers plow ahead with plans to march in D.C.

Despite the foot of snow expected to fall on Philadelphia Friday and Saturday and two feet in Washington, D.C. area, the annual March for Life Jan. 22 in the nation’s capital has not been postponed or cancelled.

Funeral rites set for Archbishop Francis Schulte

A memorial Mass will be celebrated for the former Philadelphia auxiliary bishop and retired New Orleans Archbishop on Monday, Jan. 25 by Archbishop Charles Chaput. The funeral Mass and burial will take place in New Orleans.

Car used by Pope Francis in Phila. to be auctioned, will benefit church ministries

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is auctioning off one low mileage car, in mint condition, used slightly by one owner. Proceeds from the sale of the pope's gray Fiat will go to the Catholic Charities Appeal and other local needs.

No more waiting: Black Catholics mark Dr. King holiday with praise, rallying cry for justice

At the 33rd annual prayer service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Catholics raised the roof of St. Katharine Drexel Church in Chester. Calls for year-round acts of mercy, charity and public protest marked the rousing service.

Area pro-lifers meet to study adoption as loving option

Participants at a pro-life summit gathered for Mass followed by talks on adopting children at birth. One speaker said only 2 percent of children from unplanned pregnancies are adopted; many of the rest are aborted.

PREP religion teachers receive honors at cathedral

Mostly lay volunteers received awards last Sunday marking their anniversaries of teaching in parishes. A pastor and religious sisters were noted for serving the booming PREP classes for 1,500 Hispanic kids in Avondale.

Archbishop Francis Schulte, 89, dies in Darby hospital

The retired head of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and a former auxiliary bishop and priest of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, died Jan. 17 in Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. He was 89.