Local News
St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Media, celebrating 50 years as vibrant family
St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Media, Delaware County, has certainly come a long way in 50 years when it started in 1963 with 156 families worshiping in a converted barn. When Archbishop Charles Chaput visits on Sunday, Sept. 29 for the anniversary Mass, it will be in a clearly contemporary church where the past has been seamlessly blended in. But ultimately it is not the vibrancy of the church architecture that makes St. Mary Magdalen a great parish; it is the vibrancy of the people and the multitude of programs. “It’s one thing to build a beautiful church, it’s another to build a prayerful spirit and a family of faith,” Msgr. Chieffo said.
Two archdiocesan schools win National Blue Ribbon honor
St. Andrew School in Newtown and St. Patrick School in Malvern were selected as 2013 National Blue Ribbon Schools during an announcement Sept. 24. The two parish elementary schools were two of 286 schools nationally and 15 schools statewide to be selected for the honor. They were the only Catholic schools in Pennsylvania selected this year.
What the Catholic Cemeteries arrangement means to the big picture of the archdiocese
While the cemeteries lease with an upfront payment of $53 million will make a dent in the $350 million balance sheet liability, it will not solve it completely. But it is progress. Tim O’Shaughnessy, who joined the archdiocese as Chief Financial Officer early last year, explained where we are and where we have been.
Philadelphia Archdiocese agrees to 60-year management pact for Catholic Cemeteries
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has signed an agreement to outsource management of 13 Catholic cemeteries through a 60-year lease to StoneMor Partners L.P., it was announced Sept. 26. Under the terms of the lease, the cemeteries will remain Catholic in nature and still be owned by the archdiocese. All current full-time employees of the Catholic Cemeteries Office will become StoneMor employees. The lease of the cemeteries is the latest step to address the archdiocese’s financial challenges.
Suspended Philadelphia priest arrested in Maryland for sexual assault of minor
Father Robert L. Brennan, a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia whose priestly faculties were suspended since 2005, has been arrested in Maryland on charges of sexually abusing a Northeast Philadelphia boy between 1998 and 2001. Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams made the announcement at a press conference today, Sept. 26, in Philadelphia.
Catholic Foundation aims to engage lay Catholic donors in Philadelphia
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will not ask Catholics for money. Instead, the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia will not only “make the ask” but it will invite donors to indicate how they would like their contributions to be used in support of the good works of the church in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The new organization was announced at a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 24 at its center city Philadelphia headquarters at 20th and Arch streets.
Archdiocese set for pilgrimage to Our Lady’s shrine in Washington
Save the date -- on Oct. 5 Catholics from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia along with seminarians from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary will board buses to Washington, D.C., for the biennial Philadelphia pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This will continue a tradition that goes way back almost to the beginnings of what has become “America’s Church.”
In the shadow the cross, the sick gain prayers for healing
As the universal church celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Sept. 14, worshipers participated in a healing Mass at SS. Philip and James Church in Exton to unite their suffering to exaltation. Infirm parishioners and their families, as well as caregivers, received prayers and the sacrament of anointing of the sick, which included having their foreheads and hands anointed with oil.
St. Aloysius School in Pottstown turns 100, keeps up with the times
When it opened in 1913 St. Aloysius School had 178 students, and over the years there have been ups and downs. But this year, according to principal Sarah Kerins, there are 250 children from pre-school through grade eight. Bishop Michael J. Fitzgerald visited the Pottstown school on Sunday, Sept. 15, to celebrate a centennial Mass in the parish church for this singular milestone.
Northeast Philadelphia Catholic school wins $20K grant
St. Katherine of Siena School received a $20,000 grant from the Healey Education Foundation Sept. 5 for its school advancement efforts. Recent enrollment gains, a new governance board, fundraising and other initiatives show “a level of professionalism once seen only in higher education institutions."