Local News
Church employees, retirees bracing for changes to Archdiocese’s pension plans
In an effort to plug a more than $150 million hole in the retirement plan for its lay employees, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday, Nov. 5 that it would “freeze” the current defined benefit pension plan next summer.The decision to freeze the plan and cease the accrual, or accumulation, of benefits in the Lay Employee Retirement Plan after June 30, 2014 affects 8,500 current lay employees of the archdiocese.
Miss any Year of Faith lectures? Now hear them online
Archbishop Charles Chaput’s Year of Faith Lecture Series has ended, but the audio recordings of each lecture are now available online. The audio files from the series, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for the New Evangelization, were recorded by local radio station Holy Spirit Radio.
Catholic program to energize parish life coming in new year
Are you looking for a good parish evangelization program? Consider the Discovering Christ Conference coming to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia early next year. The Catholic parish-centered lay initiative invites parishioners to bring family and friends to hear the Good News and personally encounter Jesus Christ. Members of St. Rose of Lima Parish in North Wales found the process has been a spectacular success and well worth the effort.
Magnificat Day features prayer, reflection, procession through Philadelphia
Magnificat Day, a unique gathering for liturgical prayer, music, inspirational talks and reflection is set for Saturday, Nov. 9, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. While registration is closed for the day-long event, which is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Magnificat Foundation, another opportunity for worship is being offered to local Catholics who cannot attend the program at the convention center.
Students from dozens of Catholic schools get EITC grants
St. Hubert High School in Northeast Philadelphia hosted business leaders, local politicians and the families of students who benefited from Pennsylvania's Educational Improvement Tax Credit scholarships during a presentation led by Bridge Educational Foundation Monday, Oct. 28. The foundation also announced tuition scholarship awards the following day at St. Anthony of Padua Regional School in South Philadelphia. The scholarships totaled $366,525 for students of the areas.
St. Agnes School, West Chester, counts generations of satisfied alumns
St. Agnes School in West Chester has been proud of its family-like atmosphere since it opened in 1871. But this year it is celebrating how this special characteristic has been going on for generations. This year, for example, five staff members are alumni and many other families are multi-generational — from two to five generations.
In North Philadelphia, there’s Hope for middle schoolers
Finding a home can require patience and persistence. One person who knows that firsthand is Mercy Sister Rose Martin, executive director of Hope Partnership for Education. It took more than 10 years to find a permanent site in North Philadelphia for Hope Partnership, a private nonprofit middle school run as a partnership between the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and the Sisters of Mercy.
Parishioners learn the Catholic way of door-to-door evangelization
When sisters in traditional habit come knocking at the door of a home they almost always receive respectful treatment, re gardless of whether the people are practicing Catholics or not. But there is something to be said for lay ministers doing the work too, “because they are just like the people who open the door,” said Mother Carole Marie Troskowski, who led a training session for 50 Catholic parish leaders at SS. Simon and Jude Parish, West Chester.
New pro-life group aims to ‘Reach Philadelphia’ to reduce abortions
The focus on respecting life, especially the lives of unborn children, has been a constant in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Despite the efforts of many Catholics to build a culture of life in the Philadelphia region, almost half of Pennsylvania's abortions in 2011 occurred in Philadelphia. Reach Philadelphia plans to engage in a mass media campaign to promote life and offer help to women considering abortion.
Prospective high school site in Hilltown sold for $2.6 million
As part of a continuing strategy to plug its financial holes, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has sold a large property previously set aside for construction of a new Catholic high school. A 68-acre tract in Hilltown, Bucks County, is under agreement of sale for $2.6 million, archdiocesan spokesman Ken Gavin confirmed Oct. 24. Proceeds of the sale will go toward easing an $82 million shortfall in the archdiocesan Trust and Loan Fund.