Local News
Disabilities-ministry office gets administrative upgrade
The Office for Persons with Disabilities and the Deaf Apostolate, previously a department under the Office for Life and Family, becomes a peer office with the same leadership, Sister Kathleen Schipani, now director instead of administrator.
Fans of Magnificat, Catholic Life Congress planning full day for thousands in autumn
Circle November 9 on your calendar. There will be a spiritual double header at the Pennsylvania Convention Center that is expected to attract perhaps 3,000 participants from around the country and locally. On that day the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Magnificat Foundation will host a day-long celebration, Magnificat Day, along with Philadelphia’s annual Catholic Life Congress, which brings together catechists from through the area.
Unused church properties to be auctioned for quick sale
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will auction off several properties in Philadelphia and the suburbs later this month in hopes of raising much-needed cash, it announced June 28. The two largest properties, a 48-acre tract in Plumstead, Bucks County and a 29.5-acre tract in Harleysville, Montgomery County had been purchased years ago in hopes they might be needed to accommodate an expansion of the Catholic population in those areas.
Archdiocesan financial report, 2011-2012
See the full Archdiocesan financial report. See the supplemental document to the report.
Archdiocesan Financial Report shows complex factors leading to huge deficits
Archbishop Charles Chaput in his column last week on CatholicPhilly.com called the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s new financial report “very serious – and that’s an understatement.” True to his word, a 37-page report of unprecedented detail released today shows an operating deficit of $39.1 million for the fiscal year spanning July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012. Grim figures of the report revealed 2011-2012 to be a very mean year, and pointed to serious long-term concerns.
Teacher from Allentown Diocese bikes across U.S. for Catholic education
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (CNS) -- When Rebecca Gonzalez dismissed her students from Notre Dame of Bethlehem School for summer break, she planned to continue bettering their education by putting her foot to the pedal. Like many of her students, the fifth- and sixth-grade math teacher is spending most of her summer days on a bicycle. But instead of biking to friends' houses or the local pool, she is biking across the country for "Coast to Coast for Catholic Schools," an event she created to raise awareness for Catholic education.
Clergy assignment changes announced
Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia, announces the following appointments effective July 1, 2013: PAROCHIAL VICAR Right Reverend Ronald J. Rossi, O.Praem., to Parochial Vicar with the status of Senior Priest, Saints Simon and Jude Parish, West Chester RESIDENCE Reverend Joseph A. Amalfitano, Pastor Emeritus, Immaculate Conception Parish, Marcus Hook, to […]
At 50 years old, Christ the King Parish proud of much, including its school
When Father James Callahan celebrated the 50th anniversary Mass for his parish, Christ the King, in the Morrell Park section of Philadelphia on June 23, it was on the exact date that the very first Mass was celebrated by Father Arthur Woods, the founding pastor. Today its 36 different programs and groups provide ministry from the cradle to the grave and all stops in between.
For kids’ sake, 2 merging city parishes run summer program together
Vacation Bible Schools are always fun. Take the group of 25 or so children attending Bible School at the former Our Lady of Consolation School in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia June 24-28. What was different about this particular Vacation Bible School is it was jointly run by two parishes – Our Lady of Consolation and St. Leo the Great. The two are set to merge at OLC July 1, part of a large wave of mergers in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Planners in both parishes were surprised how smoothly it was going.
St. Gabriel’s sees record 142 graduates receive diploma, tech certification
With 142 young men graduating with a diploma and career technical education certificate, St. Gabriel’s System is marking the most graduates since 1985. Officials attribute the rise to the tracking of court-adjudicated young men and boys who have completed the residential program at St. Gabriel’s Hall in Audubon and to the investments made in a night school, which gives students more options to further their education.