Local News
African American Catholics celebrate faith, family, community
The theme was “It’s a Family Affair: Praising Loving and Living 2012” when about 200 African American Catholics and their friends gathered joyfully for the Sixth Annual Philadelphia Peter Claver Award Banquet held Nov. 18th at the Drexelbrook in Drexel Hill. Sponsoring the gala were the Knights of Peter Claver and the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary, and the principal honoree was Father Stephen Thorne, pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Philadelphia.
Catholic Life Congress helps 700 people share their faith with others
In a message to the more than 700 teachers and catechists who attended Catholic Life Congress Nov. 17, Archbishop Charles Chaput said, “The Second Vatican Council, which began its work exactly 50 years ago this fall, reminded us that Jesus founded His Church to be a lumen gentium – a ‘light to the nations.’ At baptism each of us becomes part of that light. Nobody can really follow Jesus Christ without also preaching and teaching Christ to the world around us. “As we grow, it becomes our task to form our hearts and minds in the light of God’s truth, and to bring other people to believe in Him.”
Catholics in Archdiocese reach out, give much to victims of Superstorm Sandy
Hurricane Sandy, which struck the East Coast during the last week of October, may have been mostly hype in Philadelphia but it was absolutely devastating elsewhere. Especially hard-hit were neighbors in New Jersey and New York, and also a serious matter in places like Bucks County that experienced extended power outages. Here in the Archdiocese […]
NDS wins $12K food grant by ConAgra Foods
A major American food producer recognized the exceptional service provided by Nutritional Development Services (NDS) of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. ConAgra Foods awarded NDS a Nourish Our Community grant of $12,500 Nov. 13. The money will help NDS buy food to stock the 35 food cupboards it supports in the Philadelphia region, according to NDS spokesperson Anne Ayella.
Priest projections, study of parish life undergird parish planning
Given current trends, somewhere between 2020 and 2025 the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will have more parishes than it has available priests. That fact in itself goes a long way toward explaining why there will be parish consolidations as part of the ongoing Archdiocesan Strategic Planning process.
Legal actions win stay of execution for Pa. inmate
Hubert Lester Michael Jr., who sits on death row in a Pennsylvania prison, lost one of his last chances to avoid the death penalty Nov. 7 when the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons voted unanimously to reject his petition for clemency. But the next day a federal court issued a stay of the execution.
Local collection for Sandy relief coming Sunday after Thanksgiving
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput invites all 257 parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to consider taking up a special second collection for relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy during the weekend of Nov. 24-25, the archdiocese announced Nov. 8.
Catholic Life Congress ready to help deepen Philadelphia Catholics’ faith
Catholic Life Congress is the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s annual convention for the faith formation of lay people, religious and clergy. Held this year on Saturday, Nov. 17, it comes during the Year of Faith in the Catholic Church, a time for Catholics to “grow deeper into their faith and to be renewed in their faith,” said Connie Scharff, the archdiocesan point person for organizing the congress. “As a result of that, by virtue of our baptism, once we have gone into our own faith we’re able to evangelize others simply by the way we live our daily lives.” In a sense, she believes, Catholics are answering the question, how would Jesus have lived in this day and age?
Pa.’s Catholic bishops: Democracy depends on people fighting for what they believe
Election Day, Nov. 6, offers “a critical opportunity for Catholics … to exercise our civic duty and fulfill our social responsibility in a way that becomes us as aspiring saints,” the Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania said in a statement Nov. 2. “Because politics is the place where competing moral visions of a society meet and struggle,” […]
Clerical changes announced
Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia, announces the following appointments effective November 1, 2012, unless otherwise noted: PAROCHIAL ADMINISTRATOR Reverend David M. Vidal, I.V.E., to Parochial Administrator, Saint Hugh of Cluny Parish, Philadelphia, while continuing as Pastor, Saint Veronica Parish, Philadelphia SPECIAL MINISTRY Reverend Monsignor J. Michael Flood, to Administrator, Regina […]