Local News
Archdiocesan centers offer more than just meals for seniors
The four Senior Community Centers in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are a welcome place to come for a meal, and the opportunity to share time with others. The Senior Community Centers, however, offer much more to the 400 people they serve each day. The Senior Community Centers give those 60 years old and up an opportunity to engage in recreational activities, learn about health and nutrition, and understand aging issues while meeting their neighbors. They are vibrant and alive with caring staff, and the services they provide are free.
Deacon Day to be marked Oct. 8
Oct. 8, Deacon Day, will mark the 30th anniversary of the permanent diaconate in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Sixteen Hispanic men were the first ordained in 1971; the following year six African-American men joined their ranks. Just three decades later, the Church of Philadelphia can boast 268 permanent deacons; 207 are active in the Archdiocese, 11 are externs serving in another diocese, 45 are retired, three are inactive due to illness and two are members of religious orders.
After the flood … service
Why would 19 people show up at church on a Sunday wearing jeans, old shirts, gloves and big boots? Because they know what they’re doing. On Sept. 11, a crew of volunteers gathered at St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish in Yardley to — for the fourth time in six years —travel into flood-ravaged Yardley borough to help homeowners mop up and clean out.
Phillies phever!
On Sept. 23, students at SS. Simon and Jude School in West Chester celebrated the Phillies playoff berth by sporting Phillies attire for the day.
Archbishop of Prague visits St. John Neumann Shrine, St. Peter the Apostle School
It really was appropriate. When Archbishop Charles Chaput and Cardinal Justin Rigali accompanied Archbishop Dominik Duka of Prague to the shrine of his countryman, St. John Neumann, on Sept. 22, the first stop was at adjacent St. Peter the Apostle School, because Philadelphia’s first saint is considered a father of Catholic education in light of the many schools founded while he was bishop. There the children enthusiastically welcomed the visitors.
Archbishop Chaput rededicates, blesses renovated St. Bede Church
In a way, when Archbishop Chaput visited St. Bede the Venerable Parish in Holland Sept. 24 to consecrate the renovated church, he was stepping into Philadelphia history.
A renovated St. Genevieve Church is blessed and dedicated
When St. Genevieve Parish was founded in Flourtown in 1955 Archbishop John F. O’Hara was Archbishop of Philadelphia. A former president of Notre Dame University, he was really big on building schools, but not so much churches. St. Genevieve is a case in point.
Two archdiocesan schools earn blue ribbons
It is quite an honor, and Corpus Christi School in Lansdale and Nativity of Our Lord School in Warminster are receiving it. There are, give or take, 130,000 elementary and high schools in the United States. Just 304 of them were named 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. Of the 14 Pennsylvania schools to receive this recognition, only two were non-public — Corpus Christi and Nativity of Our Lord.
Pilgrimage to Marian shrine set
Mark Oct. 15 on your calendar. In decades-old Philadelphia tradition, pilgrims from the Archdiocese once again will board buses for the annual (sometimes biannual) trip to Washington, D.C. and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception — “America’s Church.”
Respect Life Mass and day for H.S. students honor the unborn
Respect Life Mass at Cathedral Basilica takes place Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. Archbishop Charles Chaput will meet with and commission young men and women “to build a culture of life in our time” at a High School Respect Life Leadership Day at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Oct 13.