QUINCY -- The fifth annual Boston Marian Conference on Nov. 1 and 2 had a very special guest -- the Virgin Mary herself. On Nov. 1, Mary appeared in the ballroom of the Boston Marriott Quincy to Ivan Dragicevic, one of six visionaries who saw her in Medjugorje in 1981. Three of those visionaries, including Dragicevic, say that Mary has appeared to them every day since then.
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BELMONT -- To Father Ghazar Bedrossian, the Armenian community in New England is like a garden. The garden has many branches and many flowers, which God waters so that they may grow. One of those flowers is Father Bedrossian's parish, Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church in Belmont.
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BRAINTREE -- Monica Canetta was amazed when her son Joseph came home from school excited to write an essay. Joseph, a seventh grader at Malden Catholic, was one of 575 middle schoolers in the Archdiocese of Boston who entered the Hope in Scripture Essay Contest, hosted by the Catholic Schools Office. The contest was the centerpiece of the archdiocese's weeklong celebration of the global Jubilee of Education from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, part of the Jubilee Year of 2025.
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BRAINTREE -- In another demonstration of the longstanding friendship between the Archdiocese of Boston and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, Archbishop Richard G. Henning visited the Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America's 2025 Conference, held at the Maliotis Center of Hellenic College Holy Cross in Brookline on Oct. 24 and 25.
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WEYMOUTH -- On Oct. 27, Kelly Byrne, director of the Pathway to Grace confirmation prep program at St. Francis Xavier School in Weymouth, introduced a special guest to her eighth-grade class. "He's someone very important," she said. "His initials are J.C. He's a carpenter . . . And it's Deacon Joe!"
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SALEM -- "I don't have witchcraft," declares Father Tom DiLorenzo. "I have prayer power!" It was Oct. 25, and Father DiLorenzo was preaching on the sidewalk of Essex Street in Salem, surrounded by thousands of costumed revelers who had come for the city's annual Halloween celebrations. Father DiLorenzo was joined by a handful of laypeople carrying handmade signs saying "FREE PRAYER," "JESUS HEALS," and "JESUS IS THE TRUTH." They had to compete with buskers, caricature artists, carnival food stands, and performers dressed as horror movie villains for the attention of the mobs of tourists.
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As Hurricane Melissa was making landfall in Jamaica earlier this week, Archbishop Richard G. Henning made an appeal to parishes to consider a special collection to aid the victims in the Caribbean. In a message sent to all parishes Oct. 28, the archdiocese said, "Recognizing the immediate and expected need for assistance, Archbishop Henning is requesting that pastors consider taking up a voluntary special collection to support Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Pastors are encouraged to hold the voluntary collection at their discretion as early as this weekend but not later than the weekend of Nov. 15 and 16."
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MEDFORD -- The Msgr. William B. Foley Parish Center of St. Francis of Assisi Church was the place to be for romance on the night of Oct. 25. The walls of the dimly lit hall were decorated with fairy lights. LED candles flickered on tables covered with white linens and floral bouquets. A disco ball spun slowly overhead. It was the third speed dating night for the young adult ministry of Mary Queen of Peace Parish, which encompasses St. Francis and St. Joseph Church in Medford. Almost 80 young adults ages 21 to 35 from all over the archdiocese sat down for a series of three-minute micro-dates. The end of each date was signaled by a volunteer ringing a bell. The men then took the seat to their right. The women stayed seated, hosting a revolving door of dates. They then received a survey, which would be used to determine who they matched best with. A statue of St. Joseph watched over it all.
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BOSTON -- Phil Studley knew that Jazmine would be the love of his life because she laughed at his jokes. Studley met his wife-to-be at work in Hingham. They married in 2015 and now have two children.
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WEST ROXBURY -- Archbishop Richard G. Henning and Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston presided over a joint prayer vigil for peace around the world at St. Theresa of Avila Parish in West Roxbury on Oct. 27. The vigil coincided with a visit to the Archdiocese of Boston by representatives of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, an organization that is currently assisting Catholic and Orthodox communities in Ukraine and Gaza.
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BRAINTREE -- Speaking at a press conference on Oct. 20, Bishop-elect of Albany Mark O'Connell promised that in his new office, he would work to heal the wounds that financial hardship and the clergy sexual abuse scandal have wrought on his future diocese.
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BRAINTREE -- Archbishop Richard G. Henning joined representatives of the archdiocese's diverse ethnic communities to celebrate the World Mission Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Quincy on Oct. 19. The Mass has been celebrated annually in October since 1926 to support the church's worldwide mission efforts.
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MILTON -- Students at Fontbonne, an all-girls Catholic school in Milton heard a moving message of hope, kinship, and what it means to serve those often considered to be on the margins of society on Oct. 17. Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, the founder of Los Angeles-based Homeboy Industries, and two "homeys" -- former gang members who now work for the organization -- spoke about the work they do to minister and provide opportunities to men and women who were formerly incarcerated or involved in gangs.
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BRAINTREE -- Pamela Irwin Poleo came to Northridge in Beverly because she wanted an inclusive place to raise a family. Irwin Poleo moved into the development, a 14-acre, 98-unit cooperative built by the Archdiocese of Boston's Planning Office for Urban Affairs, in January 1977. Residents don't buy the units, but buy shares of stock in the cooperative.
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Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Mark O'Connell the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Albany, New York, on Oct. 20. He will succeed Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, 77, whose resignation was accepted the same day by the Holy Father. Bishop O'Connell is expected to be installed in his new diocese on Dec. 5, 2025.
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Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Mark O’Connell the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Albany, New York. He will succeed Bishop Edward Scharfenberger, 77, whose resignation due to age was accepted Oct. 20 by the Holy Father. Bishop O’Connell is expected to be installed on Dec. 5, 2025.
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BOSTON -- On Oct. 9, Xavier Trevor wound his way up a dizzying spiral staircase inside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross until he reached the choir loft. The massive stained-glass windows were practically on fire from the late afternoon sun. Above Xavier loomed the Gothic façade of the cathedral's 5,292-pipe Hook and Hastings organ, which he was to play for the very first time. The 13-year-old removed his sneakers and put on a squeaky pair of immaculately shined black dress shoes. They're his "organ shoes," narrow enough so he doesn't hit more than one pedal while playing.
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BRAINTREE -- On the surface, Sean Brown leads a life not that different from any other 18-year-old. The 2025 Bishop Feehan graduate works as a landscaper, makes sandwiches at Jersey Mike's, and attends adoration daily at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Millis. He would be studying to be an electrician, but he's putting his career on hold. On Oct. 30, he will embark on a six-month mission trip to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in India, where he previously volunteered with his parish for three weeks over the summer. He hasn't been away from family and friends that long in all his life. He wanted to go with a friend, but he couldn't convince anyone else to make the journey.
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BRIGHTON -- "You don't have to play Jesus on television to be Jesus to the world," says Jonathan Roumie. He should know. In the role of Jesus on the hit TV show "The Chosen," Roumie brings Christ to life on millions of screens worldwide. On and off the set, Roumie is a devout Catholic who receives the Eucharist daily in order to get closer to the heart of Jesus.
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LEXINGTON -- Sister Catherine Bennett is grateful to have made it this far. Sister Catherine, a Daughter of St. Paul, celebrates her 50th jubilee this year. She professed her vows in 1975. Much of the Detroit native's ministry has been spent in the Daughters' religious bookstores in Boston, New York, Toronto, Hawaii, and Alaska.
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BOSTON -- Judge Raymond P. Moore discovered his fifth cousin was the pope at the same time everyone else did. The federal judge and Boston native was reading an article in The New York Times about Pope Leo XIV's Louisiana Creole roots when he saw his mother's maiden name. As soon as he saw that, he knew.
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