9/20/2019

Mass. bishops urge action on climate change

BRAINTREE -- The bishops of the four Catholic dioceses of Massachusetts are expressing their shared concern about climate change and commitment to protecting the environment. In a joint statement issued Sept. 16, entitled "Embracing Laudato Si'," the bishops said, "In our home state of Massachusetts, we are blessed with inspiring natural beauty from the seashore on the east coast to the majestic mountain vistas in the west -- with rolling hills, vibrant communities and rich farmlands throughout the state."

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9/20/2019

2019 permanent deacon ordination class

BOSTON -- Nine men will be ordained to the Order of Deacon by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sept. 21. The formation program for deacons is a four-year process of discernment, study and prayer, which includes two courses a semester and one Saturday meeting a month for additional training and prayer. The program requires two retreats a year, one with wives and one together with their class. The program offers the men the option to complete their master's degree in theology after ordination with a few additional courses through St. John's Seminary.

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9/20/2019

Local communities observe National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children

NORWOOD -- Several Eastern Massachusetts communities held prayer services in honor of the unborn on Sept. 14, joining over 200 locations across the country observing the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.

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9/20/2019

Little Sisters of the Poor to withdraw from Somerville residence

SOMERVILLE -- Little Sisters of the Poor announced Sept. 16 that they will be withdrawing from Jeanne Jugan Residence, Somerville. The Sisters met with the residents, their families, lay associates, staff and volunteers sharing their decision.

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9/20/2019

Music festival honors child's memory by supporting church in the missions

CAMBRIDGE -- Build the Faith, a nonprofit dedicated to building churches in economically distressed areas, will host a Catholic music festival on Sept. 28 at St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish in Cambridge to raise funds for a church being built in Nicaragua.

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9/20/2019

Knights sponsored Ruth's final Sox game at Fenway 100 years ago this week

BOSTON -- The Curse of Bambino wasn't a reality yet in the minds of the 31,000 fans who crowded Fenway Park for a double-header on Sept. 20, 1919. They were there to see Babe Ruth pitch and hit for "Babe Ruth Day."

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9/20/2019

From Cardinal Seán's blog

Last Friday, we had our annual gathering of newly retired priests at the Pastoral Center. In the morning, they heard a presentation by Joe D'Arrigo and his staff of our Clergy Health and Retirement Trust, providing them with helpful information as they make the transition to the role of senior priest. Then, at noon, I joined them for lunch.

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9/13/2019

Cardinal O'Malley speaks out on immigration crisis

BOSTON (CNS) -- In an op-ed published in The Boston Globe Sept. 9, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley called for spirit of "civility and charity" in resolving the question of immigration and said that the country's deep division on the issue has "produced severe human consequences."

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9/13/2019

Lugira named Cathedral High principal

SOUTH END -- Cathedral High School in Boston's South End, this week announced that Nampeera Lugira has been named the school's new principal. In this leadership position, Lugira will help to further the school's definitive focus on providing students with the highest educational opportunities and the proper tools for 21st-century learning.

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9/13/2019

Quincy's Friends of the Unborn celebrates 35 years

QUINCY -- Though Hurricane Dorian had threatened to bring rain on Sept. 7, the sun broke through for Friends of the Unborn's 35th anniversary celebration. Friends of the Unborn is a maternity home and program in Quincy where mothers can stay throughout their pregnancies and up until their children are a year old. Residents can take on-site life skills, parenting, and enrichment classes. The program provides not only shelter but also assistance in applying for housing and planning education and career advancement. Friends of the Unborn collaborates with social workers from many local and state agencies to help address residents' various needs, including legal assistance in court cases.

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9/13/2019

Effort underway to end taxpayer funding of abortion in Mass.

NEEDHAM -- "It's not the fiscal issue that motivates me, it's the moral issue," attorney Thomas Harvey said, addressing the American University Women for Life at their Sept. 5 meeting in the Knights of Columbus Hall in Needham.

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9/6/2019

Are you called to be a permanent deacon?

BRAINTREE -- The next session of meetings for those considering the permanent diaconate are slated to begin this month. The Order of Deacons was restored as a permanent and public ministry in the Latin Church at the Second Vatican Council. The aims of the diaconate are to enrich and strengthen the works of service being performed by the Church, to enlist a new group of devout and competent married and single men in the active ministry of the Church, and to aid in extending needed charitable and liturgical service to the faithful. Wives of deacons assist in many of these areas.

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9/6/2019

New director brings long union experience to Labor Guild

BRAINTREE -- When David Kowalski first contacted the Labor Guild, he had no idea he would one day become its president and executive director. He was a worker looking to further his education, like the many others who have benefited from the guild's programs throughout its history.

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9/6/2019

Abbott to give benefit concert on restored cathedral organ

BRAINTREE -- Cathedral music director emeritus Leo Abbott will be returning to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Sept. 15 to lead his 26th annual organ benefit concert featuring the cathedral's newly restored pipe organ.

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9/6/2019

From Cardinal Seán's blog

Each year, we open the academic year in all three of our seminaries with a Mass of the Holy Spirit. This week, I celebrated the Mass at St. John's Seminary. After the Mass, I joined the seminarians for lunch, including our newly arrived seminarians, whom we were very pleased to welcome.

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8/30/2019

North End St. Anthony Feast marks centennial

BOSTON -- The St. Anthony Society held its annual celebration of St. Anthony's Feast Aug. 23-25, marking 100 years since its inception. Since 1919, the North End community has observed St. Anthony's Feast during the last weekend of August. The custom was brought over by immigrants from Montefalcione, a small town east of Naples, Italy.

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8/30/2019

Cardinal rededicates renovated Regina Cleri chapel

BOSTON -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley joined the community of Regina Cleri Residence to dedicate the new altar in their chapel on Aug. 21, marking a major step in a series of improvements to the archdiocese's residence for retired priests.

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8/30/2019

Wahlberg greets Pope John XXIII seminarians during film shoot

WESTON -- A man's first days at seminary can certainly be a memorable experience but, this year, newly arrived seminarians at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary got a chance to add something extra special to their scrapbooks -- a photo with Hollywood star and Dorchester native Mark Wahlberg.

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8/30/2019

Stephen Ministers offer support for difficult times

DUXBURY -- All the experts agree, and maybe we all know it intuitively: You can't skirt your way around grief when life's inevitable sad times come your way. Grief is something one must go through to get to a better place, to heal. And Stephen Ministry is there to help.

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8/30/2019

Xaverian High headmaster named general superior of congregation

WESTWOOD -- Brother Daniel Skala, CFX, headmaster of Xaverian Brothers High School, was recently elected General Superior of the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier. In this capacity, he will serve as leader of the Xaverian Brothers global mission and ministry for the next six years. Brother Dan was elected to the position at the Xaverian Brothers recent General Chapter meeting in Rome.

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8/30/2019

Administration ends protection for migrant medical care

BOSTON (AP) -- The Trump administration has eliminated a protection that lets immigrants remain in the country and avoid deportation while they or their relatives receive life-saving medical treatments or endure other hardships, immigration officials said in letters issued to families this month.

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8/23/2019

Order of Malta international camp hosts disabled young adults

BRAINTREE -- A delegation of 21 young adults, about half of them from the archdiocese of Boston, represented the American Association of the Order of Malta at the annual International Maltacamp, a weeklong camp experience for young adults with disabilities and their helpers.

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8/23/2019

The Redemptorists to celebrate 150 years in Boston

BOSTON -- "Make her known" was the simple command of Pope Pius IX when he entrusted the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to the care of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists, in 1866. One of the first copies to arrive in the United States came to Boston and was venerated in a simple wooden church. From that point on, the lives of the faithful have been impacted in miraculous ways.

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8/23/2019

From Cardinal Seán's blog

Marking the 160th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Vianney, the patron saint of priests, the Holy Father wrote a beautiful letter to priests, reflecting on the life of the saint and the joys and challenges of priesthood. In it, he also speaks about the crisis and the suffering of so many people caused by the sexual abuse by priests.

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