2024

Captain’s Club is a program that started this year and includes all 15 high schools in the diocese. Its goal is to remind high school athletes of Catholic values, leadership, and sportsmanship.

Want to take part in the upcoming National Eucharistic Pilgrimage? We have all the details if you want to join the celebration.

During his general audience, Pope Francis delivered a significant address to Polish pilgrims. He focused on a local initiative: a bell that symbolizes the voice of the unborn. This initiative carries a profound message that resonates with our Catholic values.

The fourth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly is July 28th. The Holy Father has chosen the theme for the day: Do not cast me off in my old age.

Howard University’s Most Senior Graduate Says Getting Doctorate Degree Is a “Calling From God”

For Dr. Marie Fowler, as Howard University’s most generationally senior student, she said earning her doctorate degree in divinity was a calling from God.

“It was never my thought that I would go beyond maybe one semester because, after all, I started school when I had been out of school since 1959,” Dr. Fowler said. “I didn’t even know if I could even retain information.”

After initially doubting her ability and finances in this stage of her life, Dr. Fowler says it was her parents’ experiences and her father’s words still ringing in her ear that pushed her forward.

“My mom and dad were born in an era when it was illegal for them to learn to read and write,” Dr. Fowler said. “We taught my dad how to read and write and how to sign his name.”

Throughout her three years at Howard’s divinity school, Dr. Fowler made her mark.

“She was the life of the party,” Alice Ogden Bellis, a professor of the Hebrew Bible at the school said. “She knew what she needed, what she wanted, and she came here, and she did that.”

“The other thing I wanna say is that it is never too late,” Dr. Fowler said. “I want everyone to realize that.”

Vatican Places Emphasis on Pilgrimages to Holy Sites and How to Obtain Jubilee Indulgence

The Vatican is offering guidance on obtaining a plenary indulgence during the upcoming Jubilee of Hope.

The holy year 2025 will begin on Dec. 24 of this year, and there are a few things you can do during the Jubilee to free yourself from temporal punishment for your sins.

Make a pilgrimage to a sacred jubilee site, make a visit to any other sacred place in the world, and conduct works of mercy and penance.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 5/14/2024

For 30 years, Immaculate Heart of Mary’s Food Pantry has been operated by a woman who knows what it’s like to go without. Gerri Cassone packs, delivers, and dishes out kindness to hundreds every year.

President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion came under fire during a commencement speech at Benedictine College in Kansas. Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, a three-time Super Bowl champion, blasted the president over his support for abortion as a practicing Catholic.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging Congress to address the nation’s maternal health crisis. The committee chairmen wrote to lawmakers citing the high maternal mortality rate.

Marie Fowler, Howard University’s most generationally senior student, says earning her doctorate in divinity was a calling from God.

Yonkers Woman Has 16 Kids After Praying for Intercession

Family was always at the center of Josephine Spano’s life, even in her final days, as she passed away in December.

“My mom, she impacted our family’s life so much,” Victoria Smith, Spano’s daughter, said.

That family began on July 12th, 1952, when she married her teenage sweetheart, Leonard, at just 18 years old. However, their marital bliss would soon end with incredible loss.

“After Nick was born, she had the twins. Unfortunately, they passed,” Smith said, “She had two miscarriages after that.”

It was always Josephine’s dream to have a big family, but when her dream wasn’t coming true, she turned to her doctor, who gave her something that went beyond modern medicine.

“He had given her a St. Gerard card. “And he said, ‘Here, this should help you,'” said Smith.

Josephine prayed for the intercession of the patron saint of motherhood every chance she could get.

“Give me whatever child you want to give me, but just don’t take any away. And she stuck to her word,” said Rosemarie Gannon, Spano’s daughter.

She went on to have eight boys and eight girls.

For the past 53 years, she held a small service to honor St. Gerard, doing everything she could to spread the saint’s help to those who needed it.

“If you wanted to have a baby, she would touch you,” said Smith. “She put you in her prayer box.”

Her son, Lenny, helped his mom create a website dedicated to the saint.

He was moved by the emails he would get from people nationwide.

“Some of the stories were so uplifting, and some of them were very, very tragic and sad,” said Lenny Spano, Josephine’s son.

When the time came, that devotion also benefited her own family, such as her granddaughter Dana Pellegrino.

“Before I said my last goodbyes to my grandma, I tapped her on the shoulder and said, ‘Grandma, make sure you get me,'” Pellegrino said.

“And then a month later, we actually found out on St. Joseph’s day that it was two.”

Through her prayers, Josephine’s family grew to include 16 children, 42 grandchildren, and 28 great-grandchildren, but her kids say her legacy reaches far beyond that.

“I don’t think she ever realized how many lives she really touched,” Lenny said.

And they feel Josephine is still helping moms in need up in heaven.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 5/13/2024

Celebrating Mother’s Day is never taken for granted for one New York family. The mom, a Catholic who was told she may not have children, asked for St. Gerard’s intercession, the patron Saint of Motherhood, sixteen times, and her prayers were answered.

Mayor Eric Adams met Pope Francis this weekend at the Vatican. After attending a global conference on world peace, he had the privilege of meeting Pope Francis, an experience he described as the highlight of his three-day trip.

Quick-thinking parishioners likely saved lives as children were making their first Holy Communion. A teen armed with a rifle tried to get inside Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic Church just southwest of Baton Rouge.

The community came out for a block party this weekend to celebrate the tenth anniversary of St. Joseph’s dedication as a co-cathedral.

Look Back: Longtime Parishioner of St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral Remembers Earlier Days of Church

By Katie Vasquez

Lida Wickham is a fixture in Prospect Heights, a community she’s lived in for more than five decades. While the landscape has changed over the years, the one constant has been her church, the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.

She joined the church, which was known as St. Joseph Parish, in 1970. On September 4, 1971, she married her late husband Victor and watched her children make their sacraments here.

“It’s always good to come home,” Wickham said. “And I love coming here because there’s a sense of peace. When I walk in the church, I feel that sense of peace.”

However, she admits it wasn’t always as beautiful as now.

“You know, some of the windows were broken, a lot of pigeons in the choir loft,” Wickham said. “We never use that choir loft at all.”

Even the rectory was used for masses.

“This used to be our old chapel because it’s a very big church, and the heater was very, very hard to heat it,” Wickham said. “And this is where we congregated for families on Sundays in the wintertime due to the cold.”

The church is celebrating ten years as a cathedral after being dedicated on May 13, 2014.

Father Christopher Heanue, the Co-Cathedral Rector, offers a space for parishioners across the diocese to celebrate.

“It’s really rewarding, you know, being able to witness the various cultural events that happen here, encountering people from all over the diocese and across the country and across the world has been a real joy for me,” Father Heanue said.

Father Heanue is keeping that momentum going with significant changes on the horizon.

“We have ideas and plans for a new building that will connect the parish house to the Co-Cathedral Church, which will include handicapped accessibility to the church, to the basement, more bathrooms, and ramp access,” Father Heanue said. “So we’re excited about that.”

Meanwhile, Wickham is excited to see what’s in store for the future and hopes to pass the torch on to the next generation.

“Everything was done for the best, you know. And we have opened up the doors for new parishioners to come in because, you know, we are getting older,” Wickham said. “We need the new ones and the younger ones to try to do what we used to do.”

Prayers Answered: Woman Prays For Children and Becomes a Mom of Sixteen

Celebrating Mother’s Day is never taken for granted for one New York family.

The mom, a Catholic who was told she may not have children, prayed to St. Gerard, the patron Saint of Motherhood, sixteen times, and her prayers were answered.

Currents News Katie Vasquez has the remarkable story for us.

Louisiana First Communion Mass Disrupted by Gunman

By Lauretta Brown

A first Communion Mass at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville, Louisiana, was disrupted May 11 after a teenager attempted to enter the church with a rifle. Parishioners prevented the young man from entering the church where 60 children were preparing to receive their first Communion. Police took the suspect into custody and moments of chaos were caught on the church’s live stream as they swept the premises to see if other threats were present.

The video shows an individual approaching Father Nicholas DuPre, associate pastor at St. Mary Magdalen, about 48 minutes into the service. After the man whispers a message into Father DuPre’s ear, the priest asks parishioners to sit and leads them in praying Hail Marys. Police shortly thereafter entered the church and told parishioners they did “apprehend a young man,” that “he is in custody” and to “calm down and just get next to your child and go slowly.”

Abbeville Police Chief Mike Hardy told local news that the 16-year-old boy was taken to Abbeville General Hospital Behavioral Center for a medical evaluation after questioning. He has reportedly been charged with terrorizing and two counts of possession of a firearm by a juvenile.

“We are thankful to God that a tragedy was avoided at the First Communion mass for the children of St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville,” said Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel of Lafayette, Louisiana, in a statement posted on Facebook. “The quick response of the Abbeville PD and alert parishioners is a great example of caring for the most vulnerable in our community. Let us pray for an end to all threats of violence to innocent human life.”

An additional statement sent to the parishioners of St. Mary Magdalen stated, “this morning, our First Communion ceremony was interrupted when a suspicious person opened the back door. The individual was immediately confronted by parishioners, escorted outside and the police were called. The individual was quickly apprehended by Abbeville Police Department and is in their custody. Once apprehended, law enforcement entered the church to make sure there was no additional danger. This understandably caused panic. While we realize this was a frightening experience for those in attendance, we are incredibly grateful to both parishioners and police officers for acting quickly to ensure the safety of all.”

The statement continued, “Chief Mike Hardy is handling the investigation with cooperation of the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s office and assistance from the FBI. Out of an abundance of caution, we will have uniformed law enforcement at all upcoming Masses. We invite First Communicants to receive First Holy Communion at whichever Mass they choose to attend this weekend. We are grateful for all the prayers for our St. Mary Magdalen community.”

Later in the afternoon on May 11, Father DuPre posted an image of the church’s altar on Facebook with the caption: “I’m going back to the safest place on earth, next to His Holy Cross and His Mother. See y’all at the 4 pm Mass.”

He encouraged parishioners to comment which Mass they would be attending this weekend below the post, saying, “We will not give up the holy ground of our hearts or our St Mary Magdalen Catholic Church to fear. Thank you all for your prayers and support!”

Mayor Adams Plans to Meet Pope While Visiting Italy for World Meeting on Human Fraternity

Mayor Eric Adams traveled to Rome on Thursday, May 10, where City Hall said he will meet with Pope Francis.

The Vatican has not confirmed the meeting.

While in Rome, Adams plans to participate in the second annual World Meeting on Human Fraternity.

The two-day conference begins Friday, May. 10, and will focus on ways to foster world peace.

It’s unknown when the mayor will meet with the Holy Father.

The national correspondent for The Tablet and Crux, John Lavenburg, joins Currents News to discuss Mayor Adam’s trip to Rome and a possible face-to-face meeting with the Holy Father.