Over 350 youth and adults from the Springfield diocese participated in the March for Life in Washington D.C., marking the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decisions, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton that legalized abortion on demand in the United States.

Just as Catholic Times prepares to go to press, caravans of buses with over 340 young people and adults from the Springfield diocese are preparing to set out for Washington, D.C., to participate in the March for Life, on Friday, Jan. 26.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has granted leave of absence to a Springfield pastor whose 9-1-1 call for assistance on Nov. 28 circulated widely in the media and on the Internet.

ALTON — Father Victor Kaltenbach, 78, parochial administrator of St. Lawrence Parish, Greenville, died Jan. 18 in the Rosewood Care Center in Alton.

QUINCY — Ray Heilmann has been selected to receive the 2013 Quincy Catholic Elementary Schools (QCES) Foundation's Friend of Catholic Education Award in recognition of his many years of dedicated service to Quincy Notre Dame, and his many years of support for Quincy's Catholic elementary schools.

The Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois will sponsor a legal conference from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, Feb. 18 in the atrium of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 524 East Lawrence Avenue in Springfield.

QUINCY — Quincy's Catholic parishes — Blessed Sacrament, St. Anthony, St. Francis Solanus and St. Peter — are inviting adult parishioners to attend a parenting workshop Feb. 8, from 6 to 9 p.m., or on Feb. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Blessing Hospital Conference Center, 2800 Chestnut St.

CHARLESTON — St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Charleston celebrated the feast of the Epiphany on Sunday, Jan. 6 with a large meal, complete with the arrival of the three kings and a musical performance.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki testified in opposition to a bill to legalize gay marriage before an Illinois Senate Executive committee late Thursday afternoon, Jan. 3, in the lame duck session of the Illinois General Assembly.

A call to prayer by the Catholic Bishops of the United States as well as the release of a marriage toolkit issued by the Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI) signify how important it is that Catholics understand, articulate to others and personally embrace the Catholic Church's understanding of marriage, says Carlos Tejeda, director of the diocesan Office for Marriage and Family Life.

CHARLESTON — St. Charles Borromeo Parish and the Newman Catholic Center celebrated their first Posada Dec. 15. Posada, which means "inn" or "shelter"in Spanish, represents the shelter Mary and Joseph sought in Bethlehem.

EFFINGHAM — Catholic Charities will present "Central Park After Dark," a reception and dinner fundraiser, on Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Effingham Knights of Columbus. The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail hour; with the dinner at 7.  Tickets are $40 each. Proceeds from the event will enable Effingham Catholic Charities to continue to help serve less fortunate people in the area.

Beginning in 2013, Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach will be the official charity of the International Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon.

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — Bishop Kevin Vann, a native of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, was installed as fourth bishop of the Diocese of Orange, Calif., during an installation Mass Dec. 10 at the UC Irvine Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif.

The Catholic Church in the United States has had one full year of experience using the new English texts for celebrating Mass from the new edition of the Roman Missal, introduced on the First Sunday of Advent 2011. Now that another liturgical year has begun, the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) is providing reflections on the Mass collects or opening prayers from Masses on Sundays and holy days to help further familiarize Catholics with the new texts.

Twenty-eight students from Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield have been named 2012-2013 Illinois State Scholars. The award, given annually by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), recognized 18,863 high school students from across the state as this year's state scholars. Since 1979, more than 582,000 Illinois students have been honored as State Scholars.

Merry Christmas, and thanks to all the young artists who shared their talents in the annual Catholic Times Christmas cover contest. This year, over 600 entries were submitted to vie for the honor of appearing on the cover of the Christmas edition of the diocesan newspaper.

PANA — A new CD album How Sweet the Sound, recently released by the Millikin University Choir, is on sale now at St. Patrick Parish in Pana where, coincidentally, the album was recorded.

EFFINGHAM DEANERY — Sometimes the good a person does during his lifetime continues even following his death. So is the case of the late Tony Hoene — a member of St. Anthony Parish in Effingham who passed away in 2010.

When Judith Ross passed away in September 2011, after a five-year struggle with cancer, her husband, Dr. S. David Ross, a Springfield internist, wanted to do something in honor of his wife.

On Saturday, Nov. 17, approximately 40 volunteers gathered in the St. Cabrini parish center to bag and distribute thousands of loaves of bread to churches and synagogues in and around the Springfield area. The 8,000 loaves were provided by Schnuck's and most were sold later that evening or the next day for Breadline Sunday.

Just in time for decorating your holiday Christmas tree — or if you need a special gift to share — St. Joseph's Home in Springfield is offering its 20th annual city ornament for sale.

SHELBYVILLE — The Dominican Associates of Immaculate Conception in Shelbyville have just completed a five-week Pastoral Ministry Training Program. Each Monday, Mary Handly, recently retired chaplain of St. Mary's Hospital in Decatur, presented informative and reflective programs covering a wide range of topics, said Jane Rood, one of the participants.

DECATUR — Over 500 people attended an open house Nov. 17 at St. Mary's Hospital to tour the new Prairie Heart Institute facility and the hospital's new cardiovascular diagnostic services department.

Crowds challenged to new evangelization at 2012 DAEC

DECATUR — Over 1,000 people from throughout the diocese attended the recent two-day Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference held at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel. Some 47 organizations, ministries, religious and school supplies stores and other businesses staffed booths in the exhibit area. The biannual conference is coordinated by the diocesan Office for Catechetical Ministries.

An estimated 10 percent of Americans say they were raised Catholic but no longer practice their faith or have left the church altogether — and the Springfield diocese wants to know why.

HAVANA — Joseph J. Jallas, Jr., 80, formerly of Springfield, died Nov. 7 at Havana HealthCare Center. He was the father of Father Robert Jallas, pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Springfield.

The new Immaculata columbarium section at Calvary Cemetery in Springfield was officially blessed on Nov. 2, with Msgr. Thomas Holinga, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, presiding.

Dr. David Mack and the Serra Club of Springfield are sponsoring the 20th annual Novena of the Immaculate Conception from Friday, Nov. 30 to Saturday, Dec. 8. The novena, which is entitled "Mary, Our Mother, in this Year of Faith" will take place each evening beginning at 7 p.m. at Christ the King Church, 1930 Barberry Drive in Springfield.