Couples celebrate 50 years or more of marriage

It was a beautiful late summer afternoon both inside and outside of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday, Sept. 16 as Bishop Thomas John Paprocki celebrated the annual Mass for couples married 50 years or longer. About 160 couples, many of them attending Mass with children and grandchildren, were at the Cathedral that afternoon.

JACKSONVILLE — A firetruck, ambulances, state and city police cars and other emergency response vehicles are not exactly what parishioners expect to see pulled up in front of their parish church when they arrive for Mass. But at the 4:30 p.m. Mass Sept. 15 at Our Saviour Church in Jacksonville, just such a sight was pretty impressive.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has announced that a local collection, to be called the Diocesan Campaign for Justice and Hope (DCJH), will be taken up on the third weekend in November to help meet the needs of the poor in the Springfield diocese. The new collection will replace the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which has previously been conducted on that same weekend annually.

OAKBROOK TERRACE — Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Springfield diocese was one of four honorees at the 25th annual Heroes in Action Awards Banquet sponsored by the Chicago/Joliet Chapter of the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle held Sept. 10 at the Drury Lane Convention Terrace here.

On the third Thursday of November, the Diocesan Campaign for Justice and Hope collection will be taken up in parishes in the Springfield diocese, effectively replacing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

VANDALIA — Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has officially declared by a canonical decree that Our Sorrowful Mother's Ministry (OSMM) in Vandalia is a Private Diocesan Association of the Christian Faithful.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will celebrate the first-ever diocesan Red Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, Oct. 8 at noon. The Mass will be followed by a luncheon in the atrium of the Cathedral. Father Peter Harman, pastor of Cathedral Parish and chaplain of the Catholic Lawyers' Guild of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, will concelebrate.

ALTON — The Knights of Columbus Diocese Chapter will gather for its fall quarterly meeting Sunday, Sept. 23, at the Alton K. of C. #460 Hall, 405 E. Fourth Street.

The annual Springfield Right to Life Respect Life Benefit Dinner will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, at the Northfield Center in Springfield.

Women at the Well-Springfield will present "Remarkable Women Remarkable Wisdom" on Saturday, Oct. 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Chiara Center, in Springfield.

Grant money available to help parishes purchase DVD box set

The "Catholicism Project," a set of supplemental materials to be used as resources with Father Robert Barron's acclaimed 10-part film documentary and study program on the Catholic faith, is now available on-line on the diocesan website www.dio.org.

For the past three decades Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield has been hosting School of Religion for Exceptional People on Wednesday evenings during the school year. Now, however, program coordinators will be offering new special lessons for those who are candidates for first Eucharist.

Christ the King School in Springfield opened the new school year with an expanded preschool program located in newly renovated and enlarged facilities in the school. The preschool is named for CTK's former pastor, Msgr. David S. Lantz, who served as pastor from 1996 to June 30, 2012, and who had also served as a parochial vicar at the parish from 1984-89.

The live theatrical one-man drama, Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz, performed by actor and film director Leonardo Defilippis of St. Luke Productions, will be presented at various locations around the diocese during September. All performances begin at 7 p.m.

"Our Journey of Faith" is the theme of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (DCCW) Convention, which will be held Friday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church in Litchfield. The theme for this year's gathering — the 84th annual convention — was chosen to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI's Year of Faith, which begins in October.

St. Patrick Catholic School at 1800 South Grand Ave. E. in Springfield has formed a collaborative partnership with The Family Literacy Program through the Christian non-profit Fishes and Loaves Outreach. "This is the first building block to our dream of a Parent Academy," said Judi Willard, development director at the east-side school that is open to children who are in grades PreK-5.

The Little Flower St. Therese Guild is celebrating its 65th year of existing in Little Flower Parish. The Guild events, which will take place once or twice a month from September through May, will be kicked off on Tuesday, Sept. 18 with a 65th birthday party and potluck beginning at 6 p.m. in the parish center.

NORTH ARM — Present and former parishioners of St. Aloysius Church in North Arm will celebrate the 175th anniversary of their parish on Sept. 9 at a 4 p.m. Mass with Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, the celebrant. Father David Zimmerman, pastor, and other priests will concelebrate Mass.

MARYVILLE — Father McGivney Catholic High School (FMCHS), a new Catholic high school in the Springfield diocese, opened Aug. 16, at 143 Wilma Dr. in Maryville. Initially housed in a renovated wing of St. John Neumann School, the school opened with 19 freshmen students.

‘Living faith fully, sharing faith freely’

The Office for Catechesis will present the Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference Nov. 4-5 at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel in Decatur, 4191 US 36 West (Wycles Road).

Scott W. Lantz Jr., 85, of Springfield, father of Msgr. David Lantz of the Springfield diocese, died on Aug. 18 in Springfield.

Beginning in September, the diocesan Office for Catechesis, in conjunction with local parishes, will offer faith formation courses for adults in locations across the diocese, according to Jonathan Sullivan, director.

With the 2012-2013 school year just getting under way, a number of the 41 Catholic elementary and seven Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois are under the leadership of new principals.

It is a tradition in the Springfield diocese that before departing for their respective seminaries in the fall, the diocese's seminarians and their parents are invited to join Bishop Thomas John Paprocki for Mass and dinner in Springfield. But a power outage at the Villa Maria Catholic Life Conference and Retreat Center at Lake Springfield on Aug. 13 — just hours before the scheduled event — forced vocation director Father Christopher House to take quick action.

MT. STERLING — Father Thomas Henseler knew he was going to be busy the last few weeks before his retirement on July 1 as parochial administrator of Holy Family Parish, in Mt. Sterling, where he has served since 1993, and as parochial administrator of St. Thomas Parish, Camp Point, where he has served since 2007.

GRANITE CITY — The Ladies Auxiliary of Knights of Columbus Tri Cities Council 1098 was named Outstanding Auxiliary of the State during the 2012 Illinois State Convention of the Knights of Columbus. In addition, the auxiliary's annual fundraiser "Sparkles and Sweets" was honored as the Outstanding Fundraiser of the State. The auxiliary was also given an honorable mention for charity work with K. of C. Council 1098, held the Scrapbook award for Division AAAA of 90-plus members and received second place for Auxiliary Public Relations.

Totus Tuus, the week-long Catholic youth summer camp program first offered in the Springfield diocese in 2009 at 11 parishes, expanded to 18 parishes this summer.

When Archbishop George J. Lucas of Omaha returned to the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois on July 30, he had several reasons for his visit. Most important, he said, he came to concelebrate Mass for curia staff members in the chapel at the Catholic Pastoral Center. He was also in Springfield for the unveiling of his professional portrait.

St. Patrick Catholic School promotes recycling programs

"I grew up knowing the importance of being a good steward of the earth," says Judi Willard, the development director for St. Patrick Catholic School in Springfield. "My father, Bill Dennis, owned two salvage yards, one in Lincoln and one in Bloomington, so we were taught you had to reduce, reuse and recycle. It just makes sense. There is only so much room in the landfills, so what are you going to do? You recycle."