OREANA — Several priests, deacons and a religious sister joined local Catholic radio station organizers Dec. 7 to bless the future site of WDCR 88.9’s radio tower. The station is set to premier March 1 on Central Illinois airwaves.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki took to the ice at the Nelson Center in Springfield Dec. 6 to help adult hockey players in the area raise $3,100 for the Catholic Charities Springfield Area Office. Over 300 turned out to watch, as did members of the Sacred Heart-Griffin High School hockey team, who wore special T-shirts for the occasion promoting “Hockey with Paprocki.” The charity benefit game preceded the SHG-Glenwood game.

The combined youth group of Mother of Perpetual Help Parish, Maryville and Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, Collinsville are holding their first-ever pancake and sausage breakfast on Jan. 2, 2011 at the Mother of Perpetual Help parish center.

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

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki joined the bishops of Illinois in a statement calling upon the Illinois General Assembly to reject legislation that would establish civil unions in the state. The bill was to have been brought to the House floor for a vote on Nov. 30, as Catholic Times went to press.

BETHALTO — The temperature dipped to the low 30s the night of Nov. 6, yet 25 teens and young adults from Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish spent the night in cardboard boxes to raise awareness of the homeless in the area.

Just in time for the Christmas decorating and giving season, St. Joseph’s Home in Springfield is offering its newest city ornament for sale. The ornament, which was unveiled Oct. 13, depicts the colonnade at the University of Illinois Springfield. As is always the case, the mayor of Springfield — currently Mayor Tim Davlin — proclaimed the St. Joseph’s Home ornament the “Official City of Springfield Ornament for 2010.”

Jane Luchtefeld, eighth-grade religion teacher at St. Boniface School in Edwardsville, has been selected as a finalist in the 2010 RealCare Educator of the Year contest. She was selected nationally from among other educators for her creativity, enthusiasm, and exemplary teaching methods while utilizing the RealCare Baby program.

ALTON — Marquette Catholic High School (MCHS) has announced that the school Impacting, Leading, Succeeding Capital Campaign has passed the $1.5 million milestone in its quest to raise $3 million.

St. John's Hospital in Springfield spent $34 million on community benefit services during its 2010 fiscal year, the hospital has announced in a recent report. Community benefit includes charity care, unreimbursed Medicaid, education and contributions to community groups.

Deborah A. Albin has been named new area director of Catholic Charities of the Coles, Douglas and Edgar Counties. A resident of Mattoon, Albin has held positions with responsibilities in safety training and staff development, quality control, accounting and media relations as well as serving as a regional supervisor for Illinois Power Company where she developed and implemented an employee recognition program.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will switch from his usual clerical attire to a hockey uniform, ice skates, face mask, helmet, catching mitt, and protective pads to play goalie in a charity hockey game Monday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Nelson Center in Springfield.

The sainthood cause of Father Augustine Tolton (also known as Augustus) remains in the diocesan phase — or phase I in Stage I — of examining the life of a candidate for sainthood, says Jeannine Marino, a canon lawyer and program specialist in the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

A novena to the Immaculate Conception will begin Tuesday, Nov. 30, and end on Wednesday, Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, beginning each evening at 7 p.m. at Christ the King Church, 1930 Barberry Drive in Springfield. The theme of the novena will be “The Seven Sorrows of Mary.”

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has strongly supported a Catholic university in its dispute with an employee over the issue of gay marriage.

The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis will host the fourth annual Franciscan Nativity Festival from Dec. 3-5 at Chiara Center, located at 4875 LaVerna Road in Springfield on the grounds of the Motherhouse of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis. Hours are Friday, Dec. 3 from 2-7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 4 from noon-4 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 5 from noon-4 p.m.

The Vatican International Exhibition on Eucharistic Miracles in the World will be on display at Christ the King Parish Center, 1930 Barberry Drive in Springfield, from 3-5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19; noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20; and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21. The exhibit is free and open for all.

November Is Black Catholic History Month

Is race real?

Race is a way of categorizing persons based on skin color and other observable external features. For instance, Father Augustine Tolton (also known as Augustus), a former slave who served parishes in Quincy and Chicago, is called the first black priest in America. But was he?

19th century Springfield diocesan priest proposed for sainthood

In 1889, Father Augustine Tolton (also known as Augustus) addressed the First Black Catholic Congress in Washington, D.C. On that occasion he said, “The Catholic Church deplores double slavery — that of the mind and that of the body. She endeavors to free us from both.”

The sainthood cause of Father Augustine Tolton (also known as Augustus) adds a new dimension to retirement life for Father Roy Bauer in Quincy — pilgrimage guide. The Chicago Archdiocese Office for Black Catholics, Chicago Bishop Joseph Perry's office and the Tolton Program at the Chicago Theological Union (CTU) sponsored a pilgrimage Sept. 17-19 to learn more about the early year's of Father Tolton's life, and to pray for his beatification. Father Bauer, a locally recognized Tolton historian and the author of They Called Him Father Gus, served as a guide for the pilgrimage directed by Vanessa White, director of the Tolton program at CTU.

Looking out at the large crowd gathered for the opening session of the Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference last week, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said he felt like the president of the International Olympics Committee.

In a session called “Ten Ways to Get Your Kids to Sing,” David Anderson spoke to a near-capacity group of teachers, choir directors and principals who are interested in getting children to sing out at Mass and in the classroom. Anderson, who is the director of music and organist for Ascension Church in Oak Park, is also a workshop presenter for GIA Publications, Inc., in Forest Park.

In one of the DAEC’s most highly attended sessions, Jo Ann Paradise’s Monday afternoon talk was entitled “Forming a Spiritual Child in a Secular World.”

With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s once again time to start thinking about assisting families who might otherwise do without traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas meals or simple gifts. Although the holiday season always brings extra requests for assistance, Holy Family Food Pantry supervisor Janet Nelson says 2010 is bringing more calls from larger families, along with a larger-than-usual need to fill the pantry’s shelves.

Knights of Columbus members from throughout the Springfield diocese will gather for a Mass at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. Father Peter Harman, pastor of Cathedral Parish, will preside. At the Mass, Knights will remember their deceased members and also honor veterans, both living and deceased.

ALTON — On Oct. 24, the Marquette Catholic High School Chapter of the National Honor Society held its installation of officers and induction of new members.

DECATUR — The Catholic parishes of Macon County are hosting a spirituality workshop presented by Father Albert Haase, OFM, on Saturday, Nov. 20.  The workshop is open to the public and will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes School gym from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

What would Thanksgiving dinner be without turkey? That’s why both St. John’s Breadline and Holy Family Pantry are in need of turkeys for the upcoming holiday.

GRANITE CITY — Every pew at Holy Family Church was filled as were extra chairs set out to accommodate the overflow of pro-life supporters who came from throughout the diocese to join Bishop Thomas John Paprocki at the Diocesan Respect Life Mass on Oct. 9.