Mezzo-soprano Nichol DelGiorno, with Garrett Allman at piano, will perform a benefit concert to support relief efforts in Haiti at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sixth Street and Lawrence Avenue in Springfield.

A Day of Healing and Forgiveness for those who have been hurt by abortion will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at the Chiara Center on the grounds of the Franciscan Motherhouse near Springfield.

Sgt. Maj. Diane Rogers may be a long way from home, but with the help of several parish priests, she never feels far away from God.

EDWARDSVILLE — St. Mary Parish will host the second annual Catholic Women’s Breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 27, beginning with Mass at 8 a.m. at the parish church, 1802 Madison Ave. Father Tom Meyer, pastor, will be the celebrant. A catered breakfast will follow Mass, with the group Spirit of St. Matthew providing spiritual music.

The Springfield Diocese Chapter of the Knights of Columbus will hold its quarterly meeting Feb. 28 at the Pana Knights of Columbus Hall, 213 S. Locust Street in Pana.

QUINCY — Rich and Connie Niemann have been named the 2010 recipients of the Quincy Catholic Elementary Schools (QCES) Foundation’s “Friend of Catholic Education Award.” The award, established in 2009, recognizes a person or persons whose contributions have significantly fostered and strengthened Catholic schools in the Quincy community. The Niemanns were recognized at a fund-raising dinner Feb. 6, 2010.

EFFINGHAM — St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Effingham held a Luminaries for Life display Jan. 16 and 17 to commemorate the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in the U.S.

The Jan. 12 devastating earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti and its ongoing tragic aftermath drew an instant response of prayers, donations and requests from parishes, schools, individuals and organizations from throughout the Diocese of Springfield, as to what people could do to help.

During the month of February, parishes in the Springfield diocese are scheduled to begin Phase I in the 2010 Pastoral Planning Process, according to diocesan chancellor and director of pastoral planning Marlene Mulford.

CARROLLTON — St. John the Evangelist School recently hosted a convocation as part of a long-term planning process to ensure the future of Catholic education in the area. The six-hour convocation was held during the afternoon on Sunday, Jan. 10.

QUINCY — St. Francis Solanus Parish is hosting a mission on three nights, Sunday, Feb. 7 through Tuesday, Feb. 9 at the St. Francis Solanus Church, 1721 College Ave., in Quincy. The mission will begin at 7 p.m. each evening and end at around 8:30 p.m. Father Johnpaul Cafiero, OFM, will present “No Greater Love — Reflections on the Seven Last Words of Jesus.”

The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (DCCW) will hold its annual Lenten retreat on Wednesday, March 17 and Thursday, March 18 at the Villa Maria Catholic Life Center on Lake Springfield. All women of the diocese are invited.

Five Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) retreats are planned by Great River TEC over February, March and April at the Franciscan Retreat Center of Quincy University.

On Jan. 22, approximately 100 individuals took part in an all-day prayer vigil outside of Planned Parenthood in Springfield. The vigil, organized by two Springfield women and supported by Springfield Right to Life and the diocesan Office for Social Concerns, was a peaceful protest to Planned Parenthood bringing RU-486, the abortion pill, to the capital city.

All went smoothly on the Washington, D.C., pilgrimage for the March for Life  group led by Kyle Holtgrave, associate director of youth and young adult ministries in the diocesan Office for Catechesis.

GRANITE CITY — Holy Family School eighth-grader Joshua Nelson started 2010 out on a bright note by riding in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, Calif.  However, for the first half of his life Joshua couldn’t even participate in regular sports events or attend extended play dates with his friends because he suffered severe kidney disease.

To be among the first to know when Pope Benedict XVI names a new bishop for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, sign up to receive a cell phone text message within minutes after the appointment is made public.

Seven charter buses and two minivans will transport over 350 youth and adults from the Springfield diocese to Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual March for Life on Friday, Jan. 22.

Notre Dame students and alumni come together in Springfield

Five Notre Dame University students and eight Central Illinois Notre Dame University Club members participated in a community service event Jan. 7 at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach near Springfield. For the past two years, students from the University’s Carroll Hall volunteered a week of their Christmas break at Mission Outreach sorting donated medical equipment and supplies that were redistributed to the developing world.

WOOD RIVER — Holy Angels Parish will host the fifth annual Men’s Catholic Breakfast Saturday, March 13, beginning with Mass at 8 a.m. at the parish church, 345 E. Acton. Breakfast and a program will follow at 9:30 a.m. at the Bethalto Knights of Columbus Hall, 400 N. Beau Chateaux in Bethalto. The morning will end with the recitation of the rosary at 11:15 a.m.

, has been named chancellor for St. John’s College in Springfield, which has been educating nursing students since 1886.

SPRINGFIELD — To be among the first to know when Pope Benedict XVI names a new bishop for the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, sign up to receive a cell phone text message within minutes after the announcement is made public.

Eight of Springfield’s Catholic schools recently participated in a joint project to raise funds for Catholic Relief Services’ humanitarian efforts in Darfur. Through a fund-raising raffle, students of Blessed Sacrament, Cathedral, Christ the King, Little Flower, St. Agnes, St. Aloysius, St. Joseph and Sacred Heart-Griffin High School raised $3,000 to assist CRS with ongoing emergency relief efforts in Darfur.

Top CNS news stories are recounted from 2009.

Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield has reached the $4.5 million mark in its capital campaign to renovate and expand the parish school. The theme of the campaign is Building on Tradition, symbolizing the history of the parish, as well as the legacy that will be passed on to future generations of Blessed Sacrament families.

EDWARDSVILLE — St. Mary Church will host a parish mission to foster a spiritual formation held and shared by the sisters from the community of the Apostles of the Interior Life beginning Monday, Jan. 4 and continuing through Wednesday, Jan. 6. Each session of the mission will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the church, 1802 Madison Ave. in Edwardsville, and will be followed by a reception with refreshments. Child care will be provided.

Springfield Club Frontiers International is sponsoring the 35th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast at the Hilton Hotel, 700 East Adams St., on Monday, Jan. 18. This year’s speaker is Father Joseph A. Brown, SJ.