All Catholic women and guests are invited to attend the 90th annual Springfield in Illinois Council of Catholic Women Convention to be held Wednesday, Sept. 26 at Ss. Mary and Joseph Catholic Church in Carlinville. Registration and a continental breakfast begin at 8 a.m. The convention runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This year’s theme is “Love and Peace.”

DECATUR — The Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference (DAEC) will be held on Sunday, Sept. 30 and Monday, Oct. 1 at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel, 4191 US 36 West in Decatur. The theme of this year’s DAEC is “Who Do You Say That I Am?”

The script for what caused the Springfield race riot was written eons before 1908: the story from the Bible everyone knows, be they Jew or Gentile. Tempted by Satan himself, Eve ate the forbidden fruit. When challenged by Adam, Eve shifts the blame and Earth’s first residents began their lives of deception; lives they passed on to their own children and future generations of Earth’s inhabitants.

MARYVILLE — Father Dominic Garromone, OSB, known as the “bread-making monk,” will give a demonstration at St. John Neumann School in Maryville on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. He is appearing to help raise funds for improvements to the two Catholic cemeteries in Troy. He is presenting “One Dough, Three Ways” and will demonstrate how to make and then prepare three recipes from the single dough.

The Office for Vocations recently hosted 21 high school students from throughout the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois at Villa Maria Catholic Life Conference and Retreat Center on Lake Springfield for Called and Sent.  The Office for Vocations recently hosted 21 high school students from throughout the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois at Villa Maria Catholic Life Conference and Retreat Center on Lake Springfield for Called and Sent.

In 2018, Totus Tuus celebrated its 10th summer catechizing young people in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and beyond, says Kyle Holtgrave, director of the Office for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. “This year we held 22 sessions,” he says. “There were 16 in this diocese, and others held at Scott Air Force Base, in the Belleville diocese and also in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.” 

Totus Tuus is a parish-based catechetical program for children grade school through high school. The week-long Catholic summer parish missions are dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through catechetical instruction, Christian witness, vocational discernment, Marian devotion and eucharistic worship.

DECATUR — Julie Moore Wolfe has recently assumed the executive directorship of philanthropy, advocacy and community relations at HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital in Decatur.

Her main responsibility is leading fundraising efforts through the foundation. Additionally, she joins the HSHS Central Illinois Division’s advocacy team, working with other local elected officials on various efforts pertaining to the Catholic health system. Moore Wolfe also assists with community and media relations.

Hundreds of kids in the Springfield area are learning about their faith lives and having a great time this summer, thanks to Vacation Bible School leaders and their many assistants. Moreover, because it’s always good to save time and money, several parishes have been taking turns using one VBS package and passing on some locally-produced decorations as well.

This year Blessed Sacrament Parish, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Parish, St. Agnes Parish and Christ the King Parish — all in Springfield — and St. Jude Parish in Rochester have been sharing the Group kit, called Shipwrecked, Rescued by Jesus. St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Chatham, which is just south of Springfield, is using the same package and sharing it with other churches.

This article’s title adorned the banner behind Bishop Thomas John Paprocki as he spoke to a gathering in the Cathedral Atrium after Mass on June 24 (above) to celebrate religious freedom, a weeklong event of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Issues of religious freedom are many in Illinois and beyond, according to Bishop Paprocki who sits on the Bishops’ standing committee on religious freedom.This article’s title adorned the banner behind Bishop Thomas John Paprocki as he spoke to a gathering in the Cathedral Atrium after Mass on June 24 (above) to celebrate religious freedom, a weeklong event of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Issues of religious freedom are many in Illinois and beyond, according to Bishop Paprocki who sits on the Bishops’ standing committee on religious freedom.

On June 23, the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis celebrated the Jubilee — the anniversary of first profession of vows — of nine sisters in St. Francis of Assisi Church. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki and Father Richard W. Weltin was the homilist.

BEARDSTOWN — On Saturday, July 14, St. Alexius Church in Beardstown will be celebrating the 180th anniversary of its establishment with a 4 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, with other priests concelebrating. Following Mass there will be a church picnic and celebration at the parish hall.

Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned, but with prayer, perseverance and some assistance from caring individuals, new good things can happen. That’s what the Springfield Dominicans have discovered with the launching of a new ministry of mutual support for young women.

The mission of Cor Unum — which is Latin for “one heart” — includes opening a house in Springfield to welcome women for prayer, community, socializing and for a few women, a place to live. Plans for this new ministry originally began in 2015 but were stalled in 2017 when original housing plans fell through.

On Saturday, May 26 Bishop Thomas John Paprocki was to have ordained five men to the priesthood at an ordination Mass set for 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. As the men finished up their preparations for ordination, here is what Deacons Robert Johnson, Aaron Kuhn, Dominic Rankin, Mark Tracy and Deacon Brother Adam Zawadzki, OP Miss, had to say about their future lives as priests.

A Minneapolis firm has assumed management of St. Joseph’s Home in Springfield. The 84-bed facility was founded in 1903 by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception.

“We are happy to draw on the expertise of Health Dimensions Group … in our mission to provide the aging and their families with compassionate and individualized care … ,” said Sister M. Lenore Highland, OSF, administrator. “We believe that this change in management will allow our mission to continue into the future.”

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is embarking on a project to digitize and index all of the sacramental records of the diocese that are considered accessible for genealogical research. With the passage of time, sacramental records are considered open for genealogical research. This is no different than state vital records (births, marriages and deaths) which also have access restrictions removed after a certain period of time. In fact, for years, the diocese has provided access to sacramental records prior to 1931 for genealogical research.

Access has not always been easy. Some books are too fragile and many do not have an index. Searching for someone to assist also takes time and effort by a parish and archives staff.

The deadline is near to register for the Our Lady of Good Counsel Women of Distinction Award and luncheon on Saturday, June 16.

The day begins with Mass at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield where the honorees selected by their parish will be recognized by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki. Afterward a luncheon will be held at the Northfield Conference Center in Springfield.

Catholic Times is pleased to recognize the following religious order priests, religious sisters and religious brothers who have lived in or served in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and are celebrating a significant jubilee in 2018.Catholic Times is pleased to recognize the following religious order priests, religious sisters and religious brothers who have lived in or served in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and are celebrating a significant jubilee in 2018.

These people surely deserve our thanks, respect, admiration and prayers for selflessly and courageously answering the call to serve God’s people. Read on to see if you recognize someone who has made a difference in your life or in the life of someone you know.

At the end of each school year, educators and catechists in parish schools and religious education programs in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois are honored for special service anniversaries.

Honorees for 2017-2018 receive a certificate. The catechist certificates are signed by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki and Christine Malmevik, director of the Office for Catechesis. Educator certificates are signed by Bishop Paprocki and Brandi Borries, superintendent for Catholic Schools. One hundred and seven certificates were issued.

Longtime observers know that an adjournment date means little, since no bill ever, really dies in Springfield. Lawmakers still have plenty on their plates. Here’s a rundown of some items of interest to Catholics in the Springfield diocese and the other dioceses statewide.

Priests in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois will join Bishop Thomas John Paprocki for the annual Priests Jubilee Day on Tuesday, May 8 at Villa Maria Catholic Life Center on Lake Springfield.Priests in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois will join Bishop Thomas John Paprocki for the annual Priests Jubilee Day on Tuesday, May 8 at Villa Maria Catholic Life Center on Lake Springfield.

MATTOON — Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has given the go ahead for St. Mary School in Mattoon to close at the end of the current school year.

Official appointments from the Office of the Bishop

Friends of St. Joseph’s Home filled the Crowne Plaza ballroom in Springfield recently in a show of support of the home’s Continuing Care Fund, used by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception to provide financial support to long-term residents who sometimes outlive their own, ergo “Forget-me-not.”

Established in 1903, St. Joseph’s is the largest ministry of the Peoria-based religious order and continues uninterrupted as seven sisters in residence provide leadership and inspiration to more than 80 residents in sheltered, intermediate and memory care. The sisters provide spiritual counseling and individualized care in a respectful environment that supports each resident’s beliefs while reflecting the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.

Father Ronald Trojcak passed away peacefully on April 4 in London, Ontario, Canada. He was surrounded by his loving friends and caretakers. The son of Michael Trojcak and Rita Falk Trojcak, Father Trojcak was born in Taylorville on Aug. 21, 1935.

As a teenager, Father Trojcak entered the University of Illinois where he studied music from 1952 to 1955 — and his love for music continued throughout his life. He then entered the seminary at Notre Dame and moved to St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein in 1955. Following his ordination on May 26, 1962 by Bishop William A. O’Connor he served at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Effingham from 1962 to 1965, then at St. Patrick Parish in Decatur from 1965 to 1968. In Decatur, he became deeply involved in social justice issues and civil rights.

The day after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Dr. Bill Moredock, principal of Little Flower School in Springfield, made a point to visit with his middle school students. As both a school leader and clinical psychologist, it was important that he understood how students were feeling and just how much they knew about the tragic event.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis has named nine new members, including Teresa M. Kettelkamp of Cathedral Parish in Springfield, to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Kettelkamp is a retired Illinois State Police  colonel and former executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.

Peter Chineke and Austin Quick, two seminarians from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois were among those bestowed ministries with fellow students at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana.

Chineke was received into the ministry of acolyte by Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis. An acolyte assists a deacon or priest in the celebration of Mass by attending to the needs of the altar and may distribute Communion as an auxiliary minister. As an acolyte, Chineke may also be entrusted with the public veneration of the Blessed Sacrament.

On the weekend of Feb. 17-18, which was the first weekend of Lent, 274 people from 53 parishes and one university came to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield to take part in the Rite of Election and of the Call to Continuing Conversion. They were accompanied by priests, deacons, RCIA leaders, sponsors, godparents, families and friends who traveled with them.

Since the Cathedral isn’t large enough to hold all the people scheduled to come to the see city that weekend, people from Springfield and the immediate surrounding areas took part in the Saturday evening liturgy. Those who reside more than 50 miles away were there on Sunday afternoon.

Novice Joseph Wagner professed his temporary vows as a Benedictine monk in a ceremony on Jan. 20, at Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, Ind.

He has completed his novitiate, a year of prayer and study of the Benedictine way of life. As is the custom during the profession of vows, he chose a religious name. Novice Joseph is now Brother Stanley.