Although the Easter Vigil is the normative time for the baptism of adults and children of catechetical age (about the age of 7 and older), it is not the only time the Roman Catholic Church “makes” new Catholics. Infants of Catholic parents are regularly baptized soon after birth.  

QUINCY — St. Francis Solanus School fourth-graders recently had the opportunity to meet and talk with Olympic legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee, whom Sports Illustrated for Women recently named “Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century.” During her Olympic career, she won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the heptathlon and long jump events.

CHATHAM — Sixty junior high students from the Springfield/Jacksonville areas gathered at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Chatham March 28-29 for a Timothy Retreat.

VANDALIA — Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will be the main speaker on May 3 at Our Sorrowful Mother’s Ministry in Vandalia when the Black Madonna icon is there as part of its ongoing pilgrimage throughout North America to promote a message of family and life.

EFFINGHAM — Effingham Catholic Charities and St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital have launched a dental voucher program for adults 18 years and older who are underinsured or uninsured and in need of an emergency tooth extraction. Residents of Effingham, Jasper, Cumberland, Fayette, Clay and Shelby counties are eligible for the program.

During Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday (April 13), Lent ends and the Easter triduum begins. A single three-day celebration of the Paschal mystery, the triduum opens with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening. Here’s a short explanation of what happens at your parish and at Catholic parishes all over, during this sacred time.

ALTON — Saint Anthony’s Health System (SAHS) has signed a Letter of Intent to affiliate with OSF Healthcare System (OSF), one of the largest integrated health care systems in Illinois. The affiliation with OSF would give Saint Anthony’s and the surrounding communities access to enhanced high-quality health care, close to home, Saint Anthony’s officials said.

Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield will present the musical Bye, Bye, Birdie, April 3 through 6 in the SHG Auditorium, 1200 W. Washington.

Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach will hold its Sixth Annual World’s Fair April 26 at Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, 4930 LaVerna Road in Springfield. Held in celebration of the ongoing ministry of bringing hope to those in need, the event will feature cuisine and entertainment of Western Africa while showcasing the efforts of Mission Outreach’s distribution of medical equipment and supplies throughout the developing world.

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois continues to be firmly committed to its safe environment programs at all parishes, schools and other Catholic institutions, said Ember Beddingfield, director of the Office for Safe Environment.

Twelve years after the implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People members of the diocesan review board continue to perform their responsibilities under the Charter for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, said Patricia Kornfeld, victim assistance coordinator for the diocese.

Thanks to three area Knights of Columbus councils, the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council and fundraising campaigns held at various parishes, the Lifetime Pregnancy Health Center (LPHC) in Springfield now has an ultrasound machine to allow expectant mothers to see their unborn babies — many for the first time.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki blessed St. John’s Hospital’s new Outpatient Surgery Center (OSC) in Springfield on March 19. Over a dozen Franciscan Hospital Sisters joined hospital administrators, staff, board members and St. John’s supporters at the blessing service, held in the OSC Pavilion Atrium.

The annual Good Friday Way of the Cross for Peace and Justice will be held on Friday, April 18, beginning at noon at the Supreme Court Building, Second Street and Capitol Avenue in Springfield. The two-hour prayerful walk remembers Jesus’ Passion and its connection with the sufferings of injustice experienced in God’s people in the world today. All are invited to join with others in the ecumenical experience of prayer.

As far back as the majority of parishioners at Little Flower Parish in Springfield can remember, the Quonset hut has "just always been there," said Msgr. John Ossola, pastor. Originally purchased in 1947 for $15,000, the Quonset hut served as the temporary church for the parish until the present church was built in the early 1960s. However, it wasn't until March 10 that the tired old building was taken down.

Father House to be chancellor; Mulford to head new department

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has named Father David Hoefler to be vicar general/moderator of the curia for the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, effective May 1. Father Hoefler succeeds Bishop-elect Carl Kemme who was named head of the Wichita Diocese on Feb. 20 and will be ordained a bishop there on May 1.

Over the first weekend of Lent 370 people from 59 parishes and one university campus attended the Rite of Election of Catechumens and of the Call to Continuing Conversion of Baptized Catholics with their priests, deacons, RCIA leaders, sponsors, godparents and friends. Because the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception would be too crowded to hold all of those people, folks from the Springfield and immediate surrounding areas took part in the Saturday evening liturgy while those who live some distance away were there on Sunday afternoon.

Two parishes, St. Jude in Rochester and St. Peter in Quincy, are holding parish missions during Lent, with Father Albert Haase, OFM, speaking on “Signed and Sealed with the Cross.”

TAYLORVILLE — St. Mary Parish will sponsor a three-day parish mission April 6-9 at the church, 108 W. Adams St. The evening sessions will begin at 7 p.m., followed by refreshments and fellowship in the cafeteria.

Official appointments from the Office of the Bishop

MARYVILLE — Father McGivney Catholic High School has received accreditation from the Illinois State Board of Education.

COLLINSVILLE —  Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Collinsville is hosting its ninth annual Women’s Day on Saturday, April 26 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the K.C. Hall on Rt. 157 in Collinsville.

OBLONG — Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Oblong is celebrating 60 years. In March 1954, Bishop William A. O’Connor established the parish, which covers western Crawford County and eastern Jasper County.

CARLINVILLE — Almost 90 individuals, both high school youth and adult chaperones, gathered at the Lake Williamson Christian Conference Center in Carlinville Feb. 28-March 1 for the 2014 Diocesan Youth Conference.

Msgr. Carl A. Kemme, vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Springfield diocese, has been named 11th bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, Kan. The appointment was announced Feb. 20 in Washington, D.C., by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will present a series of “Bible Briefings” on Sunday evenings in Lent. On March 9, 16 and 30, the presentation will be from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. in the Cathedral atrium, following the Sunday evening Mass. On Sunday, March 23, the presentation will be held during the Springfield Deanery Revival, which begins at 7 p.m. at Christ the King Church, 1930 Barberry Drive in Springfield.

Father Fernand “Ferd” Cheri, OFM, will be preaching a Springfield deanery mission March 23-25 at Christ the King Parish, 1930 Barberry Drive in Springfield. The mission will begin at 7 p.m. each night and is being sponsored by Black Catholic Ministry in the Office for Social Concerns and Respect Life.

DECATUR —  Decatur Catholic Radio, 88.9 WDCR, scored a hit when organizers brought Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange, Calif. here as speaker for the station’s third annual fund-raising banquet Feb. 18 at the Decatur Conference Center. He drew a crowd of over 350 people to the $50 a plate dinner.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, along with a former member of the Chicago Blackhawks and a number of other hockey players, will be suiting up and hitting the ice for the third-annual Catholic Charities’ fundraiser “Hockey with Bishop Paprocki.”