Sister M. Maximilia Um, FSGM, and Carlos Tejeda, both members of the curia at the Catholic Pastoral Center, will be offering a workshop entitled, "Called to Love" beginning on Sunday, April 7, and continuing for the next three consecutive Sundays.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, sometimes referred to in the Catholic press as the "Holy Goalie," has collaborated with his brother Joe Paprocki to pen a book on how faith and fitness can be intertwined.

In Holy Goals for Body & Soul — 8 Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith (Ave Maria Press) Bishop Paprocki writes about the connection between athletics and God that he's developed throughout his life. He began that faith journey, he notes, as a young boy growing up in a family of nine, which included two girls and seven boys.

The Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI) is sponsoring Life Advocacy Days during the 2013 spring legislative session beginning the week of March 11-15 and continuing through the week of April 15-19. The campaign is a sustained effort focused on daily prayer in support of four advocacy days, held on four upcoming Wednesdays at the State Capitol in Springfield.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki presided at two liturgies the first weekend of Lent, welcoming catechumens (the unbaptized), Christian candidates for full communion and Catholic candidates for confirmation and Eucharist to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield.

CHATHAM — For the eighth year in a row, youth at St. Joseph the Worker Parish will give a Lenten presentation of the Living Stations of the Cross. This year the junior high and high school PSR students will act out the Stations on Friday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the church, which is located at 700 East Spruce Street in Chatham.

Next month, runners representing the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois will be taking part in the A-Cross the Country Relay with the LIFE Runners pro-life group. The relay began on Ash Wednesday and continues until Palm Sunday, March 24. It is being held during Lent to coincide with the 40 Days for Life prayer vigils.

If you have been at a diocesan-wide Mass or some other important religious celebration, you may have wondered about men dressed in white capes and black berets and women wearing black capes and veils who process together just before the bishop. They are members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, an ancient order that dates back to the First Crusade.

The Office for the Missions of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has gained some positive recognition through well-known national outlets, says Vicki Compton, director of the Missions.

CHARLESTON — St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Charleston celebrated the feast of the Epiphany on Sunday, Jan. 6 with a large meal, complete with the arrival of the three kings and a musical performance.

A call to prayer by the Catholic Bishops of the United States as well as the release of a marriage toolkit issued by the Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI) signify how important it is that Catholics understand, articulate to others and personally embrace the Catholic Church's understanding of marriage, says Carlos Tejeda, director of the diocesan Office for Marriage and Family Life.