With the new academic year just under way, a number of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois are depending on new principals to lead them in a positive direction.

Most of the new principals have been in the schools this summer, preparing for the academic year. Moreover, several of them were at the Catholic Pastoral Center on Aug. 1, attending the annual new principal's orientation. Jean Johnson, superintendent of Catholic schools, and Marilyn Missel, associate superintendent of Catholic schools, were on hand to guide the new leaders.

Thirty-five individuals from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois will have much to remember about the summer of 2013. That's because they were with the millions of pilgrims at World Youth Day in Rio De Janeiro.

As summer winds down, contractors are busy at work making sure children at Little Flower School at 900 Stevenson Drive on Springfield's south side are comfortable this academic year and beyond. The school is getting new HVAC units in all the classrooms and several areas of the school are being updated and remodeled.

About 50 people — adult and young adult leaders and high school participants — were on the campus of Benedictine University at Springfield from July 14-19 for Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI), which is sponsored by the Office for Vocations.

Over 60 individuals, both middle school youth and adult leaders from Catholic parishes in Illinois and several surrounding states, were in Springfield from July 15-19 as volunteers in the Just5Days service program.

On June 26, the United States Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) meaning that the federal government will now have to recognize so-called same-sex "marriage" in states that provide for it. On that same day, the Supreme Court also declined to take up the defense of Proposition 8 in California in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry.

A program for Catholic men that has been up and running across the nation is now becoming available to men in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. That Man Is You! (TMIY) is a 26-week interactive multimedia men's program divided into two 13-week semesters.

For the first time ever, a Catholic HEART Workcamp has been held in Springfield to reach out to community organizations which help those in need. Teens and their chaperones from around the country participated in the camp which lasted from June 30 to July 6.

Rebecca Woodhull, a Springfield native and member of Cathedral Parish of the Immaculate Conception, has been named president of the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW) in Washington, D.C. On May 31, she received a blessing during Mass from National Spiritual Advisor Father James Stembler of the Corpus Christi diocese.

Hundreds of people attended a June 22 Mass celebrated by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield. The Mass liturgically began the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Fortnight for Freedom locally and celebrated the third anniversary of Bishop Paprocki's installation as Bishop of Springfield in Illinois.