Springfield priest prepares for new work at Rome's Pontifical North American College

While July 1 brings new assignments to many parish pastors and priests, no pastor in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois will be moving further this summer than Father Peter Harman.

DECATUR — A 5K "Run and Walk for the Talk" will take place Saturday, June 22, at Nelson Park in Decatur.

The weather outside may have been stormy and gloomy, but the mood inside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was a happy one on Saturday, May 25, as Bishop Thomas John Paprocki ordained Father Hyland L. Smith to the diocesan priesthood.

As the school year was winding down, children across the diocese looked forward to spring field trips. At the end of the 2012-2013 academic year sixth-grade students from St. Mary School in Taylorville had their field day on May 7. The youngsters and their teacher Cathy Schaeffer traveled to Springfield to visit the Illinois State Capitol and the Chiara Center.

May is one of the two months that Catholics traditionally honor the Blessed Virgin Mary; October, the month of the holy rosary is the other. However, for members of the Legion of Mary, any time — indeed any hour of any day — is a good time to praise Mary with thoughts, prayers and actions.

On Saturday, April 6, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki ordained two third-year diocesan seminarians to the transitional diaconate during a 10:30 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield.

Young diocesan missionary teaches refugees

Luke Ebener believes he is proof positive that, if one really listens to God's call, the answers will come.

A graduate of Glenwood High School in Chatham and St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, Ebener was leading a comfortable life in Davenport, just a few hours away from his parents and his hometown. However, at 24 years old, he somehow felt unfulfilled.

More and more folks over 50 are looking to their parishes to have fun and build fellowship by joining "senior groups" like those at St. Agnes Parish in Springfield and Our Lady of Lourdes (OLOL) and St. Thomas the Apostle parishes in Decatur.

Approximately 650 people were in attendance when Bishop Thomas John Paprocki concelebrated the chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on the evening of March 26. Diocesan seminarians also served in various capacities during the liturgy, coming to the see city from their various seminaries.

TAYLORVILLE — Sixth-graders at St. Mary's School have a new understanding of how the cardinals of the world came to vote for Pope Francis. Thanks to the help of their teacher Cathy Schaeffer and director of religious education Carole Harrison, the youngsters participated in a mock conclave that began on March 11 and ended on March 13.