COLLINSVILLE — The women of Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Collinsville are holding their annual women’s day event on Saturday, April 16 at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Rt. 157 in Collinsville. The day runs from 8 a.m. through 3 p.m., costs $15 and includes lunch. Women from throughout the diocese are invited to register to attend.

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and Springfield Right to Life will be co-sponsoring a 40 Days for Life Campaign outside of Planned Parenthood in Springfield from Ash Wednesday, March 9, through Palm Sunday, April 17.

Thinking about vocations is part of growing up Catholic, says new associate vocations director

Even before he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois in 2005, Father Daren Zehnle was dedicated to helping young people learn about religious vocations. That’s why he feels so at home in his newest dual role as episcopal master of ceremonies for the Springfield diocese, working with Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, and as the associate director for the Office for Vocations.

Young Catholic choristers from parishes and schools throughout Illinois and Missouri will gather at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield on Saturday, Feb. 26 for a choral festival and Mass sponsored by the American Federation Pueri Cantores. Nichol DelGiorno, liturgical music coordinator and liturgy director at Cathedral, will host the event.

Parishioners and friends of St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Springfield helped to start off a significant anniversary year by attending a successful fund-raiser dinner on Jan. 15. The dinner, which included a silent auction and entertainment, was held at Springfield Knights of Columbus Council 364.

On Jan. 12, at the request of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, people from throughout the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois were asked to take time to remember and pray for the victims of the Haiti earthquake that happened one year ago.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki plans to confirm catechized Catholics from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois —those who have received catechetical formation and have been baptized and are receiving Holy Eucharist yet haven’t been confirmed — at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Pentecost Sunday, June 12, at 10 a.m.

Just over two dozen women — many of them young mothers — worked together this fall to make ornaments for Jesse Trees to share with their families. Springfield Blessed Sacrament parishioner Molly Bruening led the project, posting it on Facebook and presenting the idea to her Bible study group that meets at Christ the King Parish.

Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) — a multi-institutional health care system that sponsors 13 hospitals in 12 communities across Illinois and Wisconsin and an integrated physician network — unveiled its new logo early this month.

Mission Outreach, a humanitarian effort of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis in Springfield, recently sent off its 200th container of donated medical supplies and equipment.