Catholics from throughout Illinois will be in Springfield on Wednesday, March 3, for the second Catholics at the Capitol. Cardinal Francis George, OMI, from the Archdiocese of Chicago, and the Illinois bishops of the dioceses of Rockford, Joliet, Peoria and Belleville, and the administrator of Springfield are the hosts for the event sponsored by the Catholic Conference in Illinois (CCI), the public policy legislative arm of the Illinois bishops.

The Jan. 12 devastating earthquake in Port au Prince, Haiti and its ongoing tragic aftermath drew an instant response of prayers, donations and requests from parishes, schools, individuals and organizations from throughout the Diocese of Springfield, as to what people could do to help.

All went smoothly on the Washington, D.C., pilgrimage for the March for Life  group led by Kyle Holtgrave, associate director of youth and young adult ministries in the diocesan Office for Catechesis.

Seven charter buses and two minivans will transport over 350 youth and adults from the Springfield diocese to Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual March for Life on Friday, Jan. 22.

Sixth Street in front of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception campus in Springfield was closed briefly to traffic the afternoon of Dec. 2, enabling the hundreds of people who came from throughout the diocese room to watch as Father Peter Harman, rector of the Cathedral, and former bishop, now Archbishop George J. Lucas of Omaha, symbolically opened the Cathedral’s doors. The 81-year-old Cathedral was reopened after 15 months of an extensive renovation and construction project, which includes a new altar and baptismal font and an adjoining atrium.