The Catholic Church in the United States has had one full year of experience using the new English texts for celebrating Mass from the new edition of the Roman Missal, introduced on the First Sunday of Advent 2011. Now that another liturgical year has begun, the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) is providing reflections on the Mass collects or opening prayers from Masses on Sundays and holy days to help further familiarize Catholics with the new texts.

Merry Christmas, and thanks to all the young artists who shared their talents in the annual Catholic Times Christmas cover contest. This year, over 600 entries were submitted to vie for the honor of appearing on the cover of the Christmas edition of the diocesan newspaper.

An estimated 10 percent of Americans say they were raised Catholic but no longer practice their faith or have left the church altogether — and the Springfield diocese wants to know why.

The Springfield diocese is well on its way to full compliance with a revised training and background checking policy for clergy, employees and volunteers at all parishes, schools and other Catholic institutions, according to Ember Beddingfield.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has announced that a local collection, to be called the Diocesan Campaign for Justice and Hope (DCJH), will be taken up on the third weekend in November to help meet the needs of the poor in the Springfield diocese. The new collection will replace the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which has previously been conducted on that same weekend annually.

On the third Thursday of November, the Diocesan Campaign for Justice and Hope collection will be taken up in parishes in the Springfield diocese, effectively replacing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD).

Grant money available to help parishes purchase DVD box set

The "Catholicism Project," a set of supplemental materials to be used as resources with Father Robert Barron's acclaimed 10-part film documentary and study program on the Catholic faith, is now available on-line on the diocesan website www.dio.org.

Youth and chaperones from St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Chatham and Holy Cross Parish in Auburn participated in Catholic HEART Workcamp July 8 through 13 in the Archdiocese of Omaha. The 37 youth and seven adults stayed at Archbishop Bergan High School in Freemont, not far from Omaha.

Beginning July 1, the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has implemented a restructuring process of the civil law entities of the diocese and each of its parishes.

The Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has entered into a collaborative partnership with Aquinas Institute of Theology to promote and give access to graduate education and ministerial formation for Catholics in the diocese.