Also In This Issue...
"Surgical milestone" in Peoria offers hope for toddler, others
By Tom Dermody, The Catholic Post
A surgical milestone. Revolutionary science. The future of organ transplantation. An unbelievable journey.
A miracle.
There was no lack of superlatives -- or emotions -- April 30 at a press conference announcing a world’s-first operation that took place at the Children’s Hospital of Illinois, part of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
Costa Catholic Academy in Galesburg announces campaign
By Tom Dermody, The Catholic Post
GALESBURG -- A capital campaign to build an addition at Costa Catholic School and bring students and faculty together under one roof is off to a promising start.
At the close of a campaign launching event Friday evening attended by more than 250 school families and friends, students from Costa came forward and held numbers up to announce how much has already been raised in the “leadership gift phase.”
It took seven students to hold the numbers -- plus one for the dollar sign.
That means the campaign, on the theme “Treasuring our Past -- Securing our Future,” has already passed the $1 million mark toward a goal of $2.1 million with the help of 30 lead donors. All parish families in Galesburg are now being invited to financially support the project.
Parish in Monmouth planning church restoration, parish hall
MONMOUTH -- One capital campaign to fund several needed projects at Immaculate Conception Church and School here was launched April 28.
“Building Our Future in Faith” is the theme of the $1.14 million campaign that will support a restoration of several aspects of the nearly 130-year-old church and the construction of a new building that will include a multi-purpose hall, a chapel, new parish offices, and three new classrooms for the junior high of Immaculate Conception School.
“Our school enrollment is going up and we could use some extra spaces,” explained Msgr. Thomas Mack, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish. A parish hall has been desired for some time, he said, and adult education programs are limited because of lack of meeting space. Last year’s RCIA, for example, took place in a hospital board room.
ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENDORSED
Plans for the new construction as well as details of the church restoration were enthusiastically endorsed before a crowd of more than 350 at a lunch and program at the parish. Offering an overview of the church restoration was Mike Rigali of Daprato Rigali Studios, while Mark Miller from the architectural firm of Bracke, Hayes, Miller, and Mahon explained the design of the hall and school addition.
Keep moving daily toward God, Cavins urges in return to diocese
By Jennifer Willems
Jeff Cavins is a big fan of walking and recommends doing it often -- with God.
“When it comes to the spiritual life with God we are not meant to be sedentary. We are not meant to just sit and learn,” the popular author and workshop presenter told the 250 people who came to the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria for a daylong presentation on April 27.
“We are meant to take what we learn and keep moving,” said Cavins, director of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul, Minn. “We should be walking with God on a daily basis.”
619 seniors set to graduate from area Catholic high schools
A total of 619 seniors are scheduled to receive diplomas from Catholic high schools and academies in the Diocese of Peoria in the coming days.
The dates and times for the baccalaureate and graduation ceremonies are as follows:
Schlarman Academy, Danville -- Graduation ceremonies will begin at 3:30 p.m. this Sunday, May 12, at Holy Family Church in Danville. Schlarman has 34 senior graduates.
$51 million medical training facility may 'bless the world'
By Jennifer Willems, The Catholic Post
When ground was broken for the new Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Sister Judith Ann Duvall said she asked God to give them the wisdom and the courage and the creativity to complete what he had inspired in them.
“Just look. Indeed he has,” said Sister Judith Ann, major superior of The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, just before the $51 million virtual hospital was blessed and dedicated by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, on April 25.
Affectionately called Jump, the center is a collaboration between OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP). It combines medical equipment and the latest simulation technology to provide better education and performance training for students, physicians, nurses and other medical professionals, as well as research.
Bishop invites all 2013 First Communicants to Mass on June 1
The following is a letter from Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, Bishop of Peoria.
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As part of our diocesan celebration for the Year of Faith, I am inviting all the children of the Diocese of Peoria who have received First Holy Communion in their parishes during 2013 to a special Mass of Thanksgiving in their honor. Please join me at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, 607 N.E. Madison Avenue, Peoria, on Saturday, June 1, 2013, at 4 p.m.
Full text of Bishop Jenky's homily at the 2013 men's march, Mass
Editor's note: Following is the full text of the homily by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, at a Mass during the May 11 "A Call to Catholic Men of Faith" in Peoria. See related story here.
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Whenever we speak about the Name of God, there is always more that cannot be said than can be said. Because God is, by definition, an endless, tremendous mystery. Human language simply cannot exhaust the infinite reality of the One True God.
Bishop urges Catholic men to be 'bold, fearless, put God first'
By Tom Dermody
Catholic men were urged to be “bold and fearless believers who put God first in their lives” by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, at the tenth annual “A Call to Catholic Men of Faith” events in Peoria on May 11.
During a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral that followed a prayerful walk through downtown Peoria, Bishop Jenky especially challenged the 700 participants to “love and protect God’s least little defenseless ones.”
Moments earlier in his homily, the bishop had decried the “murderous abortion industry” that has been exposed anew by the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia physician who was found guilty May 13 on three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies born alive.