“Goodbyes always make my throat hurt . . . . I need more hellos.” — Charlie Brown, from the comic strip “Peanuts” —– UTICA — Msgr. James Swaner, a Charlie Brown fan and collector, won’t have to say goodbye when he ends his 13 years as pastor of St. Mary Parish here by transitioning to […]
Continue readingThe news that Father Donald Henderson has been granted senior status will make Catholics in at least 20 parishes around the Diocese of Peoria fondly recall his time with them. “I’ve had many, many parish assignments,” acknowledged Father Henderson, 72, who also served on the faculties of Catholic high schools in Peoria and Danville during […]
Continue readingROANOKE — As a young boy growing up in Lacon, Msgr. Charles Beebe felt a calling to the priesthood. His father, Joseph, thought that would be a difficult path and suggested he consider becoming a dentist like his uncle on the East Coast. Though for a few years, when asked what he wanted to be, […]
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Msgr. Charles Beebe, Father Donald Henderson, and Msgr. James Swaner have been granted senior status by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, effective June 8. (Catholic Post photos by Tom Dermody)
The granting of senior status to Msgr. Charles Beebe, Father Donald Henderson, and Msgr. James Swaner highlight appointments affecting 33 priests announced this month by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC. New pastors have been assigned to 11 parishes, while temporary administrators were named to four additional faith communities. Chaplain transitions have been announced for Central […]
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Part of the largest ordination class the Diocese of Peoria had seen in a quarter of a century, the priests who are celebrating their silver jubilee this year did not even fit in the sanctuary of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria when it came time to lay prostrate during the Litany of the Saints. The […]
Continue readingBorn in New Jersey, Father Vitaliano grew up in Miami, Florida. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1979 to serve his country and see the world, and discovered a deep love for his Catholic faith and a priestly vocation along the way. He studied for the priesthood at Holy Apostles College and Seminary […]
Continue readingMsgr. Swetland is the president of Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, and also serves as professor of Leadership and Christian Ethics there. Prior to that, he was vice president for Catholic Identity and Mission and held the Archbishop Flynn Chair of Christian Ethics at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Born in Pittsburgh, […]
Continue readingA native of Pennsylvania, Father Kretz attended Temple Tech Institute in Philadelphia, where he earned an associate’s degree in computers and electronics. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Temple University. He received a master’s degree in philosophical theology from Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut. Father Kretz’s first assignments were as parochial […]
Continue readingFather Keebler was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. He attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and studied for the priesthood at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, where he earned a master’s degree in theology and a master of divinity degree. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception in Streator. He went […]
Continue readingMsgr. Halfacre was born in East Chicago, Indiana, and grew up in Hammond. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Indiana University and master’s degrees in divinity and sacred theology, with an emphasis in moral theology, from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He also studied at the John Paul II Institute on […]
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