Bishop Louis Tylka has recently appointed two priests as vicars forane to serve regions of the Diocese of Peoria. Father Antonio Dittmer, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Moline, is the new vicar forane of the Rock Island Vicariate, which embraces 15 parishes in the communities of Andalusia, Coal Valley, Colona, East Moline, Hampton, Milan, […]
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Bishop Louis Tylka and others place their hands on a wall of the newly built Habitat for Humanity house at 707 W. Locust St. in Bloomington during a prayer of blessing on July 9. The bishop is flanked by Father Dustin Schultz, pastor, and Father Martin Mwongyera, parochial vicar, of St. Patrick Church of Merna in Bloomington, which sponsored the home-building project with the rebate money from the parish’s Annual Diocesan Appeal. At far left is Roger Scott, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of McLean County. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
BLOOMINGTON — Standing in a circle of support in the living room of his family’s new home during blessing ceremonies on July 9, Fidele Makala offered a litany of gratitude. “Our family would like to express how excited we are for this blessing,” said Makala, moments after receiving the keys to a house built by […]
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Amanda Connon, director of the Diocese of Peoria's new Office of Information Management, is pictured in her office on the second floor of the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
“I’m like a super-nerd,” says Amanda Connon. “I love organizing things.” Bishop Louis Tylka saw that skill in Connon as she recently did volunteer work gathering information and creating databases for the Diocese of Peoria. And he recognized the high school music teacher would be a good candidate to help solve some shortcomings in how […]
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Carla Oliver
Living the Word / By Carla Oliver Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time / July 17 Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15:2-3,3-4,5; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42 For the better part of my life, my heart has been consistently captivated by an unexpected source of motivation. This particular gift has motivated me to gain new depths of self-knowledge, shown me […]
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Sister M. Justina Delonga, DSF
LACON — A Mass of Christian Burial for Sister M. Justina Delonga, DSF, will be celebrated on Saturday, July 9, at 11 a.m. at the motherhouse of the Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi here. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the Mass. Burial will be in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lacon. […]
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A tricycle is seen near the scene of a mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park on July 4. (CNS/Max Herman, Reuters)
In My Father’s House / By Paul Thomas Moore In the essay “First and Second Things,” Oxford Don and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis described a deceptively simple concept, “You can’t get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.” I was reflecting on this recently in […]
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Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth star in a scene from the movie "Thor: Love and Thunder." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Jasin Boland, Marvel Studios)
By Catholic News Service Tongue-in-cheek humor paces the vivid action in this third direct sequel to 2011’s “Thor,” adapted, like its immediate predecessor, by director and co-writer Taika Waititi from a series of Marvel Comics. With a disillusioned former believer in the gods of paganism (Christian Bale) on a killing spree targeting them, the Norse […]
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Pope Francis speaks during an exclusive interview with Reuters at the Vatican on July 2. (CNS/Remo Casilli, Reuters)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a wide-ranging interview with the Reuters news agency, Pope Francis condemned abortion, dismissed the idea that he’s preparing to resign and said he still hopes to be able to visit Russia and Ukraine in the fall. Pope Francis also told Philip Pullella, the Reuters’ Vatican correspondent, that while the Vatican’s […]
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St. Maria Goretti Church in Coal Valley serves about 200 households.
COAL VALLEY — Bishop Louis Tylka will join the members of St. Maria Goretti Church on Sunday, July 17, to celebrate the parish’s golden anniversary. The Mass, which will be concelebrated by Father Tony Ego, pastor, will begin at 10 a.m. Previous pastors are also expected to attend. Founded in 1965, St. Maria Goretti started […]
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Living the Word / By Carla Oliver Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time / July 3 Isaiah 66:10-14c; Psalm 66:1-3,4-5,6-7,16,20; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12,17-20 Have you ever taken the time to examine your daily life? Recently, in a conversation with one of my beloved spiritual fathers, he made a simple comment about how he is able to […]
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