WEST PEORIA — “Jesus Blesses the Children” is depicted on the 26th annual Rolan Johnson Christmas ornament that is being sold by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception, also known as the Heading Avenue Franciscans. Two sided and encased in a gold-plated brass frame, the ornaments come gift boxed with a numbered […]
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Mary Ann Hughes
WESTVILLE — After more than 30 years as president of the busy Altar and Rosary Society at St. Mary Parish here, Mary Ann Hughes knows firsthand the benefits that membership offers to Catholic women and parishes alike. As the new president of the Peoria Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, she’s hoping to spread the word. […]
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Courtney Curtis, assistant director of Sophia's Kitchen in Peoria, and Claire Crone, director, fill bags that will be given out at the food pantry, which is held on the last Friday of the month. In a few days, the tables will be filled with items that will go into the kitchen's first-ever Thanksgiving takeout dinner and then restocked for Christmas bags. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
Hunger doesn’t take a holiday and neither will Sophia’s Kitchen this Thanksgiving and Christmas, despite COVID-19 restrictions. Director Claire Crone said how they provide for their clients in downtown Peoria will look different, however. Instead of inviting people into the parish hall at St. Joseph Church, 103 S. Richard Pryor Place, for a sit-down Thanksgiving […]
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Books on war — its strategies, personalities, horrors, etc. — are plentiful. But as Veterans Day 2020 approaches, there are a host of reasons to spotlight “Beyond All Odds,” a personal reflection on World War II’s Battle of the Bulge penned by the late Donald F. “Bud” Vonachen. It would be enough that the story […]
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Reviewed by Katie Faley I have always felt a bit intimidated by Mother Teresa. She radically gave up everything for Jesus, living out His call to “take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece” in a very literal sense. She […]
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"The light would move slowly across the wall as Mass progressed," recalls Paul Moore of a scene at his former church, St. Peter in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. "And I found my peace expanded as this temporary light hinted gently to me of the eternal." (Provided photo/Father James Mallon)
In My Father’s House / By Paul Moore We’re in the supermarket. My wife has asked me to mind the cart while she checks something in another aisle. My first impulse is to look at my phone. I resist. I’m bored for a second. Then, I slowly become more conscious of the colors, people, and […]
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Father Jeremy Freehill and members of St. Ann Parish check on a neighbor during their weekly rosary walk through the church neighborhood on the south side of Peoria. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
My Vocation is Love / By Lindsey Weishar In early October, Pope Francis released his encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti.” He offers the parable of the Good Samaritan as a model of neighborliness: “Like the chance traveller in the parable, we need only have a pure and simple desire to be a people, a community, constant and […]
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Diane Lane and Kevin Costner star in a scene from the movie "Let Him Go." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Kimberley French, Focus Features)
By Catholic News Service In mid-1960s Montana, a retired sheriff (Kevin Costner) and his strong-willed wife (Diane Lane) are concerned for the welfare of their young grandson after their widowed daughter-in-law (Kayli Carter) and her physically abusive second husband (Will Brittain) abruptly leave town and move in with his family in North Dakota. Traveling there […]
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The honorees will be recognized at a Mass and luncheon on May 5, 2021.
During a school year that has required extraordinary amounts of patience, adaptability and faith, the Office of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Peoria offered three reasons to celebrate by recognizing its outstanding pastor, principal and teacher. They are Father Johndamaseni Zilimu, pastor of Saint John Paul II Parish and Visitation Catholic School in Kewanee, […]
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Sister Estelle Wiltz, OP
SINSINAWA, Wis. — A funeral Mass was offered on Oct. 29 at the Dominican motherhouse here for Sister Estelle Wiltz, OP, a longtime educator who served as principal at St. Mark School in Peoria and Visitation Catholic School in Kewanee. Burial followed in the Motherhouse Cemetery. Sister Estelle died Oct. 21, 2020, at St. Dominic […]
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