Even before its first gathering, a new group for young Catholic adults in the Diocese of Peoria is generating a lot of buzz. “It’s just taken off,” said Karley Bates of the interest in “Fourth Watch,” a monthly evening of “faith, friends, and fun” for Catholics age 21 to “upper 30s” that debuts from 7 […]
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Blanche Hewitt stands next to a horse-drawn carriage, the only mode of transportation when she was born in Atkinson in 1908. A former bank executive, she continues to live in the Sheffield house she built with her husband and asks each morning, "What are we doing today?" (Provided photo/Terri Skiles)
SHEFFIELD — At 109, Blanche Hewitt could be forgiven for wanting to take things easy, but that’s not how she rolls. “Every day she says, ‘What are we doing today?’,” according to her daughter, Helen Hewitt of California, who recently spent two weeks in central Illinois to celebrate her mother’s milestone birthday. “Her favorite saying […]
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Kevin and Sam Sorbo, with their real-life children Shane and Braeden, portray the Harkens family in a scene from the movie "Let There Be Light." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Let There Be Light)
By Catholic News Service Evangelical Christian drama with a familiar plot: A wayward sinner, in this case a famous atheist author (Kevin Sorbo, who also directed), undergoes a change of heart. His conversion is sparked by a near-death experience during which he is temporarily reunited with the young son (Ethan Jones) whose untimely demise from […]
Continue readingBy Catholic News Service Compelling documentary about the experiences of U.S. combat soldiers in Afghanistan as well as their postwar struggles to resume their lives back home. In 2011, Justin D. Roberts, who directed and co-wrote the narration with Alan Wain, served in Afghanistan as an Army chaplain. He carried a camera to document his […]
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Mel Gibson, Mark Wahlberg, Owen Wilder Vaccaro and Will Ferrell star in a scene from the movie "Daddy's Home 2." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults.(CNS/Paramount)
By Catholic News Service Silly slapstick predominates in this follow-up to the 2015 comedy about the blending pains of a post-divorce family. As the stepfather (Will Ferrell) and biological dad (Mark Wahlberg) whose rivalry fueled the first outing try to preserve the fragile harmony they’ve achieved during a Christmas visit by their own temperamentally contrasting […]
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Leonard Hybki, a member of St. Valentine Parish in Peru who served in the U.S. Army during the Korea conflict, salutes as the National Anthem is sung outside Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine in LaSalle in ceremonies following a Veterans Day Mass on Nov. 8. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
LA SALLE — Students from Trinity Catholic Academy here got a Veterans Day homework assignment during a special Mass that drew military veterans as well as former priest military chaplains to the Diocese of Peoria’s shrine to war veterans here on Nov. 8. “On this Veterans Day, if you meet a veteran, I ask you […]
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Johnny Depp stars in a scene from the movie "Murder on the Orient Express." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Fox)
By Catholic News Service Sleek ensemble whodunit, set in the 1930s, presents Agatha Christie’s famed Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh who also directed), with an array of plausible suspects after a gangster (Johnny Depp) meets a grisly end on the luxurious train of the title. As Poirot questions the victim’s secretary (Josh Gad), butler […]
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The gym at Corpus Christi School in Bloomington was transformed into a place of worship for the Diocese of Peoria's Abide in Me high school youth retreat, including a "burning bush" tower of candles in the center that often held the Blessed Sacrament exposed for adoration. Pictured is the procession at the close of Mass on Sunday. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
BLOOMINGTON — Some of the 150 high school youth who took part in a diocesan retreat Nov. 3-5 came tired and stressed from busy school and activity schedules. Others attended reluctantly, prodded by parents or friends. But after spending 40 hours with Catholic peers from around the diocese — and in the constant presence of […]
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Melissa Leo stars in a scene from the movie "Novitiate." The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. (CNS/Sony Pictures Classics)
By Catholic News Service At a time when the reforms of Vatican II caused some nuns to leave the convent, a wide-eyed young woman (Margaret Qualley) decides to enter, having fallen in love with God. There a rigid tyrant of a mother superior (Melissa Leo) lords it over her new charges, making it her mission […]
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Father Jeffrey Laible, spiritual director for Warriors to Lourdes, distributes Communion during Mass for English-speaking service members and their companions at the grotto in Lourdes, France, during the International Military Pilgrimage in May 2016. (Provided photo/Lt. Col. William Wong, M.D.)
LINCOLN — As Veterans Day approaches, plans are being made around the diocese to honor the men and women who have served their country. From his office at Holy Family Church here, Father Jeffrey Laible is also working to bring them the healing they may still need physically, spiritually and emotionally. A lieutenant colonel in […]
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