By: By Jennifer Willems CHAMPAIGN — St. John’s Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois will say goodbye to two old friends and welcome four new friends at the end of the spring semester. Preparing to leave are Sister Sarah Roy and Sister Janice Keenan, members of the Sisters of St. Francis of the […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems A taste of heaven. Sharon Torres of Holy Trinity Parish in Bloomington used those words not once but twice to describe her first experience of the Chrism Mass, which was celebrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria on April 19. The liturgy, which is traditionally offered early in Holy Week, brings […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems When Kelly Stegall told people that she would be working as the Peoria volunteer coordinator for OSF Home Care Services, she got two reactions. “People would be coming out of the woodwork saying, ‘Hospice is great! We don’t know what we would have done without them,’” she recalled. The second response […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third part in a series following Connie Burek of Brimfield as she prepares to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Here she talks about prayer, the ways the RCIA process has enriched a lifetime of faith, and a […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems UTICA — Anyone who doubts the power of prayer to bring about vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life has only to look at Erin Mone. “I’ve been to Mass all over the diocese and I always hear people pray for vocations. I feel like I’m the fruit of their prayers,” […]
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Photo Caption: Bishop Jenky greets Christian Romo, preparing to be baptized with his mother, Annette, and three siblings at the Easter Vigil at Corpus Christi, Galesburg. Cynthia Edmonson does the introduction. By: By Jennifer Willems When she heard Jesus calling, Danielle Brandstatter of Granville was working as an assistant cook at Nazareth House in rural […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems WASHINGTON — The sounds of babies cooing and burbling, and women laughing and occasionally sniffling and wiping away tears mixed with words of wisdom, words of prayer and words of song to fill the Caterpillar Performing Arts Theatre at Five Points here for “Behold! A Catholic Conference on the Dignity and […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems PERU — In an effort to support its monastic community and its ministry to the people of the Diocese of Peoria and beyond, St. Bede Abbey intends to develop about 80 acres of its property for senior housing. The first phase would be an assisted living center with 70 units, including […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems Even as parishioners across the Diocese of Peoria prepare to enter Lent, plans are well under way to make certain that they will be ready to welcome the new translations of the Roman Missal by the first Sunday of Advent. One major educational effort will take place at the Summer Institute […]
Continue readingBy: By Jennifer Willems When nearly 1,500 people come together at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria next Sunday for the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion, they will witness “an outward sign of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Diocese of Peoria.” “The bishop has recently made the comment that […]
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