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By: Jennifer Willems - February 4, 2021 -
Featured Article
Bishop Louis Tylka, Catholic Schools Week, St. Thomas the Apostle School
Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka offers a blessing for the Feast of St. Blase on the middle school students at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Peoria Heights during a virtual visit for Catholic Schools Week on Feb. 3. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
PEORIA HEIGHTS — Many of the Catholic Schools Week activities that involve visitors had to be curtailed this year, but where there’s a will there’s a way. With determination and a little creativity, Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka was able to make a virtual visit to St. Thomas the Apostle School on Feb. 3. Students in […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - February 1, 2021 -
Featured Article
Catholic Schools Week
Student Council members Mitch Sager, seventh grade, and Reese Welker, eighth grade, hand out decorated cups filled with hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows and peppermint candies as a token of gratitude to members of St. Mary Parish in Kickapoo as Catholic Schools Week begins. A few of the activities planned by the Diocese of Peoria's 42 Catholic elementary schools, high schools and academies are listed below. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
KICKAPOO — It was all about gratitude as Catholic Schools Week kicked off on Jan. 31 around the Diocese of Peoria. At St. Mary Church here, those warm wishes were accompanied by a decorated cup filled with a packet of hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows and peppermint candy all wrapped up in cellophane and a […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - February 1, 2021 -
Featured Article
From left to right are Jane Barrett of Seton Catholic School in Moline, Distinguished Principal of the Year; Kathy Mazander of St. Mary School in Kickapoo, Distinguished Teacher of the Year; and Father Johndamaseni Zilimu, pastor of Saint John Paul II Parish and Visitation Catholic School in Kewanee, Distinguished Pastor of the Year.
In its Catholic Schools Week section published Jan. 31, The Catholic Post profiled the 2020-2021 outstanding principal, teacher and pastor named in early November by the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools. Following are links to the profiles of Jane Barrett of Seton Catholic School in Moline, Distinguished Principal of the Year; Kathy Mazander of St. […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - February 1, 2021 -
Uncategorized
Father Johndamaseni Zilimu, pastor of Saint John Paul II Parish and Visitation Catholic School in Kewanee, stands by a depiction of Jesus outside a classroom at the school. He has been named Distinguished School Pastor of the Year for his work in bringing the children at Visitation closer to Jesus. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
KEWANEE — A longtime passion for mathematics has taught Father Johndamaseni Zilimu many things, including the winning equation for life. The only way things add up for him is to put his vocation to the priesthood and ministry to the people of God first and everything else second. He uses the same formula for guiding […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - January 29, 2021 -
Uncategorized
During at-home learning, Kathy Mazander of St. Mary's School in Kickapoo found a way to keep her students excited by wearing different hats and accessories. (Provided photo)
KICKAPOO — Rolling with day-to-day change is something Kathy Mazander is used to. As the teacher of a combined first and second grade classroom at St. Mary School here, keeping lots of little minds engaged at different levels requires fast thinking and an element of fun. At-home learning over the last year has added a […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - January 27, 2021 -
Uncategorized
Taking temperatures and screening students for good health are now all in a day's work for Jane Barrett, principal of Seton Catholic School in Moline, as she greets the children each day. (Provided photo)
MOLINE — Jane Barrett always wanted to be a teacher. She remembers playing school with the neighborhood kids in the basement of her childhood home and even then her mother would say, “I swear you got that kid through first grade!” “I always loved kids,” she said. “It’s just something that I was very blessed […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - January 27, 2021 -
News Article
The first-ever walk for life at St. Mary of Lourdes in Germantown Hills took people past the monument for the unborn in the parish cemetery. Here Ileen Grebner, director of faith formation (left), stands with members of the Verdun, Cox and Hogan families and their friends. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
GERMANTOWN HILLS — In some ways, the first-ever walk for life at St. Mary of Lourdes Parish last Sunday was like any other walk for life in that people braved the cold of a January day to show their support for human life from the moment of conception until natural death. That doesn’t mean it […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - January 27, 2021 -
Featured Article
Father William Miller offers the homily at last year's Mass for the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children at St. Mary's Cathedral. High school students unable to attend the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., because of COVID concerns are invited to this year's Mass, which will be celebrated by Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria on Jan. 21. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
Mourning the lives ended by abortion, those who attended the Mass for the Unborn at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria on Jan. 22 were encouraged not to give in to despair, but to trust that God hears and answers prayers. “These times are giving us a great opportunity to live the Beatitudes; to change the […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - January 13, 2021 -
Featured Article
Students were welcomed back to in-person instruction at St. Mary School in Pontiac on Jan. 11. Each class was blessed by Father Adam Cesarek, pastor, and there were gifts and a complimentary lunch for the staff and an ice cream treat for the students. The Pontiac school was one of 11 Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Peoria to see an increase in enrollment in the last year. (Provided photo)
In an academic year made difficult by COVID-19, enrollment has provided another challenge for the 42 Catholic schools of the Diocese of Peoria. According to enrollment figures submitted to the NCEA Data Bank for 2020-2021, there are 9,107 students in diocesan schools — a decline of 8.2 percent. That includes a drop of 193 students […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - January 13, 2021 -
News Article
Even though Central Illinois Right to Life will not be holding its annual Sanctity of Human Life Rally or walk for life around the Federal Courthouse in Peoria this year, supporters seized a recent opportunity to make a stand for life. As 2020 was coming to an end, several people from the organization stood on the Adams Street pedestrian overpass along Interstate 74 in Peoria and held pro-life signs for drivers on both sides to see. “We got a lot of affirmative honks,” said Dan Bohan, CIRTL vice president. (Provided photo)
There are many things that have changed across Central Illinois due to COVID-19, but respect for human life isn’t one of them. That has made it necessary for parishes and respect life groups to look for new ways to provide a witness. At St. Mary of Lourdes in Germantown Hills, for example, parishioners will hold […]
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