The sanctuary of St. John Church in Viola after the early morning fire on May 27.
(This story was updated on June 1.) VIOLA — Father John Thieryoung is asking for prayers for a 12-year-old male who has been charged with a single count of arson in a fire that caused extensive damage to St. John Church here on May 27. When parishioners gathered for Mass at nearby St. Anthony Church […]
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Deacon Jerry Buyck
EAST MOLINE — It was on a trip to Medjugorje in 1990 that Deacon Jerry Buyck heard the Blessed Mother invite him to be a permanent deacon. “No,” he said. His initial resistance didn’t survive a second trip, however. A native of East Moline, Deacon Buyck and his family were living in Horicon, Wisconsin, at […]
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Father Matthew Abu B. Cole, SMA
MOLINE — A missionary priest of the Society of African Missions, Father Matthew Abu B. Cole, SMA, came to the Diocese of Peoria in 2017 to serve as the parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Parish here. Father Matthew was born in Liberia, West Africa, and claims the Archdiocese of Monrovia as his home diocese. He […]
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Father Martin Mwongyera
Father Martin was born and raised in Nyakishenyi, Rukungiri District, in the southwestern part of Uganda. His home parish is Mary Mother of the Church, Nyakishenyi, in the Diocese of Kabale. He began his studies for the priesthood at St. Thomas Aquinas National Major Seminary in Katigondo, Masaka, Uganda, and received a bachelor’s degree in […]
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Father Deusdedit Byomuhangi
Father Deus came to the Diocese of Peoria on Dec. 10, 2013, to serve as a chaplain at Presence United Samaritans Medical Center in Danville. The medical center was purchased in 2018 and is now known as OSF HealthCare Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he is manager of the pastoral care department. Born in Kabale, […]
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Msgr. James Swaner
UTICA — Msgr. James Swaner spent 50 of his 60 years of priesthood in LaSalle County so it seemed only natural that he would retire among the people he had served so well. Now just a few steps from St. Mary Church here, he gets calls all the time from people asking if he needs […]
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Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka celebrates Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria. Bishop Tylka took part in the fall assembly of the U.S. bishops in Baltimore in late November at which a three-year National Eucharistic Revival was approved. (The Catholic Post file photo/Jennifer Willems)
So many of the things Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka has done in the last year were not things he learned in the seminary. Among them is how to minister to people during a pandemic — or how to be a bishop. Some things have remained very much the same, however. “It’s never about yourself,” he […]
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Father Daniel J. Wilder
None of his classmates at Saranac Lake Central High School in Saranac Lake, New York, were surprised when Father Wilder went into the seminary after graduation. He had been an altar server right up until his senior year and was active on the youth council for the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York. But after two […]
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Father John Thieryoung
Father Thieryoung said if someone hadn’t told him it was his 25th anniversary of ordination he wouldn’t have noticed. “It doesn’t seem like 25 years,” he said. He will celebrate with Mass at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 30, at St. Catherine Church in Aledo, where he is the pastor. A reception will follow. While […]
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Father Robert Spilman
Father Spilman had been out of school for 25 years when he began his studies for the priesthood. He called it an eye opening experience. “But you have a lot of good times, too,” he said, recalling with a laugh that the other seminarians called him “Grandpa.” His age and a career in banking gave […]
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