Archives
By: Jennifer Willems - June 15, 2022 -
Featured Article
The Eucharist rests on a paten. On June 19, the feast of Corpus Christi, archdioceses and dioceses across the U.S. will hold eucharistic processions to launch the U.S. bishops' three-year National Eucharistic Revival. (CNS/Chaz Muth)
Starting with eucharistic processions this weekend for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, Catholics across the Diocese of Peoria and the United States are being invited to deepen their relationship with Jesus as part of the National Eucharistic Revival. The U.S. bishops approved plans for […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - June 15, 2022 -
Featured Article
Father Luke Spannagel elevates the Host during a recent Mass. The priest of the Diocese of Peoria is among 58 National Eucharistic Preachers commissioned "to enkindle the flame of eucharistic faith and devotion in the United States" as part of a three-year National Eucharistic Revival. (Provided photo)
Father Luke Spannagel would have been very content to remain at St. Mary and Sacred Heart parishes in Rock Island, but he got an offer he couldn’t refuse — and neither could Bishop Louis Tylka. Father Spannagel was invited to join the team of 58 National Eucharistic Preachers who have been commissioned “to enkindle the […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - June 8, 2022 -
News Article, Uncategorized
Pat Corrigan, who was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil at Holy Cross in Mendota, accepted Bishop Louis Tylka's invitation to attend the Mass for New Catholics on Pentecost Sunday at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria. She loves being Catholic and said, "I think I found more peace, more comfort. I feel more loved." (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
Pentecost Sunday was special for Pat Corrigan of Mendota in more than one way. Not only did it mark the “birthday of the church,” but it gave her an opportunity to celebrate being received into that church at the Easter Vigil. Corrigan, who attends Sts. Peter and Paul in Peterstown, was one of many new […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - June 3, 2022 -
News Article
Father Joseph Anderson
GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. — Father Joseph Anderson likes to look up. He’s not necessarily seeking heavenly guidance — although there are those moments — but studying the sky. “I got to know astronomy when I first came here to Green Valley,” he told The Catholic Post. “It’s been very helpful to appreciate the universe in […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - June 3, 2022 -
News Article
One of the ways Msgr. Richard Pricco expresses his creativity is through this train village, which takes up the entire attic of his LaSalle home. It features Pricco's General Store and Annie's Cafe, named for his mother. His photo can be seen in the window of one of the buildings. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
LASALLE — Msgr. Richard Pricco makes it a point to wave to people as he walks his dog each morning. He’s not just being polite. “The wave is a ‘God bless you!’ I don’t care if they wave back. I’m blessing them,” he said. “And who knows what that blessing does to them that day?” […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - June 1, 2022 -
Featured Article
To help him integrate his faith into his work as professor and associate director of the School of Communication at Illinois State University, Dr. Peter Smudde has a crucifix and religious emblems in his workspace. He said they are also good discussion starters with the students. (Provided photo)
NORMAL — As students graduate from college, degrees in hand and hopes for a bright future in their heart, it is essential to take more than knowledge, skills and experience into the search for a job, said Dr. Peter Smudde, professor and associate director of the School of Communication at Illinois State University. “The time […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - May 27, 2022 -
News Article
Father John Bosco Mujuni, who will celebrate his 25th anniversary of ordination on Aug. 17, is pastor of Immaculate Conception, Lacon, and St. John XXIII, Henry. (Provided photo)
LACON — When he was 8, Father John Bosco Mujuni became an altar server. While he was at Mass one day, his father pointed to the priests and said, “I would like you to be like these priests.” “The wish of my father and my active involvement as an altar boy and being involved in […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - May 26, 2022 -
Uncategorized
Bringing the sacraments to people -- especially those who are dying -- have been rewarding moments for Msgr. Jason Gray, pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Peoria Heights. (Provided photo)
PEORIA HEIGHTS — It was attending Emmaus Days, a vocations awareness program sponsored by the Diocese of Peoria, that drew Msgr. Jason Gray to the priesthood. “This retreat was important in helping me realize that praying, ‘Thy will be done’ in the Our Father really means that I should want to do God’s will over […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - May 26, 2022 -
Uncategorized
Father Antonio Dittmer raises the monstrance during Benediction at the Spanish Father-Son Encounter April 9 at the Sacré-Coeur Retreat House in Magnolia. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
MOLINE — Father Antonio Dittmer credits his parents, Ramona and the late Richard Dittmer with creating the “fertile soil” for his vocation. Attending Emmaus Days in 1985 nurtured the seeds that had been planted. “I think Emmaus Days taught me that God has a will for me and if I am faithful to prayer, he […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - May 26, 2022 -
Featured Article
Ten priests serving in the Diocese of Peoria are marking their 25th anniversary of ordination this year. Among them are Father Antonio Dittmer and Msgr. Jason Gray, who were ordained on July 12, 1997, by Bishop John J. Myers at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria. They had been studying at the Pontifical North American College […]
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