The apparition grotto at Lourdes, France.
Everyone is capable of performing acts of mercy. If they have a generous heart that cares for others, the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary will help them take the next step. The religious community is collecting prayer intentions that will be taken to Lourdes by 100 missionaries from their spiritual family […]
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Joyce Heiple of St. Mary School in Metamora guides Ben Cronkhite and Anna Schmitz is assembling "blessing bags" of bottled water, socks, snacks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and an apple for the people served at Sophia's Kitchen in Peoria. The "blessing bags" were delivered by the eighth-graders at the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
METAMORA — What words would you use to describe “mercy” to a child? “I told them when I think of mercy I think of love, caring, kindness, forgiveness. Those are words they can understand,” said Joyce Heiple, the second grade teacher at St. Mary School in Metamora. It was important for them to understand that […]
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Marytown, home to the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe and sponsored by the Conventual Franciscans, is located in Libertyville. Provincial headquarters are in Chicago.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series featuring religious communities and other forms of consecrated life around the Diocese of Peoria. The Year for Consecrated Life, which began with the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, 2014, closed Feb. 2, 2016, the World Day of Consecrated Life. —– It may have been […]
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OTTAWA — With the community’s blessing, Marquette Academy has launched a $1.5 million capital campaign to upgrade technology, renovate its facilities, and increase its endowment in order to make more scholarships and financial assistance available. Principal Brooke Rick said any monies donated over that goal will be split evenly between reducing the school’s $1 million […]
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Lynn VanDeHeede meets with seniors Ally Zahringer, Rachel Elliott and Kyler Yodts to plan an activity at Alleman High School in Rock Island. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
ROCK ISLAND — Counseling at Alleman High School changed when Lynn VanDeHeede became the director of the department 11 years ago. A teacher who enjoyed her time in the classroom, she didn’t want to be isolated from the students or see them only when something got serious enough to require intervention. With Kathy Miller […]
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Father Stephen Willard prays with a class at St. Patrick School in Washington. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
WASHINGTON — If Father Stephen Willard had his way, every child would receive a Catholic school education, and ability to pay should not be an obstacle, according to the Diocese of Peoria’s Distinguished School Pastor for 2015-16. “People are very generous in the parishes. We have tuition assistance funds. Sometimes it might be difficult, but […]
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This billboard, one of 22 sponsored by Catholic Sisters in the Upper Mississippi River Valley, is located in Rock Island. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
ROCK ISLAND — With the eyes of many political analysts trained on Iowa, where the caucuses will be held Feb. 1, Catholic Sisters in the Upper Mississippi River Valley are hoping to catch a few of them with billboards reminding candidates, delegates and voters that care for the environment matters. “I see it as […]
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CHICAGO — Frigid temperatures were no match for the warm hearts more than 5,000 people from across the Midwest brought to March for Life Chicago on Jan. 17. Among them were many “ambassadors of the pro-life cause” from the Diocese of Peoria. A bus pilgrimage sponsored by the diocese included 90 people, half of them […]
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Members of the Peoria Affiliate of the Pueri Cantores ("child singers"), conducted by James Marck, were among 5,000 young people singing for the pope during an International Congress in Rome. (Provided photo)
Megan Tucker knew that she would be one of 5,000 young people singing for Pope Francis during the International Congress of Pueri Cantores in Rome after Christmas, but she got a souvenir she didn’t expect. At the opening ceremony the eight singers of the Pueri Cantores Peoria got separated from conductor James Marck and ended […]
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The St. Anthony Camerata Chorale Festival Choir and accompanying pilgrims on the "Majestic Italy" singing tour are shown outside St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. (Provided photo)
God had something special in mind for the St. Anthony Camerata Chorale Festival Choir and Mary Ann Fahey-Darling said because of it the 31 singers and their traveling companions reaped blessing after blessing during their musical pilgrimage to “Majestic Italy.” “God had a plan and it was so much bigger than us,” she told The […]
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