Photo Caption: Earianah King, 4, gets an embrace from St. Nicholas (portrayed by Bob Beckenbaugh) during a lunch at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall near downtown Peoria on Dec. 6, the feast of St. Nicholas. By: By Tom Dermody Before dressing as St. Nicholas for a lunch with more than 350 hungry homeless and underemployed adults […]
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Photo Caption: Surrounded by U.S. and diocesan dignitaries after ceremonies Monday, Bishop Jenky and Msgr. Gray hold a plaque recognizing St. Vincent de Paul School in Peoria as a 2010 National Blue Ribbon School. By: By Tom Dermody On a gymnasium stage surrounded by banners recalling athletic success, the entire St. Vincent de Paul School […]
Continue readingBy: By Tom Dermody NORMAL — Catholics must better unite in a “spirituality of communion” or risk being “steamrolled” by 21st century challenges such as the biotech revolution, journalist John L Allen Jr. told about 200 people at a fundraising dinner for Epiphany Parish here last Sunday. Allen, senior correspondent for National Catholic Reporter, discussed […]
Continue readingBy: By Tom Dermody (Editor’s note: For photos from Monday’s celebratory events, click on “Post Photos” camera icon in the left margin.) Forty-eight hours after reaching their lofty goals on the same day, the state champion boys soccer and girls cross country teams from Peoria Notre Dame High School climbed high aboard a fire truck […]
Continue readingBy: By Tom Dermody LACON — Next to nothing is known about Baby Moses Doe, but visitors to Immaculate Conception Cemetery here will remember the tiny infant for generations to come. The 20-week fetus, whose skeletal remains were found on the edge of a river barge on Sept. 2 as gravel was being loaded in […]
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Photo Caption: Surrounded by many of the more than 150 priests of the diocese taking part in Assembly Days Oct. 26-27, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, celebrates Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. By: By Tom Dermody Success in priestly ministry is not measured by numbers or accomplishments, but by remaining in and sharing the love […]
Continue readingBy: By Tom Dermody Father Bud Grant proposes a solution to saving the planet that isn’t quite as marketable — or simple — as reduce, re-use and recycle. His idea? Embrace suffering, out of love for both God’s creation and future generations. “I’m going to suggest suffering is an environmental virtue — in fact, the […]
Continue readingBy: By Tom Dermody Ever feel it’s not worth taking potentially noisy children to Mass? “Don’t buy into that lie,” said Kathleen Littleton. Kathleen is the mother of 14. And she, her husband Jim, and their children have been daily Mass-goers for a decade. “We sit in back,” said Kathleen, whose children range in age […]
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Photo Caption: Before tackling serious topics, students attending Catholic High School Leadership Day mixed it up in a game of “human foosball” on the patio of the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria. By: By Tom Dermody Sixteen-year-old pop singer Justin Bieber is a big deal these days, but St. Francis of Assisi has been considered […]
Continue readingBy: By Tom Dermody Participants in the “40 Days for Life” campaign to end abortion that opens Sept. 22 in Peoria, Champaign, and around the U.S. were challenged to be “sentinels of hope” to their communities during a prayerful kickoff event on the banks of the Illinois River on Sunday evening. “We are here because […]
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