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By: Tom Dermody - August 24, 2022 -
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Two members of the Conventual Franciscans of the Krakow Province in Poland are now serving Rock Island's three Catholic parishes. Father Peter Sarnicki, OFM Conv., is pastor of St. Pius X Parish, while Father Witold is pastor of both Sacred Heart and St. Mary parishes. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody and provided photo/Chris Mandle)
ROCK ISLAND — A new chapter in the rich Catholic history of Rock Island began this month as two Conventual Franciscan priests of the Krakow Province in Poland became pastors of the city’s three parishes. Father Peter Sarnicki, OFM Conv., is the new pastor of St. Pius X Parish, while Father Witold Adamczyk, OFM Conv., […]
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By: The Catholic Post - August 24, 2022 -
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St. Mary of the Fields Church in Grand Ridge, built in 1872, is still a beacon of faith in the fields of rural Grand Rapids Township. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
GRAND RIDGE — One of the oldest churches still in use in the Diocese of Peoria, St. Mary of the Fields in rural Grand Rapids Township east of Grand Ridge, will host a Mass on Sunday, Sept. 4, to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Msgr. Philip Halfacre, vicar general of the Diocese of Peoria, will be […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - August 19, 2022 -
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Principal Brooke Rick shepherds Liam Gretencord, fourth grade, and Ariana Miller, second grade, as they arrive for the first day of school at Marquette Academy in Ottawa on Aug. 17. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
OTTAWA — Students returning to classes at Marquette Academy this week packed more than school supplies and classroom supplies for the first day of school. They also brought heaping doses of joy and excitement that were matched by teachers, aides and their pastor, Msgr. Mark Merdian, and principal, Brooke Rick, who waited to greet them. […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - August 10, 2022 -
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The new leaders of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Peoria include (front row, from left) Trevor Knipe, administrator at Sts. Peter and Paul School in Nauvoo; Jeanette Holmes, principal, St. Thomas School in Philo; Dr. Susie Cicciarelli, interim principal at Peoria Notre Dame High School; Melissa Scholl, principal at Blessed Sacrament School in Morton; and Victoria McCollum, principal at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy, East Moline, and (back row, from left) Grant McInnis, chief operating officer at Peoria Notre Dame; Julie Hampton Purl, lead teacher at Costa Catholic Academy, Galesburg; Sarah Hogan, principal at St. Vincent de Paul, Peoria; Chris McGraw, principal at Central Catholic High School, Bloomington, and Ron Kiesewetter, principal at St. Mary School, Metamora. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
A new academic year is bringing new leadership to 10 Catholic schools within the Diocese of Peoria. That includes some creative approaches to staffing and strengthening the head office at two diocesan high schools. The new principals are Jeanette Holmes at St. Thomas School, Philo; Sarah Hogan at St. Vincent de Paul School, Peoria; Ron […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - August 10, 2022 -
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After two weeks of asbestos abatement, hand demolition and preparation of the site, an excavator started taking down St. Jude Church in Peoria on Aug. 16. Construction of the new church is expected to take 14 months. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
On a day that was tinged with sadness yet filled with thanksgiving, parishioners at St. Jude Church in Peoria came to the altar on July 31 for one last Mass in what had been their spiritual home for nearly 50 years. Then they started to strip the church of its altar, tabernacle, ambo, Stations of […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - August 10, 2022 -
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Dr. Carol Razza, one of the keynote speakers for the 36th annual Catholic Charismatic Renewal Conference on July 30, talks about the theme, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus," as the conference image looks over her shoulder. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
Leaving the 36th annual Catholic Charismatic Renewal Conference on July 30 and thinking, “That was a good conference,” wasn’t good enough for Dr. Carol Razza. “No. We say to each other, ‘I’ve been transformed. I’ve been changed. I believe the Lord has a purpose and a plan for my life. I can’t sit idle anymore,’” […]
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By: Tom Dermody - August 3, 2022 -
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With enthusiasm and an invitation for wide participation, Bishop Louis Tylka on Aug. 3 announced the Diocese of Peoria is embarking on a two-year pastoral planning process “to move further into the mission which Christ has given us: to go make disciples.” The initiative, called “Growing Disciples,” will assess the current network of parishes and […]
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By: The Catholic Post - August 1, 2022 -
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Pope Francis and Chief Wilton Littlechild say farewell to each other July 29 in Iqaluit, Nunavut, as the pope prepares to return to the Vatican after a six-day visit. Littlechild, a 78-year-old lawyer, survivor of abuse in a residential school and former grand chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, had lobbied hard for the pope to visit Canada and apologize to residential school survivors. (CNS/Vatican Media)
By Cindy Wooden / Catholic News Service IQALUIT, Nunavut (CNS) — At the end of his six-day visit to Canada, Pope Francis, sitting in a wheelchair, said goodbye to Chief Wilton Littlechild, also sitting in a wheelchair. Littlechild, a 78-year-old lawyer, survivor of abuse in a residential school and former grand chief of the Confederacy […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - July 28, 2022 -
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Abbot Michael Calhoun, OSB, who was elected on July 13 to lead the Benedictine community at St. Bede Abbey in Peru, stands in front of the monastery’s door. His abbatial blessing is planned for Saturday, Sept. 3, and will be conferred by Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Lombardo, CFR, of Chicago. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
PERU — After being known as Father Michael for 20 years, it may take some time for Abbot Michael Calhoun, OSB, to get used to his new title and responsibilities. But that is what the monastic community at St. Bede Abbey elected him to do on July 13. His abbatial blessing will be conferred by […]
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By: Tom Dermody - July 28, 2022 -
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Father Chase Hilgenbrinck, diocesan vocation director for recruitment, leads an Emmaus Days session outside St. John’s Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois in Champaign. (Provided photo)
That 162 boys and young men took part in the four sessions of Emmaus Days this summer in the Diocese of Peoria — the most in a decade — was “incredible.” But there was another number even more satisfying to the seminarian leaders of the vocation awareness retreats sponsored by the diocese’s Office of Vocations. […]
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