Fourteen priests of the Diocese of Peoria have received new assignments in clergy appointments announced this month by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC. Three priests were granted senior status. They include: Msgr. Steven P. Rohlfs, P.A., 70, a former vicar general and administrator of the Diocese of Peoria and rector emeritus of Mount St. Mary’s […]
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Sister Susan Hutchens, OSB, the newly elected prioress of St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island, is a former teacher who has served the Benedictine community as treasurer and was president of the Federation of St. Benedict from 2009 to 2015. (Provided photo)
ROCK ISLAND — Sister Susan Hutchens, OSB, has succeeded Sister Sandra Brunenn, OSB, to become the 14th prioress of St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island. Her election took place on Sunday, June 14, after a long discernment process by the Benedictine community. Sister Kerry O’Reilly, OSB, president of the Federation of St. Benedict, was present […]
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Leah Duffy receives her First Communion from Msgr. Gerald Ward as her happy parents Tim and Abi Duffy look on. Trying to catch a glimpse is big brother Beau, while little sister Cecilia watches intently. Leah was one of 35 children to celebrate the sacrament in two Masses last weekend at Blessed Sacrament in Morton. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
MORTON — Telling them they all looked beautiful and handsome, Msgr. Gerald Ward welcomed 20 girls in white dresses and veils and boys in suits and ties to Blessed Sacrament Church as they received the Blessed Sacrament for the first time on June 13. He would offer the same welcome to 15 boys and girls […]
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The newly ordained transitional deacons pose for a formal photo in the cathedral sanctuary following the June 14 Mass. From left are Coadjutor Bishop-elect Louis Tylka, Deacon Austin Bosse, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, Deacon Nicolas Wilson, and Msgr. Philip Halfacre, vicar general. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
Proclaiming it “a very happy day for our diocese,” Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, ordained seminarians Austin Bosse and Nicolas Wilson as transitional deacons during the first public Sunday liturgy in St. Mary’s Cathedral since the start of coronavirus pandemic restrictions in mid-March. “It’s good to be together,” said the bishop in welcoming remarks as […]
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Wearing face coverings and in socially distanced pews, members of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Streator take part in the 9 a.m. Mass on Sunday, June 7. Many churches in the Diocese of Peoria reopened for Masses last weekend, welcoming up to 25 percent of their seating capacity. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
STREATOR — “Wonderful” was the adjective of choice after Mass on Sunday when members of St. Michael the Archangel Parish here were asked how it felt to be back inside their church for the first time since coronavirus precautions closed it and others to the public almost three months ago. “To see people and to […]
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Catholic priests from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis join African American clergy on June 2, to march and pray at the site where George Floyd was pinned down May 25 and died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Pictured are Father Joe Gillespie, Father Doug Ebert, Father Kevin Finnegan, Father Brian Park and Father Peter Williams. (CNS/Dave Hrbacek, The Catholic Spirit)
EDITOR’S NOTE: On June 4, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, released the following statement on racial injustice and the violence of recent days. His words are followed by links to statements from other bishops of Illinois and a Catholic News Service sampling of comments on the topic by prelates from throughout the United States. — […]
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Jessica and Marcos Sanchez and their children and goddaughters pray the rosary, led by Father William Miller, pastor, before the Pentecost Mass on the lawn of Costa Catholic Academy in Galesburg. They were one of many family groups from the Galesburg Catholic Community at the May 31 liturgy. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
GALESBURG — For the first time in 10 weeks, people from throughout the Galesburg Catholic Community came together for Mass on May 31 and it seemed to be the Holy Spirit’s own timing that made it possible. More than 500 people walked in, rolled in by strollers and walkers, rode in on bicycles, and drove […]
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Below are photos and brief biographies of the valedictorians and salutatorians at the seven Catholic high schools and academies in the Diocese of Peoria. We congratulate them and all graduates in the Class of 2020 who persevered through a senior year like no other. The top students were invited to answer two questions: […]
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter from Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, was released on Tuesday, June 2. The text is available in Spanish by clicking here. — To the priests, religious, and faithful of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Dear friends in Christ, I give thanks to God that our Local Church is now able […]
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Two people take a few moments for private prayer in the chapel of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Peoria Heights on May 29. The Diocese of Peoria entered Phase IA of the plan to reopen churches, which allows for private prayer and adoration for 10 or fewer people, on Friday, and then announced that public Masses could resume on June 6. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)
Just as parishes were opening their doors to people for private prayer and adoration on May 29, it was announced that Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, had given permission for public Masses to resume on Saturday, June 6. The Masses that weekend celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Each church must be certified […]
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