Archives

Outdoor classroom a place of prayer, learning at St. Mary School in Kickapoo

Kindergartner Owen Schaub gives a good drink of water to the newly planted flowers in the outdoor classroom at St. Mary School in Kickapoo. The students were guided by Owen's grandmother, master gardener Anne Schaub. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

KICKAPOO — Over the summer, a new classroom was added to St. Mary School here. Don’t look for it inside the building, however. The spacious new learning center is located behind the school on a large lot that had plenty of grass but wasn’t used for anything — until kindergarten teacher Josette Baumann received a […]

Continue reading

Hispanic Ministry offers a professional listening ear to area’s Spanish-speaking

Sister Isabel Romero, SCTJM, director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Peoria, is pictured with Olga Figueroa, her longtime friend from Mexico. Figueroa is a psychotherapist who offered workshops and private counseling in August to Spanish-speaking Catholics in LaSalle, Peoria, and Bloomington. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)

As a priest from Mexico was hearing confessions for 14 hours during a retreat day for Spanish-speaking Catholics of the Diocese of Peoria last summer, Sister Isabel Romero, SCTJM, offered to help move things along. “Do you want me to tell them to be a little more quick — to just say their sins?” asked […]

Continue reading

Msgr. Albert Hallin, 90, dies; funeral Mass is Friday at Holy Cross in Champaign

Msgr. Albert Hallin stands in front of the small altar in his apartment at Inman Place in Champaign in this 2013 file photo. The former educator, pastor and holder of diocesan leadership positions died Aug. 26 at the age of 90. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

CHAMPAIGN — A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, at Holy Cross Church here for Msgr. Albert W. Hallin, P.A., whose 58 years in the priesthood was marked by leadership in education, parishes and diocesan positions. Msgr. Hallin, who in 2007 was named by Pope Benedict XVI […]

Continue reading

Educators learn more about heavenly ‘friend’ at Catechetical Institute

Msgr. Stanley Deptula smiles as Bonnie Engstrom shares a favorite story about Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen during the keynote at the Diocesan Catechetical Institute on Aug. 13. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen made more than 800 new friends as Catholic school teachers, religious educators and interested parishioners came together for the annual Diocesan Catechetical Institute on Aug. 13. The back-to-school gathering was hosted by St. Vincent de Paul Church and School in Peoria. As he did during his long priesthood, the El […]

Continue reading

Catholic-run senior facility in Normal to add nursing and memory care units

Msgr. Eric Powell sprinkles holy water during blessing ceremonies Aug. 21 at The Village at Mercy Creek in Normal. Among those looking on are two members of the leadership of Franciscan Ministries, which acquired the senior living facility a year ago -- John Glover, chief operating officer, and Dan Noonan, chief financial officer. (The Catholic Post, Tom Dermody)

NORMAL — The Village at Mercy Creek on Aug. 21 marked one year as a Franciscan Ministries senior living community by announcing plans to expand in 2020. “We think there is a real need in this marketplace to extend our mission through skilled nursing and memory care units we want to construct here,” said Dan […]

Continue reading

Admitted to candidacy for Holy Orders, 21 men form Permanent Deacon Class XI

The 21 men in Permanent Deacon Class XI pose with Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, after being admitted as candidates for Holy Orders during Mass on Aug. 18 at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria. Standing behind the bishop are Deacon Ed Mallow, Deacon Gary Koerner, Deacon Todd Weber, and Deacon Joe Knapp, members of the team working with the deacon candidates. Concelebrating with the bishop were Father Donald Levitt (far left) of Christ the King, Moline, and Father Mark DeSutter of Sacred Heart, Moline, the pastors of three of the candidates. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

Declaring their resolve to complete their preparation for Holy Orders and assume ministry within the church, 21 men were admitted to candidacy for the permanent diaconate by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, on Aug. 18. The Ritual for Candidacy took place during the 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria. Father Donald Levitt […]

Continue reading

Happy New Year and blessings to teachers, students, and parents as schools reopen

Students from Corpus Christi Catholic School in Bloomington walk hand-in-hand in this file photo. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

By Lucia A. Silecchia EDITOR’S NOTE: The author is a Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America. The Catholic Post frequently publishes her column on finding the sacred in the simple called “On Ordinary Times.” We publish this one online for timeliness and interest as our schools reopen across the Diocese of Peoria.   […]

Continue reading

El Paso massacre is personal for two Maryknoll priests from our diocese

Curtis Reliford kneels next to a cross in honor of Jordan Anchando, one of the victims of a mass shooting Aug. 3 at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. Maryknoll Father Bill Donnelly, a Peoria native, serves two parishes near the site where 22 were killed and 24 injured, while Maryknoll Father Mike Gould, a Merna native, assisted there until recently. (CNS/Callaghan O'Hare, Reuters)

CANUTILLO, Texas — Two retired Maryknoll priests born and raised in the Diocese of Peoria are very familiar with how the Aug. 3 massacre at the Walmart in El Paso is deeply affecting the people of the region. “There has been a tremendous outpouring of grief and prayer and it’s still going on,” said Father […]

Continue reading

Priests of diocese prayed for by name at Holy Hour; future opportunities listed

After exposing the Blessed Sacrament for adoration, Deacon Kevin Zeeb of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Morton leads the Holy Hour for Priests on Aug. 4. As they prayed, participants remembered Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, and many priests serving in the Diocese of Peoria by name. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

Priests serving the Diocese of Peoria received prayerful encouragement Aug. 4 as the Bishop’s Commission on Women hosted a Holy Hour for Priests. Among those remembered by name was Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC. About 50 women, children and men gathered in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel at the Spalding Renewal Center in […]

Continue reading

Pew survey shows majority of Catholics don’t believe in the ‘Real Presence’

Father Lee Brokaw distrubutes Communion to a participant in this spring's A Call to Catholic Men of Faith, the annual men's march and Mass in Peoria. A new Pew study about the level of Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist showed that a majority of Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine used at Mass become the body and blood of Christ. (The Catholic Post file photo/Tom Dermody)

By Mark Pattison / Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — A new study about the level of Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist showed that a majority of Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine used at Mass become the body and blood of Christ. The report drew […]

Continue reading
SPALDING PASTORAL CENTER | 419 NE MADISON AVENUE | PEORIA, IL 61603 | PHONE (309) 671-1550 | FAX (309) 671-1595
© Copyright 2026 - The Catholic Post || All Rights Reserved || Design by TBare.com