The Catholic Post Tag: Christmas

Christmas hymn, video witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist

By: The Catholic Post - December 19, 2019 - News Article Christmas, Eucharist, hymn, Like Shepherds to the Stable, Real Presence, Tom Dermody

"Like Shepherds to the Stable" is a eucharistic-themed Christmas hymn composed by Tom Dermody, editor of The Catholic Post.

In his 2020 Festival Letter titled “The Real Presence,” Bishop Daniel R. Jenky asked that all in the Diocese of Peoria “look for ways to reinforce our teaching and witness regarding the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist.” While The Catholic Post continues to do that with various columns and news […]

Artist’s gift to Franciscan Sisters still giving as ornaments enter 25th year

By: Jennifer Willems - November 6, 2019 - Featured Article Christmas, Heading Avenue Franciscans, ornament, Rolan Johnson, Sister Kathleen Ann Mourisse

The 2019 Rolan Johnson ornament being sold by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception is based on the 1985 Christmas card created by the Peoria artist and printer. The title of the collectible ornament is "There Is a Peace." (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

WEST PEORIA — For many years, Rolan Johnson’s elaborate, colorful Christmas cards reminded people what the season was really all about. While the Peoria artist and printer is gone, the tradition lives on in collectible ornaments based on his artwork and sold to benefit the retirement fund of the Sisters of St. Francis of the […]

‘Supergirl’ Sierra, 6, on gift-giving mission to spread joy at OSF Children’s Hospital

By: Jennifer Willems - January 4, 2019 - News Article Christmas, gift cards, OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois, Sierra Grace Biagioni

Sierra Grace Biagioni of Peru, also known as Miss Claus, delivers a bag filled with 54 $25 gift cards to OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois on Dec. 24. Accepting the gift on behalf of the young patients is Child Life Specialist Hillary Reiner. (Provided photo)

PERU — Like any superhero, Sierra Grace Biagioni has several aliases. Some call her Supergirl, which was her chosen costume for Halloween and the theme for her Nov. 2 birthday party a couple years ago. This Christmas, however, the 6-year-old was known as Miss Claus, donating 54 $25 gift cards to OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital […]

Bushnell priest’s Nativity village ‘hobby’ invites people deeper into ‘living reality’

By: Jennifer Willems - December 19, 2018 - Featured Article Bushnell, Christmas, Father Patrick O'Neal, Fontanini, Nativity

"Christ was born just like any other child. . . . This is not God pretending to be a human being. It is God who becomes one of us," says Father Patrick O'Neal, whose Fontanini Nativity village has 300 figurines and about 60 structures. (Provided photo)

BUSHNELL — Anyone who wants to know what Father Patrick O’Neal’s hobby is need only visit St. Bernard Church, where he is the pastor, and walk down the center aisle. Throughout Advent he has been sharing his Fontanini Nativity village, complete with 300 figurines and about 60 structures, with parishioners and members of the community. […]

Why more than 500 Nativities fill the Rushville home of Regina Ehrhardt

By: Jennifer Willems - December 19, 2018 - Featured Article Christmas, Nativities, Nativity sets, Regina Ehrhardt, Rushville, St. Rose

Nativities rest on nearly every flat surface in Regina Ehrhardt's Rushville home. She displays them throughout the year. The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems

RUSHVILLE — Christmas isn’t a season for Regina Ehrhardt. It’s a way of life. The Rushville woman’s home is filled with Nativity scenes in the form of pillows, throws, table cloths and runners, plates, wall hangings, water globes, ornaments, and a cookie jar, in addition to some more traditional displays. During a recent visit she […]

Chillicothe nurse says special delivery of healthy baby made for her best Christmas

By: Jennifer Willems - December 13, 2017 - News Article baby, Chillicothe, Christmas, Geneva Wallace, nurse

Geneva Wallace of Chillicothe served as a certified registered nurse anesthetist at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria for much of her 42-year career. Now retired, she takes great joy in hooking rugs and teaching others to do the same. (The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems)

CHILLICOTHE — Early one cold December morning, long before the sun filled the sky, a baby boy was born. No, not that baby. This birth took place just south of Chillicothe, but it was still the best Christmas present Geneva Wallace ever received. On that Christmas Eve, the child made it clear that he was […]

Benedictine’s ‘eclectic’ Christmas village puts Nativity at the center of it all

By: Jennifer Willems - December 13, 2017 - Featured Article Christmas, Christmas village, Nativity, Rock Island, Sister Mary Core, St. Mary Monastery

Sister Mary Core, OSB, said it delights her to watch children enter into “the wonderland of little houses and people and motion” of her Christmas village at St. Mary Monastery in Rock Island. (Provided photo)

ROCK ISLAND — Benedictine Sister Mary Core didn’t start out to make a Christmas village that enchants children and adults who visit St. Mary Monastery from late Advent through the Christmas season. It just sort of happened. What is more intentional is the focus on why Christmas is such a meaningful — as well as […]

What is the most memorable Christmas gift you have given or received?

By: The Catholic Post - October 18, 2017 - News Article Christmas, gift, meaningful

What is the most memorable gift you've received or given and why was it so memorable?

Work has started on the annual “Christmas Greetings” edition of The Catholic Post and it wouldn’t be the same without your stories of Christmases past and the family traditions that make the season “the most wonderful time of the year.” This year we have a special request. We’d like to hear about the most memorable […]

Students, shut-ins in Morton have been developing relationships for 25 years

By: Jennifer Willems - January 3, 2017 - Featured Article Blessed Sacrament School, Christmas, Karen Spring, Mickey King, Morton, pen pals, shut-ins

A group of fifth-graders from Blessed Sacrament School in Morton visit with their pen pals, Bill and Joann Anderson, after singing Christmas carols and delivering handmade Christmas cards and a gift to them. They were accompanied by their families and teacher Karen Spring. (Provided photo)

MORTON — Lessons in writing friendly letters aren’t always about developing good communication skills. In the hands of Karen Spring of Blessed Sacrament School, they help her fifth-graders to develop relationships with senior members of the parish, as well as a lifelong concern for others. “It works both ways,” Spring explained. “My class sees how […]

“The Peace of Christmas” — A message for 2016 from Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC

By: The Catholic Post - December 23, 2016 - Featured Article Bishop Daniel Jenky, Christmas

This depiction of the Nativity is from a stained glass window at St. Mary Church in Canton. The Catnton faith community will not see the window this Christmas because the church remains closed for repair following the Nov. 16 deadly natural gas explosion in the city's downtown. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)

Christmas, 2016 “Glory to God in the highest and PEACE to His people on earth!” My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: On every great feast day and on almost every Sunday of the year, the song of the Christmas angels’ echoes down the ages in the Church’s sacred liturgy. As we celebrate the almost […]

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