News - August 2023 RSS Feed

The Worcester Diocese didn’t offer Totus Tuus until last year, but there has been a Worcester connection to the national Catholic educational summer program for far longer than that. Totus Tuus adopted some of its methodology from “The Mystery We Proclaim,” soon after Msgr. Francis D. Kelly, a Worcester native, wrote the book in 1993.

When Worcester diocesan seminarians Ricky Reyes and Liam Daigle visited St. Joseph Parish, Charlton, in June for a youth ministry volleyball game, they asked Father Robert A. Grattaroti if he would be interested in bringing a Totus Tuus program to the parish.

The merger of two parishes is not the first merger for some members of Holy Family Parish, who have been worshiping in St. Joseph’s Church for decades. But it is the first time its closest neighboring parish – St. Stephen – which is across the street, has been merged.

The merger of Holy Family and St. Stephen parishes was called a cause for celebration when it was announced last weekend. The two parishes, within walking distance of each other, are officially one as of 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 1.

The Massachusetts Catholic bishops and local lay people have expressed concern about proposed changes for sex education in the state’s public schools.

In the latest Worcester Diocese production of Conversation with Bishop McManus, titled “In the News,” Raymond L. Delisle, chancellor and director of communication for the diocese interviewed Bishop Robert J. McManus, recorded Aug. 21.

The line item regarding advertising by pregnancy centers was tabled under privilege at the Worcester City Council meeting Tuesday. The item is expected to be on the agenda at the next meeting, Sept. 12. for comments and votes.

A university student who ministered to peers during the school year spent part of her summer reaching out to children, high school girls and college-bound young people. Kendall Mullen, 21, calls her outreach “friendship evangelization.”

Recent graduates Xavier Harrelle and Matthew Parizo plan to make a difference not only in their communities, but at Anna Maria as well. Starting on Aug. 29, the good friends will take turns returning to campus from their firefighting jobs in Connecticut to teach a class called, “Principles of Emergency Services.”

St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary School in Worcester was one of several Catholic schools in the diocese which had administrators and teachers receiving certification in mental health first aid during the 2022-2023 academic year.

With the rise of fuel prices, inflation and the cost of education, many are seeking opportunities to reduce expenses while still providing their children with a good education in an environment where young souls and minds can thrive. And, if those opportunities promote sustainability, that’s even better. Along with its many other programs, the Saint Mary School Parents Association (SMPA) has been holding its uniform swap for more than 10 years.

Young members of St. Denis Parish in Ashburnham and St. Edward the Confessor Parish in Westminster were promised a total of $3,500 in scholarships from the parishes’ Knights of Columbus Council 15972 last spring, according to Jack McCarthy of St. Denis, the Knights’ financial secretary.

The 16th annual Ghanaian Catholic Laity Convention, held Aug. 11-13 at the DCU Center, drew about 826 people, said Father Enoch K. Kyeremateng, chaplain of the Worcester Diocese’s African Ministry and administrator of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester. This year’s theme was, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14), because the U.S. Catholic Church is observing the National Eucharistic Revival.

The Diocese of Worcester has issued a standard policy for schools regarding sexuality and sexual identity. Entitled “Catholic Education and the Human Person,” it was approved by Bishop McManus in late June of this year and sent to all Catholic schools to incorporate into school handbooks beginning this fall.

The pope, people and prayer were highlights for a local laywoman and a seminarian attending World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 1-6.

Members of local parishes joined people from other dioceses on a bus trip to the July 14-16 youth conference in Steubenville. “We had a really great group,” said Grace Benoit, 18, of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Webster, one of the parishes on that trip. They experienced community with one another, which she found inspiring.

The Worcester diocesan TV Ministry in collaboration with the Office for Vocations, the week of Aug. 1, relaunched the video series Come Follow Me. Father Donato Infante, director of the Office for Vocations, conducted an interview with Father Thiago Ibiapina, associate pastor at Annunciation Parish in Gardner, to discuss his individual call to the priesthood.

Parishioners and adoration coordinators share the beauty of adoration chapels around the diocese such as Blessed Sacrament Adoration Chapel at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Webster, Our Lady of Guadalupe Regional Adoration Chapel located in the lower church of John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish, in Clinton and Annunciation Parish in Gardner.

Once upon a time, there was a storyteller who had a dream. The storyteller is Anthony McCaffrey, creator of Dovetales, a collection of religious fables or fairy tales for children. He writes them, and tells them at his parish, St. Anne and St. Patrick in Sturbridge, among other places. This spring he started a group called Artisans of Jesus and launched the website artisansofjesus.org.