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  • 3/27/2020

    Priests offer outdoor confessions in time of 'social distancing'

    BRAINTREE -- In a Lenten season of "social distancing," when Masses have been suspended and civic authorities are urging people to stay home to avoid spreading the COVID-19 virus, priests are looking for creative ways to minister the sacraments to their parishioners. A few in the archdiocese have been trying a new way of offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation: creating an outdoor "confessional" with a "drive-through" or "walk-up" setup.

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  • 3/27/2020

    Catholic schools turn to virtual learning during time of closure

    BRAINTREE -- How do you keep a sense of normalcy in a time of crisis? How do you maintain a sense of community while physically isolated from friends, mentors, and colleagues? These are the questions that Catholic school communities have been wrestling with while transitioning to "remote learning" after schools were closed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

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  • 3/27/2020

    Cardinal O'Malley leads 'Virtual Lenten Retreat'

    BRAINTREE -- Though Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston began the fourth week of Lent with Masses and other parish activities suspended, they had the opportunity to join Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley for a 5-day "Virtual Lenten Retreat" broadcast through CatholicTV, online and through social media.

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  • 3/27/2020

    Tighter guidelines for churches, Pastoral Center closed following new directives

    BRAINTREE -- In response to a stay-at-home advisory issued by Gov. Charlie Baker, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley has issued new, stricter guidelines under which churches in the Archdiocese of Boston should remain open to the public. The cardinal also urged populations vulnerable to COVID-19 to "exercise careful and prudential judgment" when deciding to visit a church.

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  • 3/27/2020

    Parishes turn to Internet as Masses are suspended

    BRAINTREE -- Since the archdiocese announced on March 13 that all Masses were being suspended in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, many parishes have turned to the Internet as a platform for sharing the Mass and staying connected with their communities in this time of "social distancing."

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  • 3/27/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    This week, following the recommended protocols for social distancing, I am celebrating Mass in the rectory of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross each day for all of our people, especially those who greatly desire to attend Mass but are unable to at this time.

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  • 3/27/2020

    Cardinal OKs meat on Fridays for remainder of Lent

    BRAINTREE -- As the people of Massachusetts find themselves under a stay-at-home advisory and are being urged limits trips outside -- even to the grocery store -- Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley has lifted the obligation for Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston to abstain from meat on Fridays for the remainder of Lent.

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  • 3/24/2020

    Tighter guidelines for churches, Pastoral Center closed following new directives

    In response to a stay-at-home advisory issued by Gov. Charlie Baker, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley has issued new, stricter guidelines under which churches in the Archdiocese of Boston should remain open to the public. The cardinal also urged populations vulnerable to COVID-19 to "exercise careful and prudential judgment" when deciding to visit a church.

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  • 3/23/2020

    Cardinal O'Malley to lead 'Virtual Lenten Retreat'

    Though Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston are beginning the fourth week of Lent with Masses and other parish activities suspended, they now have an opportunity to join Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley for a 5-day "Virtual Lenten Retreat" broadcast through CatholicTV, online and through social media.

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  • 3/20/2020

    Cardinal urges praying the rosary in absence of Masses

    BOSTON -- Speaking at the opening of the televised St. Patrick's Day Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on March 17, Cardinal Seán O'Malley urged the Catholic faithful to pray the rosary during this time of "social distancing" to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

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  • 3/20/2020

    Masses, other activities suspended, churches remain open in archdiocese

    (This story was updated March 20 to reflect the latest directives from the Archdiocese of Boston.) BRAINTREE -- In response to concerns of the public and government officials, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley has suspended all public Masses and religious services in the Archdiocese of Boston until further notice. The archdiocese has also ordered all Catholic schools to close and suspended all religious formation programs.

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  • 3/20/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    Over the weekend, I celebrated two Masses at parishes in the archdiocese as part of our Catholic Appeal Announcement Weekend. The first was at St. Jude's in Waltham on Saturday. The second was at St. Patrick's in Watertown on Sunday.

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  • 3/13/2020

    Archdiocese cancels Masses, closes schools due to coronavirus

    BRAINTREE — In response to concerns of the public and government officials, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley has decided to cancel all public Masses and religious services in the Archdiocese of Boston until further notice. Earlier, the archdiocese ordered all Catholic schools closed from March 16 to 27 and suspended all religious formation until further notice.

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  • 3/13/2020

    Boston Archdiocesan Catholic schools to close for two weeks

    Here is the text of a statement from Thomas W. Carroll, Superintendent of Schools of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, released March 13 announcing the closing of all Archdiocese of Boston parish schools and archdiocesan elementary and high schools for two weeks in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

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  • 3/13/2020

    Cardinal announces 2020 Catholic Appeal at parishes

    WATERTOWN -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley visited local parishes during the weekend of March 7-8 to mark the launch of the Archdiocese of Boston's annual Catholic Appeal. In the evening of March 7, he visited St. Jude Church in Waltham. In the morning of March 8, he celebrated Mass at St. Patrick Church, which, along with Sacred Heart Church, is part of the Watertown Catholic Collaborative.

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  • 3/13/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    The people of the United States and the world are very focused on the coronavirus and how quickly the virus is spreading. We have been closely following the directives of the Centers for Disease Control and the State Department, and in light of that, have been formulating our own policies for our archdiocesan parishes and schools to try to retard the spread of this disease in our community.

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  • 3/12/2020

    Cardinal issues message on coronavirus situation

    Here is the text of a message from Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley released March 12 offering guidance to the Archdiocese of Boston regarding COVID-19. My Dear Friends in Christ, The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is now part of our public life--our world, our country, our state and our Archdiocese -- together we must call on faith and reason to meet this challenge.

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  • 3/6/2020

    Hundreds prepare to enter Catholic Church with Rite of Election

    BOSTON -- Hundreds of people gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on March 1 for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. These ceremonies are some of the last steps for catechumens, who have never been baptized, and candidates, who are Christian but not Catholic, to prepare for entry into the Catholic Church.

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  • 3/6/2020

    Cardinal announces launch of 2020 Catholic Appeal

    BRAINTREE -- The 2020 Catholic Appeal is set to be announced in parishes of the Archdiocese of Boston during the weekend of March 7-8. The appeal supports the archdiocese's 51 central ministries, 110 Catholic schools, and 283 parishes.

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  • 3/6/2020

    Driscoll to step down as Secretary of Institutional Advancement

    BRAINTREE -- The Archdiocese of Boston announced this week that Secretary for Institutional Advancement Kathleen Driscoll will be stepping down after 10 years of service with the archdiocese. Driscoll has accepted the position of senior vice president, chief of philanthropy at UMass Memorial Health Care, a partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and will be departing at the end of the month, the archdiocese said.

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  • 3/6/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    As I mentioned last week, over the weekend we held our archdiocesan discernment retreats for men considering a vocation to the priesthood. So, on Saturday, I joined the group of men who would be candidates for St. John's Seminary for their retreat at the Betania II Retreat Center in Medway.

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  • 2/28/2020

    Go deeper than fitness goals in Lent, says cardinal on Ash Wednesday

    BRAINTREE -- The Pastoral Center's Bethany Chapel was full to capacity as Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley led the celebration of Ash Wednesday Mass on Feb. 26. Cardinal O'Malley delivered his homily before the distribution of ashes. Looking at the reading from Matthew's Gospel, in which Jesus talks about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the cardinal spoke about the importance of motives that prompt religious acts.

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  • 2/28/2020

    The Catholic origins of the leap year

    BOSTON -- The extra day we get approximately once every four years is a way to adapt the calendar year to the astronomical year. But did you know that the present system of calculating the leap years was designed around fixing the date of Easter?

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  • 2/28/2020

    Speaker shares story of abortion, conversion at 40 Days for Life launch event

    NORWOOD -- Extra chairs had to be fetched to accommodate the huge turnout for the Boston 40 Days for Life campaign launch on Feb. 25. Following a Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Norwood, about 200 people gathered in the gymnasium of the neighboring St. Catherine of Siena School to hear the local campaign chapter's guest speaker, Patricia Sandoval, author of the book "Transfigured."

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  • 2/28/2020

    Notre Dame Cristo Rey High to acquire Presentation of Mary properties

    LAWRENCE -- The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (SNDdeN) and the Sisters of Presentation of Mary announced today that formal proceedings have begun for the SNDdeN sponsored Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School (NDCR) to purchase Presentation of Mary Academy's (PMA) school buildings in Methuen. The school section of the former Searles Estate consists of five buildings, approximately 5+ acres of a 24+ acre property which the Sisters are selling. Having provided a Catholic education for families in and around Methuen for 60 years, both religious orders fell into immediate agreement that Notre Dame Cristo Rey High, who has been looking to expand space and reach for its own high school community, would be the perfect fit to purchase the school buildings and carry on the mission of Catholic education at this location.

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  • 2/28/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    Last Friday, I attended the annual New York Encounter, hosted by Communion and Liberation. This gathering is modeled after Communion and Liberation's annual event in Rimini, Italy, called "Il Meeting," which is the largest annual cultural event in Italy.

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