LAWRENCE -- Volunteers at St. Patrick Church's Cor Unum Meal Center were serving dinner when multiple natural gas explosions and fires broke out in homes across Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover on Sept. 13.
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BOSTON -- Considered by many to be the heart of the Archdiocese of Boston, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross is the largest Catholic church in New England, able to accommodate 2,000 people -- that is, when it has pews for them to sit in.
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BRAINTREE (CAN) -- The Archdiocese of Boston has announced changes to the way it will process and respond to letters addressed to Cardinal Séan P. O'Malley on matters related to sexual abuse. A statement dated Sept. 9 and published on the archdiocesan website confirmed that, in the future, Cardinal O'Malley himself would handle all correspondence either related to his work as President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors or on the subject of abuse generally.
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West Roxbury -- Catholic Memorial, a college-preparatory school for boys in grades 7 to 12, announced Sept. 5 that they have received a $2.5 million grant from the Yawkey Foundations. The grant will provide a significant boost for the school's capital campaign to build The Center for Integrated and Applied Learning, enhancing its strong liberal arts and progressive educational curriculum. The hands-on experiential learning approach was introduced to Catholic Memorial three years ago, and with the Yawkey grant, the expansion will provide a space which is specifically designed for these programs and will enhance types of innovation and problem solving which can be introduced to the students.
Read moreBRAINTREE -- The Archdiocese announced on Sept. 11 that it had removed a priest from ministry after receiving an allegation that he sexually abused a child. Father Christian Ohazulume, a priest from Nnewi, Nigeria who was serving in the archdiocese, is alleged to have committed the abuse in 2007 while staying with a family in Randolph after his arrival to the United States. The victim was a seven-year-old girl who had gone to him for help with her homework.
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This week I am in transit to Rome in anticipation of the next meeting of the C9 Council of Cardinals. So, I have asked Vivian Soper to share some reflections with you about the work of our Office of Pastoral Support and Child Protection, which does so much to help survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the archdiocese. -- Cardinal Seán
Read moreBRAINTREE -- The Archdiocese of Boston announced Sept. 11 that Rev. Christian Ohazulume, an extern priest from Nnewi Nigeria, has had his faculties to minister removed because of receiving an August 31 allegation of sexual abuse of a child.
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BRAINTREE -- You are probably familiar with them -- paperback books with sepia-toned covers that tell the story of a local community. This week, Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series has a new installment, "Catholic Boston," which through photos and text relate the history of Catholics in Boston from the 19th to the late 20th century.
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BOSTON -- Cathedral High School (CHS) in Boston's South End, unveiled its new Applied Learning Center at a ceremony Sept. 4. The new development furthers the school's definitive focus on college readiness, leadership, and service by providing its students with the tools for 21st century learning.
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DANVERS -- St. Mary of the Annunciation School held a successful kick-off to the 2018-19 school year with a family barbeque and ice cream social held on Aug. 29. Approximately 350 people came together to celebrate, including students and their families, faculty and administration, as well as Brother Thomas Zoppo, FSC, head of school of Bishop Fenwick High School, several Bishop Fenwick board members, Sister M. Paul McCaughey, OP of Chicago and Sister Theresa Ryder, SND.
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Bishop Peter J. Uglietto will celebrate Mass honoring St. Padre Pio in St. Leonard's Church in Boston at noon on Sept. 23. Those interested in attending the Mass are advised to be early. Following the Mass, at 2 p.m., a two-and-a-half hour procession will wind through the streets of the North End with Franciscan Capuchin Friars from Italy carrying a vile of the saint's dried blood for public veneration. The Mass and the procession are sponsored by The Padre Pio Society of St. Leonard's parish. The processions will conclude at 4:30 p.m. back at St. Leonard's Church.
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BRAINTREE -- The Internet can help us answer almost any question we can imagine. With its newly redesigned website, vocationsboston.org, the Office of Vocations of the Archdiocese of Boston is hoping to better help people answer the perhaps greatest question of all: What is God calling me to do with my life?
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The next session of meetings for those considering the permanent diaconate are slated to begin this month. The Order of Deacons was restored as a permanent and public ministry in the Roman Church at the Second Vatican Council. The aims of the diaconate are to enrich and strengthen the works of service being performed by the Church, to enlist a new group of devout and competent married and single men in the active ministry of the Church, and to aid in extending needed charitable and liturgical service to the faithful. Wives of deacons assist in many of these areas.
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NASHVILLE -- At their general chapter in June, the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia in Nashville, Tennessee elected Mother Anna Grace Neenan, who is originally from Weymouth, to serve as Prioress General until 2024.
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NORTH READING -- Bishop Mark O'Connell did not know how many people would come to an open meeting held on the last Sunday afternoon of the summer, but his panel discussion on the topic of "Women in the Church" yielded an audience of between two and three dozen people at St. Theresa's Church Hall on Aug. 26. Many were his own parishioners, but some had come from other communities.
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Sunday I visited Marian Manor in South Boston, where I celebrated the community Mass for the residents. We have a large group of retired priests who are residents there. I was very happy that many of them were able to concelebrate the Mass with me, and afterward we had a nice visit.
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WESTON -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley gathered with over 300 archdiocesan priests at the parish hall of St. Julia Church on Aug. 28 to address recent scandals and give them an opportunity to voice their concerns.
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MELROSE -- The Xaverian Brother who was the victim of a July hit-and-run in Melrose has died of his injuries. Brother Edward Bozzo, CFX, 85, died Aug. 20 at Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers from injuries received during the July 9 accident.
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St. Paul, Minn., Aug 29, 2018 CNA/EWTN News.- The phrase “In God We Trust” does not violate the Constitution, a circuit court of appeals ruled on Aug. 28. The 3-0 decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minnesota came in response to an action brought by a group of 29 atheists and supporters. They contended that the national motto “In God We Trust” appearing on currency was a violation of the First Amendment clause against the establishment of a state religion and a violation of their freedom of speech.
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BROCKTON -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley visited Good Samaritan Hospital on Aug. 20 to bless the nearby Pregnancy Help office and its new ultrasound machine, which was purchased by the Knights of Columbus and will be housed at Good Samaritan Hospital.
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SOUTH BOSTON -- On Aug. 18 the Catholic community of South Boston continued its four-part series of monthly liturgies for individuals and families impacted by addiction -- those currently struggling with it, those recovering from it, and those who have watched friends or family members wrestle with it.
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BRAINTREE -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley met with the employees of the Archdiocese of Boston Pastoral Center Aug. 21 to speak to them about recent and ongoing crises, including the resignation of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the inquiry into allegations of misconduct at St. John's Seminary, and the Pennsylvania grand jury report revealing decades of child sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Church.
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SOUTH BOSTON -- On Aug. 18, dozens of people armed themselves with spray bottles or small hoses, scrub brushes or toothbrushes, and took on the task of cleaning gravestones in St. Augustine Cemetery.
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