BRIGHTON -- Nearly 70 members of the Boston Area Order of Malta gathered together to celebrate Advent on Dec. 1 at St. John's Seminary. The annual gathering began with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley.
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MALDEN -- Malden Catholic High School's annual Mass for the feast of St. Francis Xavier on Dec. 3 was followed by recognition of faculty anniversaries, the presentation of an award, and the announcement of a gift from one of the school's most distinguished alumni and benefactors.
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Congratulations to the following schools: -- Xaverian, Westwood; Catholic Conference Title -- Catholic Memorial, West Roxbury; Division 1/South title -- St. Mary, Lynn; Division 7/North title -- Pope John, Everett; Division 8/North title and Catholic Central Small title
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LAWRENCE -- Over 1,400 Central Catholic High School students, faculty, alumni, board members and other honored guests recently enjoyed a visit from Cardinal Seán O'Malley as he presided over a Mass at Central Catholic on Nov. 26.
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On Saturday, I went to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Brookline to celebrate the rite of candidacy of two seminarians. We celebrated the vigil Mass of Christ the King, in which Eric Gonzalez and Fernando Vivas were admitted to candidacy.
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MALDEN -- Continuing a 10-year tradition, Cardinal Seán O'Malley presented the Cheverus Award Medal to 125 laypersons, deacons, and religious during a prayer service on Nov. 25, the feast of Christ the King, at Immaculate Conception Church in Malden.
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BRAINTREE -- As part of Discover Today's Catholic Schools Week, the Catholic Schools Office held a contest inviting students in the Boston archdiocese to express their relationship with Jesus through art or writing. Thirteen students from kindergarten through grade eight were selected as winners and honored at an award ceremony at the Pastoral Center Nov. 16.
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QUINCY -- To the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In," children from St. John the Baptist Church sang, "We give you thanks for all you do. You're like our saints, and we love you. We give you thanks for all you do" to dozens of Quincy first responders.
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MALDEN -- Construction of a new playground at Cheverus School is almost complete, thanks to the combined efforts of faculty, students, parent volunteers, and the local community. According to Cheverus principal, Tom Arria, the idea for the playground stemmed from a recent increase in enrollment in their preschool and kindergarten classes. He said five years ago there were only 17 three and four-year-olds enrolled, whereas now there are 45 three-year-olds and 72 four-year-olds.
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In the United States, one of the most beautiful national celebrations that we observe is Thanksgiving. This holiday recalls the early pilgrims who arrived in New England and, after surviving the ravages of winter with the help of the local indigenous communities, had a great celebration to give thanks to God for their freedom and the abundance of land.
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NORWOOD -- The Bishop James Augustine Healy Award Dinner, sponsored by the Black Catholic Ministries of the Archdiocese of Boston, celebrated its 25th year, Nov. 17 at Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood.
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On Saturday evening, Nov. 17, the Theological Institute for the New Evangelization of St. John's Seminary hosted its 14th annual All Souls Memorial Concert in the chapel at St. John's Seminary, where performers and attendees lovingly remembered their departed family and friends.
Read moreBRAINTREE -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley will present 125 Cheverus Award Medals to laypersons, deacons, and religious during a 2 p.m. daytime prayer service, Sunday, Nov. 25 at Immaculate Conception Church in Malden.
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By the end of November 2018, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul of the Province of St. Louise will end their ministry in the Archdiocese of Boston. The Daughters of Charity were first missioned to Boston in 1832 to assume sponsorship of St. Aloysius Day School founded by Bishop Fenwick in Cambridge. During the 1832 cholera epidemic, sisters serving at the school cared for orphaned children and established St. Vincent's Home for Girls. Through the years, the Sisters ministered in many different works -- among them are St. Vincent's Home for Girls in Cambridge; Carney Hospital in South Boston; Temporary Home for the Destitute Catholic Children of Boston that later was known as Home for Catholic Children, then opened in 1953 in Jamaica Plain as Nazareth Child Care Center; St. Mary School in Dedham; St. John Hospital in Lowell; Catherine Laboure School of Nursing; St. Mary Asylum and St. Margaret Hospital in Dorchester; St. Mary School in Franklin; Columbus Day Nursery in South Boston; St. John of God Hospital; and St. Joseph School and Parish in Holbrook.
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On Friday, we had the 10th anniversary of the Yawkey Foundation Teacher Awards, which recognizes exemplary educators at Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy in Dorchester. It was wonderful to realize how many of the teachers have dedicated much of their careers to teaching at Catholic schools. For some, it is truly a lifetime commitment that has a deep sense of mission. We are so grateful that the Yawkey Foundation sponsors these recognitions because they are well deserved.
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BOSTON -- The 10th annual Social Justice Convocation held Nov. 17 at Boston College High School included keynote speakers, a panel discussion, networking breaks, and an announcement from Cardinal Seán O'Malley about the creation of a new Archdiocesan Social Justice Ministry.
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In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston partnered with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley to help distribute over 7,000 Thanksgiving meals, including turkey and the fixings, to families in need throughout Boston and the surrounding communities. Catholic Charities is the largest partner in United Way's effort to distribute meals to more than 16 local communities through their annual Thanksgiving Project.
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BALTIMORE -- On the final day of the 2018 Fall General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Nov. 14, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley spoke to the Pilot about developments at the meeting, including the unexpected request by the Vatican for bishops to delay voting on proposed responses to clergy abuse.
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SOUTH WEYMOUTH -- St. Francis Xavier School was one of the many Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Boston to hold special ceremonies as the nation prepared to mark Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Since Veterans Day fell on a Sunday this year, the school held its annual Veterans Day Program Nov. 9 with about 50 veterans in attendance, many of them friends or relatives of members of the school community.
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BOSTON -- Boston College High School announced Nov. 7 that principal Stephen Hughes will be retiring as principal at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. Hughes, a 1973 graduate of BC High, has spent more than four decades at the school as a teacher, coach, athletic director, and administrator.
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LYNN -- Cardinal Seán O'Malley visited the youth center of St. Joseph Church on Nov. 9 to see how it has grown since its inception in 2017. "The cardinal was the one who had this idea of opening a youth center in the area here," said Father Wellington Oliveira, St. Joseph's parochial vicar and youth center coordinator, Nov. 13.
Read moreWords of heartfelt gratitude have been expressed for the life-changing help and support many have received from Sisters across the Archdiocese of Boston. "Sister has been a tremendous support and resource for me during the time that my son has been struggling with addiction. She leads a "Hope and Strength Prayer Group" that helps me and many other parents of children struggling with addiction, in recovery and in a special way for those souls who lost their battle with addiction, and for the families they left behind. This group and Sister's constant help have been lifelines for me during a difficult time. I remain extremely grateful for the genuine concern, support and friendship that she has offered me." -- Teresa Murano, Rosary Prayer Group for families with loved ones suffering from addiction, Sacred Heart Church, Quincy.
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It is with great sadness that we learned there was another tragic mass shooting of innocent people this week, this time in Thousand Oaks, California. While the motives of this particular gunman remain unclear, it is unsettling that, as a society, we are unable to deal with the circumstances that lead to these kinds of shootings -- which are, almost always, cases of people with mental health problems and access to firearms.
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