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  • 11/27/2020

    Cardinal joins Catholic Charities Thanksgiving meal distribution

    On Nov. 21, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley and Catholic Charities CEO Kevin M. MacKenzie joined dozens of volunteers in distributing Thanksgiving meals at Catholic Charities Yawkey Center in Dorchester. The food distribution was part of the Catholic Charities' efforts, in partnership with the United Way, to provide over 4,000 Thanksgiving meals, including turkey and the fixings, to families in need throughout the Greater Boston area.

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  • 11/27/2020

    IC School, Lowell, food drive yields over a ton of donations

    LOWELL -- When a teacher at Immaculate Conception School in Lowell learned that Merrimack Valley Food Bank (MVFB) was suffering because donations were down because of the pandemic, she turned to the IC school community for help. And the school stepped up in a big way, collecting over 1.3 tons of food during the last week of October.

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  • 11/27/2020

    Relic of St. Matthew gifted to newly formed Billerica parish

    BILLERICA -- A rare and precious gift recently passed between two newly formed parishes, as one let go of its namesake and another accepted that same patron saint as its own. On Nov. 17, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Dorchester-Mattapan gave its relic of St. Matthew, patron of their recently closed church, to the new St. Matthew Parish in Billerica.

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  • 11/27/2020

    St. Peter School, Cambridge, provides school-wide COVID testing

    CAMBRIDGE ? In addition to all the protocols that have become typical in schools during the pandemic, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and staying in cohorts, St. Peter School has maintained another safety measure: providing an opportunity for weekly coronavirus testing for students and staff members.

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  • 11/27/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    Instead of gathering in Baltimore as we usually do for our Fall General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, this year, we held our meeting virtually. Our plenary session began on Monday, but Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were taken up with meetings of the various committees. On Friday, I participated in a meeting of the Committee for the Church in Africa. This committee is in charge of assigning funds that come from the annual Solidarity Collection for the Church in Africa. The present chairman is Cardinal Joseph Tobin who, when he was superior general of the Redemptorists, had a chance to become very familiar with the work of the Church in Africa. On Saturday, we had a meeting of the Committee for the Church in Latin America, which has a similar function to the Committee for the Church in Africa, in distributing funds from the special collection. Bishop Octavio Cisneros is the chairman of that commission.

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  • 11/20/2020

    Past Healy and Ruffin Award recipients honored at virtual celebration

    BRAINTREE -- In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Catholic Ministries of the archdiocese held a virtual celebration on Nov. 14 in lieu of their annual Bishop James Augustine Healy dinner. The hour-long event honored all past Bishop James Augustine Healy Award and Robert Leo Ruffin Award recipients.

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  • 11/20/2020

    Tuthill named COO of Catholic Charities of Boston

    BOSTON -- Catholic Charities of Boston announced on Nov. 12 that Kelley Tuthill will serve as the organization's chief operating officer, a newly created position. The former WCVB-TV journalist most recently served as the vice president of marketing and communications at Regis College.

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  • 11/20/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    On Friday, I had a Zoom meeting with FOCUS campus missionaries in the archdiocese. Ordinarily, we would meet for a dinner and a time of dialogue, but this time we did it virtually. The gathering was a chance for them to share with me, and with each other, some of their experiences working in the various universities during the pandemic. A number of the priests who are university chaplains were part of the meeting, as well, and they spoke about how wonderful it was to have the collaboration of the FOCUS missionaries.

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  • 11/13/2020

    Catholic Charities sees increased need as evictions resume

    BRAINTREE -- At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, as businesses and their employees suffered the economic impact of the shutdown, the ability to pay for housing was a major concern for workers. Fears of eviction or foreclosure were abated by legislation that froze rents for months at a time, but Catholic Charities has seen the problem return in full force since the state's moratorium came to an end on Oct. 17.

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  • 11/13/2020

    Social Justice Convocation explores racial justice

    BRAINTREE -- Over 600 people participated in the archdiocese's 12th annual Social Justice Convocation, which took place in a virtual format on Nov. 7. Focusing this year on the topic of racial justice, two recurring themes emerged from the speakers' presentations: the idea of the "beloved community," and the Church's task of reckoning with its history.

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  • 11/13/2020

    Catholic schools faring well despite pandemic challenges

    BRAINTREE -- Since the beginning of the academic year, the Catholic schools of the archdiocese have served as a case study of in-person learning during a pandemic. The results have been encouraging, according to the archdiocese's superintendent of Catholic schools, and have gained the recognition of the governor of Massachusetts as evidence that in-person instruction is safe when health and safety protocols are followed.

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  • 11/13/2020

    Paul Shanley, key figure in clergy sexual abuse scandal, dies at 89

    BRAINTREE -- Former priest Paul R. Shanley who was a key figure in the Archdiocese of Boston's clergy abuse scandal died on Oct. 28 at the age of 89 in a hospice facility in Ware. The Associated Press reported that the Ware Police Department confirmed Shanley's death, but did not say how he died. Boston Fox affiliate WFXT-TV reported the cause of death as heart failure.

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  • 11/13/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    On Saturday, I traveled to Hartford to participate in the Beatification Mass for Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus. The beatification was held at Hartford's Cathedral of St. Joseph. It was certainly disappointing not to be able to have a large beatification ceremony, such as the one that was held in Detroit for Blessed Solanus Casey, where they filled a stadium with something like 80,000 people. But, of course, because of the pandemic, there was a very limited group allowed in the cathedral. The cathedral is very large but, with social distancing, attendance was limited to only about 200 people, and a large percentage of those were parish priests who were concelebrating.

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  • 11/10/2020

    Cardinal O'Malley releases statement on McCarrick report

    The following statement was issued by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley Nov. 10, 2020: The "Report on the Holy See's institutional knowledge and decision-making process related to former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick" is a painful and shameful account of how someone in McCarrick's position rose to the role of bishop and cardinal and caused so much harm to so many. In word and deed, Pope Francis has followed through on his commitment to a comprehensive, transparent and thorough investigation.

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  • 11/6/2020

    Seminary marks 20 years of lay formation with online concert, auction

    BRIGHTON -- St. John's Seminary will hold its 16th annual All Souls Memorial and Auction in a virtual format on Nov. 14, marking 20 years of lay formation programs at the seminary. St. John's Seminary began offering its Master of Arts in Ministry (MAM) degree in 2000. Another degree, the Master of Theological Studies (MTS), was made available about a decade later. These master's degrees are open to laypeople, deacons, and professed religious. To date, over 250 people have graduated from these programs.

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  • 11/6/2020

    St. Vincent de Paul Society expands with new store in Lowell

    LOWELL -- This week, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul formally opened its newest, largest store in the archdiocese, which will help the society further its charitable mission. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) is an autonomous, self-funded charity affiliated with the Church. The society operates five thrift stores throughout the archdiocese, with locations in Lawrence, Lynn, Plainville, and Stoughton. The stores' revenue supports the programs of the archdiocese's 160 local SVdP conferences. These programs include funds for rent and utility assistance, a holiday meals program, and a parochial school trust fund. Additionally, the society can provide vouchers for its stores to people in need of clothing.

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  • 11/6/2020

    Assumption University limits students to their dorm rooms

    BOSTON (AP) -- Students at Assumption University in Worcester have been told to shelter in place for a week in response to a cluster of coronavirus cases on campus. The order at Assumption took effect Oct. 30 and comes after eight new positive cases among students in the past week, school officials said. In addition, more than 100 students are in quarantine.

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  • 11/6/2020

    From Cardinal Seán's blog

    During our recent board meeting of Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary, Maryann McLaughlin, the co-director of our Worship and Spiritual Life Office, mentioned that they had a Cursillo Ultreya meeting coming up. I said I would love to participate, and so they sent me the Zoom link to join them last Friday.

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  • 11/5/2020

    Cardinal O'Malley issues statement on election

    The following statement was issued by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley on Nov. 5, 2020: Today our country, one of the oldest democracies and most diverse societies in the world, should take pride in the success of the electoral process. We thank all the candidates who have participated in the elections and commend the historic voter turnout, a tribute to the citizens who voted in such striking numbers, in stark contrast to earlier elections. That encouraging sign has opened the way to begin a process of participation among all citizens however they voted. As Catholics, we are committed to the common good, social justice and the Gospel of Life. Participation in the political process is a sacred duty. In a country facing the threefold challenge of addressing a global pandemic, repairing a fractured economy and renewing a national commitment to the goals of racial justice and equality, the broad participation of citizens in the election should be a foundation for rebuilding our unity as a people.

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