The event, which marked a first in U.S. church history, was a national response to Pope Francis’ 2013 apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”), according to organizers.

The exhortation lays out a vision of the church dedicated to evangelization – or missionary discipleship – in a positive way, with a focus on society’s poorest and most vulnerable, including the aged, unborn and forgotten.

Reflections of Convocation from diocesan leaders who attended

The Catholic cadets were tightknit. On Wednesdays, they’d sit together at lunch and introduce their white-haired military chaplain, Father Steve Rock, to new music by Matt Maher. Melendez, who had grown up listening to Christian radio, fit right in.

He succeeds Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, who last October was named to head the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, where he was installed Dec. 6.

Bishop Zarama, 58, has been an Atlanta auxiliary bishop since 2009. A native of Colombia, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 1993.

Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an umbrella term for the safe, natural and effective methods of both achieving and avoiding pregnancy. NFP methods teach couples how to observe and interpret the woman’s signs of  fertility and infertility. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, NFP methods “respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them and favor the education  of an authentic freedom.” (CCC, no. 2370)

Statement by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo and Bishop Michael F. Burbidge
on the Death Penalty in Virginia

The Msgr. Hickie Council #6695 in Bristol provides support to St. Anne's Parish and St. Anne's School.

More than 200 youth and adults from the Diocese of Richmond responded to this call June 24-30 by participating in the 2017 Diocesan Work Camp held in Wise, Va. Participants gave time, money, and physical strength to help those in need in the second poorest county in Virginia.

The more than 2,000 attendees at the congress gathered against the backdrop of Micah’s words to do justice, love goodness and walk humbly with God.

Sweeping through the country’s heartland, the eclipse will give millions of people the opportunity to step back from everyday concerns and appreciate how the universe works, said Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Observatory. 

With open arms and lots of enthusiasm, Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Glen Allen recently welcomed the first conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the Diocese of Richmond’s central region.

The St. Michael the Archangel Conference became operational April 1 after almost a year of planning and formation.

For many years, parishioners from Hampton Roads and Virginia’s Eastern Shore have quietly served as Jesus’ hands and feet by providing aid to migrant workers and their families. Each summer they deliver donations of clothes, shoes, socks, linens, kitchen items, toys, and sports equipment to the many camps normally hidden from the general public. In additional to physical needs, these parishioners have provided fellowship through visits, fiestas, and opportunities for attendance at Mass.

Photos and captions from recent happenings around the Diocese of Richmond

Fifty years ago this summer, longtime Catholic Virginian editor Steve Neill set foot in Richmond and began looking for his first full-time job. Armed with a freshly earned journalism degree from American University, he had hoped to start his career in New Jersey where he had grown up, but he came to Richmond for an overnight visit to his aunt and uncle, who were longtime Richmonders.

Mrs. McMaster also stressed the importance of the RCIA sponsor in providing personal attention to his or her catechumen or candidate.

“They have to be good examples, take time with them and invite them to different parish activities,” she said. “A sponsor is kind of like an adjunct professor who stands with the candidate at the Rite of Welcoming.”

The process of recruiting the right person to be a sponsor is an important factor.

It will be a historic event, Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo, New York, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, told the bishops June 15 about the July 1-4 "Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America" in Orlando, Florida.

I am leaving with happy memories of my almost 46 years with The Catholic Virginian. I like to say that I have been paid for doing what I liked to do. I also leave with the assurance that The Catholic Virginian will be in good hands with whoever becomes the next editor. And I, like everyone else, wonder who our next bishop will be.

God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten son, and we killed Him. Born of the Virgin Mary, the latter of Jesus’ 33 years were marked with miracles, parables, and sacrifice. These actions required both His physical and symbolic heart. Monsignor Patrick Golden, pastor of Richmond’s Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, says, “His heart represents and recalls His infinite love for us. While His heart is flesh, His heart is also divine – the heart of God. Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God’s infinite love for us, beyond what any human might have. The heart of Jesus never ceases to love us from heaven.”

A turning point came at a Steubenville Youth Conference in Ohio her junior year which she attended with her parish’s youth ministry. She was particularly struck by a presentation that challenged the teens to evaluate if they were “holding onto what they wanted to do rather than being open to God’s will.” With that in mind, she said she “opened herself to new possibilities” and realized that her passion was to work with others to better the world. Thinking she might someday work for a non-profit organization that addressed international issues, she decided to study global affairs at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax. She graduated this year.

“Today’s decision is a landmark victory for religious freedom. The Supreme Court rightly recognized that people of faith should not be discriminated against when it comes to government programs that should be made available to all. The decision also marks a step in the right direction toward limiting the effects of the pernicious Blaine Amendments that are in place in many states around the country. Blaine Amendments to state constitutions, most of which date back to the nineteenth century, stem from a time of intense anti-Catholic bigotry in many parts of the country. We are glad to see the Supreme Court move toward limiting these harmful provisions, which

Effective June 12, 2017, Diana Sims Snider accepted the appointment of Interim Editor within the Office of Communications following the retirement of long-time Catholic Virginian Editor Steve Neill and will serve in this role until a new editor is hired.

According to recent data1, 90% of young men age 18 have been exposed to pornography. Of the 90%, the average age these young men were sexualized by pornography was between 8-11 years old. Similarly, 60% of young women by the age of 18 have been exposed to porn as well. Almost 80% of this exposure, which isn’t always voluntary, is happening in the perceived safety of their homes. Into adulthood, 56% of divorces involve one party having an obsessive relationship to pornography. 

“We are grandfathers called to dream and to give our dreams to the young people of today. They need it so that from our dreams, they can draw the strength to prophesy and carry out their task,” the pope told about 50 members of the College of Cardinals.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians recently presented a check for $500 to Msgr. Timothy Keeney, pastor of St. Bede, Williamsburg, in support of the Williamsburg House of Mercy which is partners with 22 local organizations helping the homeless and poor. (Pictured with Msgr. Keeney are Frank Gleason, left, and Patrick Golden.)

Often, different segments of the Mass alternate from one language to another: in a Spanish-English Mass, the Welcome may be in English and the Gloria in Spanish. The first and second readings might alternate, with the Gospel read in both languages. Music from both cultures helps pull all the elements into a seamless whole. 

Special worship programs offer side-by-side translations. Some parents who speak English as a second language bring their English-speaking children to such Masses, hoping they will come to learn and appreciate their parents’ mother tongue. 

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court June 26 said a Lutheran preschool should not be excluded from a state grant program to refurbish its playground surface just because it is a religious entity.

"An acceptable health care system provides access to all, regardless of their means, and at all stages of life," Bishop Dewane said. "Such a health care system must protect conscience rights, as well as extend to immigrant families."

He indicated the Better Care Reconciliation Act at least partially succeeds on conscience rights by "fully applying the long-standing and widely supported Hyde Amendment protections. Full Hyde protections are essential and must be included in the final bill."

"We have been dealing with religious freedom issues for a really long time in our country," Byrnes told Catholic News Service in an interview June 20. "And especially for Catholics, dating back to the 19th-century Blaine amendments, up to the present day, there have been threats from the federal government as well as state and local governments that really restrict our freedom to be able to serve people in our charitable ministries, as well as people trying to live out their Catholic faith or whatever faith they have. Religious freedom isn't just for us as Christians, but it's for everyone."

Father Kauffmann was born to Richard and Mary Kauffmann on March 8, 1950, in Richmond, Virginia. He was educated at Star of the Sea Elementary School in Virginia Beach and Norfolk Catholic High School in Norfolk, Virginia. He graduated from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Father Kauffmann attended seminary at the North American College in Rome, Italy, and graduated in 1977. Father Kauffmann was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Walter F. Sullivan on July 18, 1976, at Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

During the ordination rite the three elect promised to “exercise the ministry of the word, preaching the Gospel and teaching the Catholic faith worthily and wisely.”

They promised to “celebrate faithfully and reverently the mysteries of Christ, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the glory of God and the sanctification of the Christian people.”

In making these promises, they knelt before the Bishop and joined their hands with his, promising respect and obedience to him and to his successors.

“Some of the highlights for me as a priest was seeing people grow in faith, take on leadership and grow in confidence,” Father Biber said. “I saw the Body of Christ recognize and develop its gifts.”

He was ordained as a Vincentian priest in his native New York on May 27, 1967 after completing his priestly formation at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Pa.

He came to the Diocese of Richmond in 1969 where his first assignment was as associate pastor (now called parochial vicar) of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Hampton, followed by the same assignment at Immaculate Conception, Hampton.

The nine candidates were called forth for the Rite of Commissioning by Bernadette Harris, associate director of the Diocesan Office of Christian Formation.

They all are active in parish or Catholic school ministry.

“These candidates have been called and are gifted,” Mrs. Harris said. “They have spent the last four years nurturing their skills.”

2017 Valedictorian and Salutatorian Graduates of The Richmond Diocese Catholic High Schools

Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo has announced the following clergy appointments, effective July 1, 2017.

Jarod Hoffman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Hoffman of Chesapeake, VA, recently received the Boy Scout Highest Rank of Eagle at a Eagle Court of Honor on May 20th.