As a liturgical minister, the acolyte is charged with assisting the priest and deacon. This ministry includes preparing the altar, distributing Holy Communion (especially the chalice), and purifying the sacred vessels—unless a deacon is present. Whereas altar servers may carry out some of these functions on a temporary basis, the acolyte does so permanently. It is also the duty of the acolyte to train altar servers.

On May 13, 1917, Lucia Santos, age ten, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, age nine and seven, were tending their flock of sheep when they said they saw a great flash of lightning and then a lady radiating white light with a rosary in her hand. The lady, whom the children believed to be the Virgin Mary, told the children to return on the 13th of each month, which they did.

While growing up as the oldest of five children and attending Catholic school from the first grade through high school, Father James Dorson did not contemplate being a priest.

But after years of living in community with the Congregation of the Holy Cross, he entered priestly formation for the Diocese or Richmond.

He observed his 40th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood quietly on May 7. He is low key about the 40th anniversary and says there will be a larger celebration of the milestone later this year.

Through help from the Diocese of Richmond and Catholic Extension Society as well as the generosity of St. Catherine parishioners, its parish church dedicated in 1947 has been expanded from a seating capacity of 108 to 160.

Dr. Levine is a professor of Jewish studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and College of Arts and Science in Tennessee. Although she is Jewish, she has become an expert on the New Testament and Jewish Studies. She wrote the books “The Misunderstood Jew” and “Short Stories by Jesus.”

Seminarian Assignments

Delegates representing Virginia’s more than 28,000 Knights of Columbus gathered at the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center May 5-7, and elected new officers who will take office on July 1, 2017. Awards were also presented in a variety of categories to local councils recognizing their charitable efforts over the past year.

Deacon Arthur “Chip” Pagnini, who was in ministry at St. Ann Parish in Ashland, died May 2 in his sleep. He was 56.

Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk celebrated the 10th anniversary of its partnership with twin parish, Saint Gabriel, Lascahobas, Haiti

Members of the Roanoke Catholic School Celtic Singers recently won second place

The changes, announced during a news conference at the Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary, will leave the archdiocese with 127 parishes, down from its current total of 212.

It also calls for 144 parishes to merge into 59 newly named parishes and for 68 parishes to remain unchanged, said Father James Shanley, vicar of the Office of Pastoral Planning.

As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of Our Blessed Mother’s appearances at Fatima, Portugal, it is worth taking the time to reflect on a deeper dimension of the beautiful prayer, which she requested to be recited after each decade of the Rosary.

The Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, and transformed them from the frightened men they had become after the crucifixion, into the courageous apostles of Jesus Christ, who fearlessly faced martyrdom.

At every Confirmation ceremony, the Bishop invokes the same Holy Spirit with these words: “All powerful Father, send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide. Give them wisdom, strength and understanding. . . . we ask this through Christ Our Lord, Amen.”

Most basically defined, the pro-choice political position is that the “right to choose” is sacrosanct, and that no one may legitimately question the moral choices of another with regard to abortion. That overwhelming and indisputable scientific evidence regarding the beginning of unique human life through conception, has no place in the political conversation about abortion. That all philosophical, anthropological, or biological arguments regarding abortion must be subordinated, at all times, to the primacy of other people’s choices.

As he spoke to the 19 men in formation for the permanent diaconate, Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo stressed that it is important for them to help others see the connection between liturgy and life.

Ordained May 7, 1977 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart by Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, his first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s, Petersburg. The parish, established in 1842, is the fourth oldest parish in the Diocese of Richmond.

“Let’s find nice homes for our new friends,” Sister Mary Therese, laughed, encouraging the children to return the snails and to turn their attention to some of the different types of aquatic plants on the beach. She began to ask the students questions about the plants, inviting them to speculate about how the different plants might affect one another and the health of the bay. For during these science sessions, it’s the teachers who ask the questions and the student scientists who find the answers.

Three to be ordained to priesthood June 3 at Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

God is right by the side of each person on earth, seeing each individual's pain and wanting to bring hope and joy, Pope Francis said.

"He calls us by name and tells us, 'Rise up, stop weeping, because I have come to free you,'" the pope said May 17 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Pope Francis is not shy about showing his love for Mary in public and, like many Latin American bishops, he strongly has resisted attempts to dismiss as superstitious or "simple," in a negative sense, popular devotion to the mother of God.

The pope's devotion and his respect for those who turn to Mary in their hour of need was on display May 12-13 when he and some 500,000 people gathered at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled, Parliament has legislated and provinces have set up new systems. For most Canadians, the assisted suicide debate is last year's news story. But Cardinal Gerhard Muller, head of the Catholic Church's theological watchdog-agency, begs to differ.

"We shall prevail," Cardinal Muller told an audience of bioethicists, theologians, doctors and nurses at Toronto's St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica May 15.

For a century, a simple but serenely beautiful wooden building tucked away in the picturesque mountain town of Walhalla has been the spiritual home for Catholics.
St. Francis of Assisi Mission was built by parishioners who donated their time, money, hours of sweat and labor, and even the wood, so they could have their own church. Today, the mission is home to a small but strong congregation who love and care for each other and treasure the little building passed down to them by that early group of dedicated people.

Since 2013, Bishop-designate Shlesinger has been director of spiritual formation in the theology division of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Before that he served in many different capacities in the Diocese of Raleigh including as a pastor, a member of the priests' council, and director of vocations and seminary formation, 2007-2013.

For the past 69 years, flowers have shown up at the statue of Mary courtesy of an anonymous donor. Though parishioners enjoy the sight of the lovely flowers, no one has figured out who the donor is.

When Isaiah Burroughs, a 20-year-old student at The Catholic University of America in Washington, gets an idea in his head, he follows through with it pretty much immediately.

When he was praying in the university chapel during a freshman retreat last year, Burroughs, who was raised Baptist, said he realized becoming Catholic was something "I really wanted to do and I had to do."

In a video message to the people of Portugal, Pope Francis said he would visit Fatima as a pilgrim of peace and to entrust the world to Mary's immaculate heart.
"I come to you in the joy of sharing with you the Gospel of hope and peace," the pope said in the message released by the Vatican May 10.

At Henrico’s Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, there was a whole lot of shaking going on. And jumping and stomping. But all for a good cause.

There is a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela with a shortage of food, medicine, and basic needs. Long and longer lines are filled with people trying to scavenge and fight for what little there is left. Protests by thousands of people occur daily against the unpopular government. There are plenty of photos of empty shelves, children fighting dogs for scraps, and beatings. And there is no end in sight.

After capital punishment was halted nationwide briefly in the 1970s, more than 1,400 people have been executed since it resumed 40 years ago, according to the Catholic Mobilizing Network. "The prolonged nature of the death penalty process can perpetuate the trauma for victims' families and prevents the opportunity for healing and reconciliation called for in the message of Jesus Christ."

The only kind of fanaticism that is acceptable to God is being fanatical about loving and helping others, Pope Francis said on his final day in Egypt.

“True faith,” he told Catholics, “makes us more charitable, more merciful, more honest and more humane. It moves our hearts to love everyone without counting the cost.”

Three men will be ordained to the diaconate on Saturday, May 20, at 10:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo.

Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo has announced that Father Anthony Morris, pastor of the Portsmouth Cluster Parishes, has been officially incardinated as a priest of the Diocese of Richmond.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Father Morris was ordained a priest of the Redemptorist community (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer) on May 7, 1994.

“And this is going to be a conference room, where we can have talks with you and your parents,” principal Julia Wharton said to the fourth-grade class from the St. John Neumann Academy in Blacksburg as they toured their new home.

The groans of dismay were the only sounds of disapproval that came from the 14 children as they walked through the 20-thousand square foot building on a sunny afternoon last month.

Carrying banners and signs with quotes from Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’,” hundreds of Catholics joined the People’s Climate March to call for moral and prayerful action to protect creation.

On a sweltering day that reinforced the message about the need to respond to climate change — the 91-degree temperature at 3 p.m. April 29 tied a 43-year-old Washington record for the date — many in the Catholic contingent said they felt they had a moral obligation to witness in the streets.

Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has taken a “principled stand” by promising to veto a bill to allow taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid recipients and state employees.

Under the bill pending in the state General Assembly, the public money will come from Illinois’ Medicaid and employee health insurance programs to pay for the abortions at any stage or pregnancy.

With the support of 15,007 donors across the Diocese, the 2017 Annual Diocesan Appeal has now raised $3,343,038, exceeding its initial goal of $2,671,471. As of April 27th, 94 parishes out of 145 have exceeded their 2017 targets with many more closing in fast.

Catholics and those of other Christian faith traditions will come closer as they get better at practicing “holy indifference,” said the priest who directed the U.S. bishops’ interfaith relations activities for five years until his retirement last year.

Salesian Father John Crossin, speaking during the opening day of the three-day annual convention of the National Association of Diaconate Directors April 26, said holy indifference is a term used by his order differently from what most people might think when they hear the phrase.

A diplomatic solution must be found to the escalating tension between North Korea and the United States, Pope Francis told journalists.

“The path (to take) is the path of negotiation, the path of a diplomatic solution,” he said when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to send Navy warships to the region in response to North Korea’s continued missile tests and threats to launch nuclear strikes against South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Foster care gives children and teens a home they need and deserve. It gives them hope to see that there is a world where love, safety and security exists.

Children come into foster care for a number of different reasons. Often they have experienced abuse and neglect, but sometimes the situation requires that a child has more needs than his or her family can meet or the child needs to be on a different path to succeed. Whatever the reason, the underlying needs are the same--a home where each child can be supported, guided and accepted.