Lord we pray "Help me to continually increase parish vitality and reflect the presence of Christ in the world."

Browsing News Entries

Browsing News Entries

Australian prelate named prefect of Dicastery for Legislative Texts (Vatican Press Office)

Pope Leo XIV named Bishop Anthony Randazzo of Broken Bay, Australia, as prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, one of the 16 dicasteries of the Roman Curia. The Pontiff also raised him to the dignity of an archbishop.

Archbishop Randazzo succeeds Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O. Carm., who was appointed prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in September.

Born in 1966, Randazzo (bio) was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Brisbane in 1991. He studied canon law at Pontifical Gregorian University and worked for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for five years. After becoming a seminary rector, he was named auxiliary bishop of Sydney in 2016 and bishop of Broken Bay in 2019.

Randazzo was also appointed apostolic administrator of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in 2023. In that capacity, he approved the online publication of the Ordinariate’s Daily Office.

At a press conference during the 2024 session of the synod on synodality, Bishop Randazzo said that “a small minority, with a large powerful Western voice, are obsessed with pushing” the issue of women’s ordination to the diaconate.

Pope Leo praises spiritual adoption of unborn children (CWN)

At the conclusion of his March 25 general audience, Pope Leo praised the practice of spiritual adoption of unborn children.

DDF outlines characteristics of the Anglican heritage in ordinariates (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith)

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a document listing the characteristics of the Anglican patrimony preserved in the Church’s ordinariates for former Anglicans.

The characteristics, developed in conversation with the bishops who govern the three ordinariates, include

  • A Distinctive “Ecclesial Ethos”
  • Evangelization Through Beauty
  • Direct Outreach to the Poor
  • Pastoral Culture
  • The Family and the Domestic Church
  • Scripture and Preaching
  • Spiritual Direction and the Sacrament of Penance

Be generous to those attached to the traditional Latin Mass, Cardinal Parolin tells French bishops (CWN)

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, encouraged the bishops of France to develop “concrete proposals” that will allow for the generous inclusion of persons attached to the traditional Latin Mass.

Pope, in world prayer day message, reflects on interior dimension of vocation (CWN)

Pope Leo XIV reflected on the “interior dimension of vocation, understood as the discovery of God’s free gift that blossoms in the depths of our hearts,” in his message for the 63rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

Russian attack damages historic Catholic monastery in Lviv (CWN)

Russia launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv, far from the frontline of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and damaged the historic Bernardine church and monastery.

The Church's hierarchy is of divine institution, Pope emphasizes in audience on Vatican II (CWN)

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV emphasized on March 25 that the Church’s hierarchy is divinely instituted and not of human origin.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be beatified in September (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation)

Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois, announced that Venerable Fulton Sheen will be beatified on September 24 in St. Louis, at The Dome at America’s Center.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will preside at the beatification Mass.

“This is a moment of immense grace for the Church—especially for us in the Diocese of Peoria, where Archbishop Sheen was born, ordained, and first served as a priest,” said Bishop Tylka. “His life and ministry continue to inspire countless people to know and love Jesus Christ more deeply. Through his preaching, teaching, and personal witness, he brought the light of faith to millions, calling each of us to a deeper devotion to the Eucharist and to Our Blessed Mother.”

The beatification of Archbishop Sheen (1895-1979) was postponed in 2019 amid concern about the possibility that he might be linked to the assignment of abusive priests during his brief tenure as bishop of Rochester, New York (1966-1969). The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and agreed to a $246-million settlement last year.

Mar. 26 Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent, Weekday

The weekday Masses towards the end of Lent are like a Passion Play. The Gospels, as one scene after the other, show the mounting hatred and growing tension. This is the "Abraham Mass," telling of the inheritance received through Abraham. The Opening Prayer reminds us of our great inheritance received from Christ. --The Vatican II Weekday Missal

Day of the Unborn Child Celebrated Today

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