Archive for February, 2012
Parishioners from St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, Beaumont, gathered on the front steps of the church for the burning of the palms Feb. 21. Msgr. Jerry McGrath, rector of the Cathedral Basilica, led the parishioners in prayer before the palms were burned.
After the palm burning parishioners gathered in the parish hall for a Fat Tuesday feast of gumbo, followed by a pork crackling eating contest and the traditional chicken chase. (more…)
Students took a break from studying at the Lamar University Catholic Student Center, Beaumont, to join Father Shane Baxter, director of campus ministry, as he burned palms Feb. 21. Father Baxter led the students in prayer and each one placed palms they had brought into the fire. (more…)
The weather might have put a slight damper on the weekend but it didn’t stop the parades, bead throwing and the evangelizing.
The Diocese of Beaumont set up its Encounter Catholic booth for a fourth year at Southeast Texas Mardi Gras in Port Arthur Feb. 16-19. Folks came by in droves to get their pictures taken and decorate a frame while they waited for them to print.
Priests and deacons were also on hand to bless the free rosaries at the booth and to encourage people to come back to the Church or to give it a try for the first time. Catholic Pastoral Center staff and volunteers from different ministries and parishes pitched in throughout the weekend. (more…)
Pope Names Msgr. Sheltz Auxilary Bishop of Galveston-Houston
Posted in Uncategorized on February 21, 2012 |
WASHINGTON—Pope Benedict XVI has named 65-year-old Msgr. George A. Sheltz, vicar general, chancellor and moderator of the curia of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, as an auxiliary bishop of the Texas archdiocese.
The appointment was publicized in Washington, February 21, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States. (more…)
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York smiles after receiving his red hat from Pope Benedict XVI during a consistory in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 18. The pope created 22 new cardinals from 13 countries -- including two from the United States and one from Canada. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI created 22 new cardinals from 13 countries — including three from the United States and Canada — placing red hats on their heads and calling them to lives of even greater love and service to the church.
The churchmen who joined the College of Cardinals Feb. 18 included Cardinals Timothy M. Dolan of New York; Edwin F. O’Brien, grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and former archbishop of Baltimore; and Thomas C. Collins of Toronto.
In their first official act in their new role, the new cardinals were asked to join their peers in giving the pope their opinion, in writing, on the canonization of seven new saints, including Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, an American Indian, and Blessed Marianne Cope of Molokai, Hawaii.
The pope announced at the consistory that the canonization ceremony would be celebrated Oct. 21 at the Vatican.
Cardinal Collins said, “I am delighted that my first action as a cardinal was to join with the College of Cardinals in affirming the canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who has been such an inspiration for the people of our First Nations and so many others in Canada and the United States.”
Cardinal Dolan also mentioned the consultation on the canonization of Blessed Kateri, who was born in what is now New York state, and Mother Marianne, who served there before going to Hawaii. (more…)
More than 50 parishioners from throughout the Diocese of Beaumont gathered at the Pastoral Center, Beaumont, Feb. 11 for a day of reflection sponsored by the Office of African American Ministry. But this wasn’t an ordinary day of reflecting on the Catholic faith or on God. This was to prepare those planning on attending the National Black Catholic Congress XI this summer in Indianapolis. (more…)
It’s time to take the Church to the streets, and that’s exactly what’s happening at the Port Arthur Mardi Gras this year!
For the fourth year in a row the Encounter Catholic booth will be returning to the four-day celebration in the float den offering complimentary activities for kids from age 0-100 and plenty of information on Catholicism. Priests and deacons will also be on hand again blessing rosaries. (more…)
By Nancy Frazier O’Brien Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — In an move that appears unlikely to end the controversy over a federal mandate that all health insurance plans include contraception and sterilization free of charge, President Barack Obama outlined a plan that would allow religious employers not to offer such services to their employees but would compel insurance companies to do so. (more…)
Bishop Curtis Guillory said today’s comments from the administration seem to indicate that Americans’ concern about the erosion of religious freedom are being heard. The U.S. bishops have called today’s movement from the White House on an earlier HHS mandate a first step in the right direction. (more…)
