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February 2015

February 02, 2015

This is…different: one Seattle parish on Super Bowl Sunday—UPDATED WITH VIDEO

Source. Parish: St. Mary's Catholic Church, Marysville, WA. Out of bounds? Yeah. I'd say...

February 01, 2015

In Phoenix for the Super Bowl: full stadium, empty church

From The Boston Globe: Forgive the Franciscan friars at St. Mary’s Basilica if they wonder...

January 2015

January 27, 2015

UPDATE on SF parish banning altar girls: “A lot of the people who are upset are not parishioners”

A follow-up on this story from last week, from SF Gate: The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor...

January 24, 2015

Altar girls, again: what happened when a SF parish banned girl altar servers—UPDATED

It must have been a slow news day in San Francisco, since it appears this...

January 16, 2015

After the fire: “We are blessed with good, good people”

Father Edward Smith celebrates Mass in Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Academy auditorium in a...

January 05, 2015

Hello, Neumann!

Today marks the feast of St. John Neumann, and a deacon friend reminded me of...

January 04, 2015

Fire tears through Queens church before Little Christmas: “I’m in shock”—UPDATED

Shrine at Our Lady of Sorrows (from parish website) From the In My Backyard Desk,...

January 03, 2015

For sale: Europe’s empty churches

Arnhem Skate Hall, formerly the Church of St. Joseph (photo: Facebook) From the Wall Street...

December 2014

December 29, 2014

Homecoming: visiting my childhood parish

Over the Christmas break, I was able to attend Mass at my childhood parish, St....

December 26, 2014

“Hate crime”: Baby Jesus stolen from church nativity scene, replaced with pig’s head—UPDATED

From Boston.com: A baby Jesus statue at a Haverhill church’s nativity scene was taken and...

December 25, 2014

Christmas in Forest Hills

Shortly before Midnight Mass—which actually took place at midnight!— from my parish, Our Lady Queen...

December 24, 2014

Window pains: stained glass industry disappearing

From The Wall Street Journal: After a couple of millennia of sustained popularity, the stained-glass...

December 22, 2014

Building a never-ending church: a new film about Sagrada Familia

A new documentary has just been released that tells the story of this remarkable undertaking...

December 18, 2014

Resurrection: After tornado, parish rebuilds, consecrates new church

Some good news, just in time for Christmas, from The Joplin Globe in Missouri: It...

December 14, 2014

Hitting the road: The Bench and CNEWA visit Long Island

The past couple of days I found myself on a rare weekend away from my...

December 12, 2014

“Busting at the seams,” Phoenix adds another church to serve growing Catholic population

This speaks to the vibrant faith of the American southwest—and the burgeoning immigrant population. Details: ...

December 05, 2014

Windfall: Christ Cathedral in Orange gets $20 million anonymous gift

Wow: A donor who asked not to be named has donated $20 million to the...

December 05, 2014

Church construction in U.S. hits record low

From The Wall Street Journal: Americans aren’t building churches like they used to anymore. Construction...

December 03, 2014

Alaska cathedral vandalized

From The Catholic Anchor: The historic Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage was vandalized on Dec....

December 01, 2014

New York parish serving the deaf slated to close

Details: The choir members filed up to the altar in robes the color of the...

November 2014

November 28, 2014

Boom: Arizona town expands Catholic church, Masses filled to capacity

A reminder that there are places in the country where the faith is booming: Gilbert...

November 25, 2014

Catch of the day: what one fisherman found in the bottom of a Maryland lake is miraculous

From The Catholic Review in Baltimore: A man fishing at the Loch Raven Reservoir in...

November 20, 2014

Miracle? Fire destroys church, but crucifix is discovered intact

Photo: Gary Reyes / Bay Area News Group Details: The morning after the spectacular fire,...

November 06, 2014

Anti-Catholic protestors harass D.C. parishes, condemning “evils” of Catholicism

From The Washington Post: Roman Catholic leaders have sent e-mails of warning to dozens of Washington and...

November 05, 2014

Ways churches drive away first-time visitors

Any of this look familiar? This comes from Protestant writer and theologian Thom S. Rainer,...

November 04, 2014

Minneapolis pastor hosts controversial priest, cites pope “wanting a mess”

Somehow, I think we'll be hearing more stories like this one: A south Minneapolis church plans to...

November 04, 2014

Parish hopes to save priceless art in New York church slated for merger—UPDATED

An interesting sidebar to the church merger story in the Archdiocese of New York, via...

November 04, 2014

Fr. Rutler on NY church mergers: “There’s not a decline in Catholic population; there’s a decline in Catholic life”

A timely and interesting interview by Aleteia's John Burger with the well-known New York priest:...

November 02, 2014

BREAKING: New York announces parish mergers; Holy Innocents spared—UPDATED

From The New York Times: Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan announced on Sunday the largest reorganization in the...

November 01, 2014

Get in line with the communion of saints: John Nava’s stunning vision in Los Angeles

I've preached about them in the past, but for today's celebration of the All Saints,...