Latest news with #CatholicDiocese
CBS News
15 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Pope Leo XIV accepts Bishop David Zubik's retirement from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, appoints new bishop
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will have its 13th bishop in its history. The Holy See announced that Pope Leo XV has accepted the resignation of Bishop David Zubik at 6 a.m. local time. Zubik reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 last September. In his place, Pope Leo named Auxiliary Bishop Mark Eckman as the 13th bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. "With a grateful and humble heart, I accept this appointment and ask for the prayers of all the faithful," Bishop Eckman said. "Together, we will continue the mission of Jesus Christ with hope." Bishop Eckman will be installed officially on Monday, July 14, 2025, in a special mass at Saint Paul Cathedral in Oakland. "I am both grateful and thrilled with this appointment," Bishop Zubik wrote in a letter to clergy and staff. "Bishop Eckman knows the diocese, and we know him as an exceptional pastor, and outstanding administrator - truly an exemplary priest." Bishop Eckman has been an auxiliary bishop since 2022 and is a longtime parish priest.
West Australian
6 days ago
- General
- West Australian
Geraldton Diocese launches $1m restoration project to save historic Hawes churches from serious decay
A major restoration project has been launched by the Catholic Diocese of Geraldton to preserve two significant historical landmarks designed and built by renowned architect and priest, Monsignor John Cyril Hawes. San Spirito Chapel in Utakarra, built in 1936, and Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church in Mullewa, built in 1927, are iconic Mid West landmarks that stand as remarkable expressions of Monsignor Hawes' architectural and theological vision and legacy. Both buildings are currently in a state of deterioration, requiring urgent repairs to address issues such as rising damp, rotting timber, and crumbling stonework. Spearheaded by Monsignor Hawes Heritage Inc, the Our Lady of Mt Carmel Precinct Project was established to develop a comprehensive conservation strategy. Initial works — including painting and waterproofing — were completed in 2024 on the dome and façade at the church at a cost of $37,000. The full restoration of the church is expected to total about $1 million, with a recent $30,000 donation already allocated toward new boundary fencing. Meanwhile, MHHI has been placed on a reserve list for a Heritage Council of Western Australia grant to assist with $181,000 in urgent external repairs for San Spirito Chapel. San Spirito Chapel also holds deep historical and cultural significance. It is the final resting place of Archdeacon Adolphe Joseph Lecaille and features a commemorative plaque dedicated to Monsignor Hawes. Artistic elements — such as Wilfred Priestner's wrought ironwork and a ceiling mural painted by Italian migrant artist Dan Mazotti — underscore the need for careful and extensive conservation. MHHI is now calling on the the generosity of the local community to contribute time, resources, and fundraising efforts to help safeguard these treasured Mid West landmarks. Father Robert Cross, director of heritage and chancellor of the Diocese of Geraldton, and chair of MHHI, addressed the community in the organisation's first 2025 newsletter. 'Age creeps up on us all — as it is on Hawes' buildings. Some of these buildings are now over 100 years old, and like ourselves require a lot of maintenance,' he said. 'Initial steps have been taken to develop a comprehensive and prioritised conservation works plan with the assistance of an architect. 'As local farmers await the opening rains of the 2025 season, perhaps they might consider doing what many of their parents and grandparents once did to help build and support these extraordinary churches . . . put in a few acres of wheat for the church, or come up with fundraising ideas, and more importantly, volunteer to conduct them.' 'Together we can do it.'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
El Paso Diocese to host Memorial Day Mass to remember those who gave lives in service
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Catholic Diocese of El Paso will have a special Memorial Day Mass to honor those who died in service to our nation. The Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 26 at the Mount Carmel Cemetery, 401 S. Zaragoza Road. The Mass will be celebrated in the parking lot in front of the cemetery office. 'This special outdoor liturgy is a longstanding tradition, bringing together families andcommunity members in prayer and remembrance on this National Day of Reflection,' the Diocese said. Note: The Mount Carmel Cemetery office will be closed on Monday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Back home: Remains of U.S. President James Monroe's daughter will be reburied beside him
After two centuries in a neglected European grave, the remains of U.S. President James Monroe's daughter will be coming home to rest beside her father in Richmond. The Catholic Diocese of Richmond announced May 23 that the body of Eliza Monroe Hay had arrived two days earlier at Washington Dulles International Airport. Plans to reinter her near Monroe's crypt at Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery have not been finalized, but the diocese said it will take place this fall. The discovery of Monroe Hay's grave in Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery was the culmination of the Bringing Eliza Home Project, an effort led by Barbara Vorndick of Fluvanna County and a member of the diocese. Vorndick spent six years combing through historical records and finally discovered documents mapping Monroe Hay's grave in Paris. In a statement issued by the diocese, Vorndick called the project a 'fascinating, enriching journey.' She credited her faith for guiding her, adding that it was after sending emails to France that a parish archivist there found a document of Monroe Hay's funeral Mass. 'Through the long hours and years of research, I came to feel God's presence in a very real way,' Vorndick said in the statement. 'When I wondered if I would ever find the documents that I needed, He was there, whispering in my ear – suddenly dropping ideas into my mind.' Eliza Monroe Hay, who lived from 1786 until 1840, served as White House hostess in place of her ill mother< Elizabeth Monroe. James Monroe, a Virginia native and the nation's fifth president, served two terms from 1817 to 1825 and is best known for his 'Monroe Doctrine' that closed off the Western Hemisphere to European colonization. The family spent many years in France when Monroe was the American minister to France during the French Revolution. After her husband's and mother's deaths two days apart in 1830, and her father's death the following year, Monroe Hay moved back to France. According to the 2013 book, 'First Ladies' Fact Book' by Laura Ross and Bill Harris, Monroe Hay converted to Catholicism and lived in a convent until her death. The true story of Memorial Day's local origins The reinternment of Monroe Hay's remains to Richmond is not the first reburial in the Monroe family. After his death in 1831 in New York City, James Monroe was originally buried in New York's Marble Cemetery. Twenty-seven years later, in 1858, his body was exhumed and brought to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond and is part of what is now known as President's Circle because four years later, John Tyler, the nation's 10th president was buried next to him. Monroe's tomb is recognizable for the Gothic Revival-style cast-iron cage that encloses his sarcophagus. What's in Trump's big tax bill? Here's what you need to know. Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: President James Monroe's daughter will be reburied beside him in Richmond
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US supreme court blocks religious charter school in split ruling
The US supreme court on Thursday blocked a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education. The 4-4 ruling left intact a lower court's decision that blocked the establishment of St Isidore of Seville Catholic virtual school. The lower court found that the proposed school would violate the US constitution's first amendment limits on government involvement in religion. Conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, leaving eight justices rather than the full slate of nine to decide the outcome. Barrett is a former professor at Notre Dame Law School, which represents the school's organizers. When the supreme court is evenly divided, the lower court's decision stands. The justices did not provide a rationale for their action in the unsigned ruling. Set up as alternatives to traditional public schools, charter schools typically operate under private management and often feature small class sizes, innovative teaching styles or a particular academic focus. Charter schools are considered public schools under Oklahoma law and draw funding from the state government. St Isidore, planned as a joint effort by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Diocese of Tulsa, would offer virtual learning from kindergarten through high school. Its plan to integrate religion into its curriculum would make it the first religious charter school in the United States. The proposed school has never been operational amid legal challenges to its establishment. The case explored the tension between the two religion clauses of the US constitution's first amendment. Its 'establishment clause' prohibits the government from establishing or endorsing any particular religion or promoting religion over nonreligion. Its 'free exercise' clause protects the right to practice one's religion freely, without government interference. Oklahoma's Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, sued in October 2023 to block St Isidore in a legal action filed at the Oklahoma supreme court, saying he was duty bound to 'prevent the type of state-funded religion that Oklahoma's constitutional framers and the founders of our country sought to prevent.' Republican Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt backed the proposed school, as did Donald Trump's administration. Opponents have said religious charter schools would force taxpayers to support religious indoctrination. Establishing them also could undermine nondiscrimination principles, they argued, because religious charter schools might seek to bar employees who do not adhere to doctrinal teachings. Organizers estimated in 2023 that St Isidore would cost Oklahoma taxpayers up to $25.7m over its first five years in operation. The Oklahoma charter school board in June 2023 approved the plan to create St Isidore in a 3-2 vote. Oklahoma's top court in a 6-2 ruling last year blocked the school. It classified St Isidore as a 'governmental entity' that would act as 'a surrogate of the state in providing free public education as any other state-sponsored charter school'. That court decided that the proposal ran afoul of the establishment clause. The first amendment generally constrains the government but not private entities. St Isidore, the court wrote, would 'require students to spend time in religious instruction and activities, as well as permit state spending in direct support of the religious curriculum and activities within St Isidore – all in violation of the establishment clause'. School board officials and St Isidore argued in supreme court papers that the Oklahoma court erred by deeming St Isidore an arm of the government rather than a private organization. They argued that the government had not delegated a state duty to St Isidore merely by contracting with it, and that the school would function largely independently of the government. They also argued that Oklahoma's refusal to establish St Isidore as a charter school solely because it is religious is discrimination under the first amendment's free exercise clause. The supreme court has recognized broader religious rights in a series of rulings in recent years. It ruled in a Missouri case in 2017 that churches and other religious entities cannot be flatly denied public money based on their religious status – even in states whose constitutions explicitly ban such funding. In 2020, it endorsed Montana tax credits that helped pay for students to attend religious schools. In 2022, it backed two Christian families in their challenge to Maine's tuition-assistance program that had excluded private religious schools.
