Latest news with #priesthood
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Diocese of Erie welcomes two newly ordained priests
The Diocese of Erie ordained two men into the sacred priesthood Friday night at Saint Peter Cathedral. The two new priests are Reverend Brandon Matthew Feikels, who is a 2017 graduate of Gannon University and Reverend Michael Christopher Scanga, who also graduated from Gannon University. Bishop of Erie, Reverend Lawrence Persicio, said this is the moment they officially become priests. 'So, it's important because they receive the sacrament of ordination and it enables them to work and take care of things as a priest,' he said. Bishop Persico said the two new priests will eventually receive their assignments from him. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pope Leo XIV takes helm of Catholic Church amid a priest shortage in the U.S.
Will American pope spark new interest in the priesthood as church faces shortage? Columbus, Ohio — At St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio, being on the altar feels momentous for Joseph Rolwing. He's 27 years old and a Catholic deacon, who is set to be ordained as a Catholic priest on Saturday. Rolwing studied at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. It is the only seminary outside of Italy that is governed by the Vatican. "I was a normal high schooler, played sports, did it all," Rolwing said. "I never thought that I would be doing this. But the Lord had other plans." In high school he began questioning his faith. Then in college, he felt the call. "'Did you hear a voice? Did you see a sign in the sky?' No, but I was…praying, this rosary overwhelmed with this wave of peace," Rolwing said. Rolwing's calling comes as the Catholic Church in the U.S. faces a serious priest shortage. Between 1970 and 2024, the number of priests fell by more than 40%, from 59,192 to 33,589, according to numbers from Georgetown's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, or CARA. The impact has also been felt in Columbus, where 15 churches are slated to close. "We've kind of made up for some gaps in the priest shortage by bringing in missionary priests from other countries, but also priests from different religious orders," said Bishop Earl Fernandes, who leads the Columbus Diocese. About one in four Catholic priests in the U.S. is foreign-born, according to CARA. Under President Trump's immigration crackdown, many could soon be forced to leave unless special visas for religious workers are extended. New bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate last month, known as the Religious Workforce Protection Act, designed to protect foreign-born religious workers from deportation. To recruit more priests in Columbus, there are retreats and monthly dinners for those considering the priesthood. The number of new seminarians at Pontifical College has grown from 17, two-and-a-half years ago, to 40 this year. Local Catholic leaders hope the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first ever American pope, will serve as an inspiration. "I have never been happier than I am right now, on the cusp of becoming a priest, having made all of these promises: never get married, and never to do these things, it doesn't make any sense in the eyes of the world," Rolwing said. "But I've answered this call, and by far, it's the best decision I've ever made."
The Sun
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Pope Leo played being a priest as a child with ironing board as altar & cookies as communion wafers, brother reveals
POPE LEO XIV played at being a priest as a child and used the family's ironing board as an altar, his brother has revealed. Robert Prevost — as he was known before he became the first American-born pontiff this week — also handed out biscuits as communion wafers. 4 4 His brother John, 71, who still lives in their native Chicago, said: 'He wanted to play priest so he put a tablecloth over our mom's ironing board and we had to go to mass.' He said young Robert also used an American biscuit called Necco Wafers, adding: 'These were the communion wafers. It was all taken very seriously, it was not a joke.' Pope Leo, 69, the 267th pontiff, was one of three sons born to librarian Mildred and school principal Louis. He studied maths at Villanova University in Philadelphia, then returned to Chicago to train as a priest. But John told how his brother's calling started at a much younger age. He told US TV show Good Morning America: 'From the time he was five or six years old he knew this was his fate — not that he would be Pope, but that he would be a priest. 'He had that from a very young age, and he never faltered.' His eldest brother Louis, who now lives in Florida, added: 'We used to tease him all the time, 'You're going to be the Pope one day'. 'We knew something was special about him.' Very emotional While maintaining his American roots — he supports the Chicago White Sox baseball team and is said to love deep-dish pizza — the then Robert made a life in the Peruvian city of Chiclayo, where he served as bishop from 2015 to 2023. He also became a Peruvian citizen, and Catholic writer Austen Ivereigh said of his elevation to the papacy: 'That is the genius of this election — both the US and South America can claim him.' And the new Pope's goddaughter, Peruvian influencer Mildred Camacho Dioses — who was named after his mother — said her family 'jumped for joy' when this week's news broke. She said: 'He's an excellent person and I still can't believe he's now the Pope. It's made me very emotional to know that he's the representative of God on Earth.' Speaking from her family home in Chulucanas, near Peru's border with Ecuador, Mildred added: 'When I heard the name Robert Prevost I rang my parents and my aunts and uncles. 'It's something we're still processing, because we can't believe it. He has always been present in my life, writing to me and sending me greetings on my birthday and other important dates. 'I last saw him last August, when he came to Chulucanas and he met my daughters. 'He gave them his blessing, and blessed my home and sent greetings to my grandparents who he also has a close relationship with.' Asked if she had a message for the new Pope, Mildred said: 'Godfather, we're all so happy and so proud.' 4 4 The previous pope to take the name Leo, Pope Leo XIII, was an Italian whose baptismal name was Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci. He was elected in 1878 and led the Catholic Church until he died in 1903. He is remembered for his dedication to social justice. The first Pope Leo — known as St Leo the Great — led the church between 440 and 461AD, and was known for his commitment to peace. While the new Pope Leo has yet to say why he chose the name, it has been suggested that the deep commitment to social issues that the name represents is in line with his beliefs. Notably, his first words as pope were: 'Peace be with you'. And Edinson Edgardo Farfan Cordova, the current bishop of Chiclayo, where Pope Leo used to live and work, called him a 'shepherd among people'. He said: 'I am convinced Pope Leo XIV will continue the line of communion and closeness to the poor that marked the pontificate of Francis.' It has also been revealed that the new pope watched the film Conclave before taking part in the real thing so he 'knew how to behave'. The award-winning Ralph Fiennes movie follows a cardinal organising the conclave who investigates secrets and scandals about the candidates. John said he had asked his brother if he had watched the film to 'laugh about something because this is now an awesome responsibility'. Of his brother's new role leading the 1.4billion-strong Catholic Church, he added: 'We are so proud.' LEO IS A MAN OF HIS WORDLE WHILE Pope Leo XIV leads the 1.4bn-strong Catholic Church, he has interests and hobbies just like us. We reveal ten fascinating facts. He is a fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball team The pontiff is a keen amateur tennis player He plays the web-based word game Wordle A keen horseman, he rode in the mountains of Peru as a missionary Colleague Father Joseph Farrell revealed Leo supports football club AS Roma Leo earned a maths degree from Villanova University in 1977 He can speak seven languages – English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Latin and German. He watched the award-winning Hollywood movie Conclave He plays a Scrabble-like online game called Words With Friends He likes deep-dish pizza
Times
09-05-2025
- General
- Times
The real Pope Leo XIV — by those who knew him in Rome, Chicago and Peru
The young man who went to Villanova University in Pennsylvania to study mathematics and returned to Chicago to train as a priest struck Art Purcaro as personable and very capable. 'I would never have discussed the word 'ambition' with Bob at all,' he said. He was devoted to his calling. 'He left his home, the family he had in the United States to work with the people of Peru and become one with them, a citizen — to do for them, not to do with them.' Purcaro, who hails from the Bronx, New York, and in 1975 went to work as an Augustinian missionary in Peru, recalled meeting there in the early 1980s Robert Prevost, the man who this week became Pope Leo XIV.
New York Times
08-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
The New Pope Grew Up in the Chicago Area
On Thursday, Pope Leo XIV became a new leader to the world's 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. To the Rev. William Lego on the South Side of Chicago, who was watching television in his office when the new pope was announced, he was his old friend Bob. 'They picked a good man,' said Father Lego, the pastor of St. Turibius Parish, who has known the new pope since their high school days. 'He had a good sense of right and wrong, always working with the poor.' The new pope, who was born Robert Francis Prevost, hails from the Chicago area, where he grew up in a southern suburb just outside of the city. His family belonged to the now-shuttered St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in the Riverdale neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, then populated by throngs of Catholic families. His father, Louis Prevost, was a school superintendent in Chicago Heights, a suburb in Cook County. His mother, Mildred Prevost, was a librarian and deeply involved in parish life, serving as the president of the St. Mary Altar Rosary Society, according to her death notice in 1990. Noelle Neis remembers sitting behind the Prevost family every Sunday at 9:15 a.m. Mass as a child at St. Mary's. 'You'd kind of always go to the same Mass and file in the same pew,' said Ms. Neis, 69, who lives in the Chicago suburbs. 'They were always there.' By the time the newly elected pope reached adolescence, he was looking toward the priesthood, enrolling in St. Augustine Seminary High School in Holland, Mich., a boarding school for boys. There, he lived in the Augustinian tradition, with its intense focus on community: eating together, studying together, sharing everything about their lives. The new pope then studied at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1977, before returning to Chicago to attend Catholic Theological Union, a graduate school, and earn a divinity degree. The Archdiocese of Chicago serves roughly two million Catholics in Cook and Lake Counties, about one-third of the counties' population. In Chicago, as word began to spread that the new pope was one of their own, Catholics said they were thrilled — and a touch overwhelmed. 'Not only is he an American, but he is from Chicago,' said Veronica Cervantes, a 52-year-old executive recruiter. 'That right there is shocking.'
