JAMAICA PLAIN -- While observing the feast of the Annunciation, but with an eye toward the coming Easter, leaders and representatives of the Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, and Ukrainian Orthodox communities united to lead a prayer service for peace in Ukraine.
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BOSTON -- Prayer, fellowship, and street ministry. These are the three pillars of Encounter, a ministry to the poor and homeless organized by young adults. Some participate once a month, some once a week, some several times a week; but all have the same mission: to bring to others, and discover in others, the presence of Christ through authentic friendships.
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JAMAICA PLAIN -- For over 60 years, Catholic Charities' El Centro Adult Education Center has offered classes and academic services to newly arrived immigrants, helping them to quickly reach their educational and career goals.
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During their St. Joseph Day liturgy, immediately following a powerful video reflecting on their 150 years in Boston, Sister Jean McKinney, CSJ, pronounced her perpetual profession of vows as a Sister of St. Joseph of Boston.
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Last Friday, I was still making my way back to Boston from Paraguay, so I was unable to celebrate our St. Patrick's Day Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. But I'm happy to say that the festivities at the cathedral went on without me. Bishop Reed celebrated the Mass, and I was also happy to hear they had a good representation from the whole community, including many of our first responders from the Boston Police and Fire Departments.
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BRAINTREE -- When the Archdiocese of Boston was in its infancy, it was one of the first beneficiaries of the newly formed Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Now, Boston is a center of missionary activity, providing spiritual and financial support for missions around the world.
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BOSTON -- In August 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the San Lorenzo Capuchin Friary in Jamaica Plain began using a customized van to deliver food to places where homeless people congregate. Since then, the ministry has expanded in both the frequency of their trips and the depth of relationships they develop with those they meet.
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As the winter sports season comes to an end, four Catholic high schools took home state titles in basketball. Malden Catholic boys repeated as Division 2 champions with a 72-54 win over Mansfield on Friday evening at Tsongas Arena in Lowell. Led by Coach John Walsh, a 1997 MC graduate, the Lancers end the season 23-2.
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Last Thursday, I met with several representatives of Boston's Jewish community at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. With us were Jeremy Burton and Stacey Bloom of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Peggy Shukur and Lewis Sassoon of the Anti-Defamation League, Rob Leikind and Gerry Cohen of the American Jewish Committee, Rabbi Marc Baker of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis.
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SALEM -- The annual Catholic Appeal is underway, with the theme "Faith in action starts with you." The Catholic Appeal supports the parishes, schools, and central ministries of the Archdiocese of Boston. Among the many services and programs it funds are faith formation, hospital and prison chaplains, faith community nurses, and addiction recovery programs.
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JAMAICA PLAIN -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley and the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the U.S., Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia, will preside at a Lenten prayer service of hope and solidarity for the people of Ukraine on March 25.
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DORCHESTER -- Hanging on the wall in the Carolyn Lynch Children's Center is a sign in shape of a compass rose. For Maura Letourneau, it represents the namesake and mission of St. Mary's Center for Women and Children.
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One of the suggestions made during the meetings of cardinals before the start of the last conclave was the possibility of the new pope having a cabinet of cardinals who could serve as his advisors. So, shortly after Pope Francis was elected, he established the Council of Cardinals, popularly called the C9 because it consisted of nine cardinals from throughout the world. The Holy Father asked me to be part of it, and I have had the great privilege to work with him and the other cardinals in the preparation of the various reforms of the Roman Curia -- the changes to the different dicasteries and other innovations that have been promulgated by Pope Francis and institutionalized in the document "Praedicate Evangelium."
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BRAINTREE -- Even though St. Patrick's Day falls on a Friday in Lent this year, parishes and families in the Archdiocese of Boston planning their festivities can keep corned beef on the menu, thanks to a special dispensation granted by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley.
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DORCHESTER -- The fifth-grade students at St. John Paul II Catholic Academy, Lower Mills Campus, knew they were going to have a special guest on March 2, but it was not until he arrived that they realized who it was: Boston Celtics player Grant Williams.
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BOSTON -- Children's choirs from different Catholic communities in Massachusetts and beyond combined their voices for the New England Pueri Cantores Youth Choir Festival and Mass, held March 4 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
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BRAINTREE -- Like millions of Catholics around the world, many in the archdiocese are counting down the days until they go on pilgrimage to World Youth Day, which will take place Aug. 1-6 in Lisbon, Portugal.
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While I was in New York last week, I attended an event at the Union League Club with Cardinal Dolan and Bishop Octavio Cisneros to promote the canonization of Servant of God Felix Varela. Father Felix Varela is a very interesting personage. Born in 1788 in what was then New Spain, he was an incredible scholar and intellectual who was one of the founding fathers of the democracy in Cuba. He was ordained to the priesthood at 23 and immediately joined the seminary faculty, where he went on to be a professor in philosophy, physics, and chemistry. Through his teaching, he influenced a whole generation of young Cuban intellectuals and has even been described as the "Benjamin Franklin of Cuba."
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(The following statement was issued by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley March 7, 2023 regarding his reappointment to Pope Francis's council of cardinal advisors, also referred to as the C9. Cardinal O'Malley has served on the council since it was formed in 2013.)
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