Yearly Archives: 2019

Retiring Chancellor Reflects on Service, Looks Forward to New Opportunities

After a lifetime of service, the Chancellor for the Diocese of Harrisburg, Dr. Carol L. Houghton, STD, JCD, is starting her next life chapter. Dr. Houghton retired from the Diocese on June 30, but not before reflecting back on her 33 years of service.

“I started in a part-time role in June 1986. I was teaching full-time at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary at the time. When I was working part-time, I started in the Tribunal as a Defender of the Bond and then I became a Judge,” said Houghton. “My entire time with the Diocese has been in the Tribunal.”

Bishop Blesses Building Foundation as Carmel Construction Progresses

Construction of the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph continues in Fairfield, Adams County, as volunteers are hand-building the Vestry, which will contain the recreation and work rooms for the Discalced Carmelite Nuns.

Nine Discalced Carmelites moved from the at-capacity Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Elysburg to the Fairfield Carmel last July. The blueprints for the monastery farmstead require authentic materials and craftsmanship for a chapel, a refectory, a novitiate, a building for the professed, a caretaker’s home, chaplain’s quarters and a guest cottage.

Shamokin Pastor Pays Tribute to Fallen Chaplain during D-Day Services

Father Martin Kobos, OFM Conv., was among the thousands of people in Normandy, France, in early June to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day and remember the men who gave their lives to liberate Western Europe from Nazi Germany in 1944.

The pastor of Mother Cabrini Parish in Shamokin is not a World War II veteran, but his solemn visit to France still carried symbolic weight: to honor the life, service and sacrifice of a fellow Conventual Franciscan, Father Ignatius Maternowski.

Resurrection School Announces New Principal

Jeffrey Hughes will take over as principal of Resurrection Catholic School in Lancaster at the start of the 2019-20 school year July 1.

Hughes was most recently superintendent of South Eastern School District in York County. He previously served as principal of Manheim Central High School from 2010 to 2017. Hughes began his career as a middle school science teacher in South Middleton and Lower Dauphin school districts, and then moved into administration. He has a total of 32 years of experience in education.

Retiring Superintendent Says 37 Years in Diocese is Where God Wanted Her to Be

In 1974, Livia Riley was a first-year teacher at St. Anthony of Padua School in Lancaster, welcoming 40 students into her classroom and wondering what God had in store for her.

“I’ll never forget that first day,” said Riley. “I was 21 years old. I stopped on the landing between the second and third floors, and stood there thinking, ‘I wonder where this will lead me.’”

The Sacred Heart

Some time ago, while I was teaching in the Bronx, a Redemptorist priest from Japan who was staying in the rectory and studying in Fordham University came to the convent for Mass. It was the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Most feast days within the Church’s calendar are celebrated on a specific date each year. This feast day is always 19 days after Pentecost, which is dependent on Easter. This year, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is June 28.

Bishop McDevitt President Appointed

Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg has announced the appointment of David K. Gardiner as president. He will assume this leadership role on July 1.

Gardiner was most recently served at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md.

Father Francis T. Menei Dies

Father Francis T. Menei, 80, died June 6 at Misericordia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in York. He had been a priest of the Diocese of Harrisburg since 2002.

He was a graduate of the Philadelphia Public School System and St. Charles Borromeo College and Seminary, Overbrook, and obtained his Masters Degree at the University of Notre Dame.

Outgoing Secretary for Education Carried forth Mission of Schools’ Identity, Education, Affordability

In his 22 years as Diocesan Secretary for Education, Father Edward J. Quinlan focused on a trifecta of criteria essential to the success of Catholic schools: that they be authentically Catholic in identity and mission; that they offer quality education; and that they are affordable for families.

“When we say that the human person is a composite of body and soul and has an eternal destiny, how can you possibly prepare someone for the rest of their life without reference to their spiritual dimension? Our Catholic education does that very well,” he said.