Category Archives: Diocesan News

To honor healthcare workers on “Celebrating Your Community” day as part of Catholic Schools Week, students at St. Margaret Mary School in Harrisburg assembled 200 snack bags for employees at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center in Camp Hill. The service project was in response to a request from…

St. Joseph School in York has successfully landed on Mars. NASA’s rover, Perseverance, descended on the red planet on Feb. 18, bearing three microchips etched with more than 10 million names, including that of the PreK-6 parochial school in east York. The venture was part of NASA’s “Send Your Name…

Five committee chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wrote a letter to members of Congress opposing the recent reintroduction of the Equality Act (H.R. 5), which is scheduled to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives this week. The bishops warned of the threats posed…

“Do we need Lent this year?” That’s the question Bishop Ronald Gainer posed as he celebrated noon Mass on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg. “It may well be that you and I are less eager this year for Ash Wednesday and to begin the season…

Trinity High School in Camp Hill announced on Thursday, Feb. 18 that Jordan Hill has verbally accepted the position of Head Football Coach for the Trinity Shamrocks. Hill is a 2009 graduate from Steelton-Highspire High School, where he was a member of their 2007 and 2008 PIAA Championship teams. He…

Nine men and women who completed the Diocese’s formation program for spiritual directors are now certified to serve in the ministry of guiding Catholics in their spirituality. Bishop Ronald Gainer…

Mass-goers on Ash Wednesday might have detected a change in the wording during The Collect, the short prayer the priest says prior to the First Reading. If your discerning ear heard the priest say “God, for ever and ever,” instead of “One God, for ever and ever,” it’s not because…

A Feb. 4 investigative story from the Associated Press inaccurately portrays “the Roman Catholic Church” as a “giant corporate monolith” that raked in federal aid while sitting on billions of dollars that they could have used to pay employees, a canon and civil law expert told CNA. In reality, “the…

Images of seven Black Catholics placed at the altar during the Diocese’s Black Catholic Apostolate Mass shared a dual message for those in the congregation: remember and celebrate the good and holy works they did in their lives, and stand on their shoulders to continue sharing their light.

Angela Orisini, a volunteer in the Archives at the Diocese of Harrisburg since 2012 and a longtime friend of The Catholic Witness staff and author of the “Saint Spotlight” column, died on Feb. 1 at Carolyn’s House of Hospice of Central Pennsylvania.

What can I say? Susan Tassone has done it again! When it comes to prayer books with purpose, I have found Susan’s various titles to be a great go-to source.…

St. Bernadette Soubirous Patroness of body illness, poverty, people ridiculed for their faith, and Lourdes, France Feast Day – April 16 In Lourdes, France, a small town at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains, Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was born on January 7, 1844. Her father was a miller and her mother…

Marie François Thérèse Martin was born January 2, 1873, in Alençon, France. She did not fully comprehend what the Carmel was, but at 15 desired to enter. On September 24, 1890, she received her Carmelite veil in Lisieux as Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Although…

Faith, excellence and service are the hallmarks of Catholic schools, and they were a particular emphasis of celebration this week at St. Columba School in Bloomsburg. Catholic Schools Week activities for St. Columba’s students focused on this trifecta of values, particularly on Feb. 4, with a day of activities that…

As the March for Life commenced in our nation’s capital on Jan. 29, more than 130 miles away in Palmyra, the Respect for Life Ministry at Holy Spirit Parish led a pro-life witness through the neighborhoods and streets of town. Nearly 40 people endured the cold and windy weather to…

St. Teresa of Calcutta School in Adams County offered a glimpse of the future on Feb. 3, as students dressed as their future career during a Catholic Schools Week celebration of vocations. The PreK-3 through third grade classrooms at the Conewago campus were enlivened with future pizzeria owners, construction workers,…

Delone Catholic High School students participated in a “Virtual March for Life” on Jan. 28, during all three lunch periods. The school’s virtual activities were held in conjunction with the national March for Life, which moved to a virtual event this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Pro-life activities in conjunction with the annual March for Life are typically large-scale at Lancaster Catholic High School. Traditionally, school administrators and teachers accompany several dozen students to the nation’s capital, where their purple and gold garb stands out in a sea of pro-life proponents. In school, students who don’t…

Speakers at the 2021 March for Life rally on Friday called on pro-lifers to change the culture and not be discouraged at political setbacks. “We need to live on a rescue mission of truly loving people well,” said Tim Tebow, retired NFL player and current baseball player. Tebow was the…

The Church celebrates World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life on Feb. 2 and in parishes over the weekend of Feb. 6-7. It’s a special time for the Church to celebrate the gift of consecrated life and pray for men and women discerning a consecrated vocation.