Category Archives: News

Using technology to stay connected to the faithful during the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, Bishop Ronald Gainer will celebrate the Diocese’s first ever digital Holy Week and Easter. The difficult decision to extend the suspension of Masses through Easter was made after careful consideration of the decree (In time of Covid-19…

Dear Catholic-School Families in our Diocese, On this feast of St. Joseph, patron saint of the universal Catholic Church, please know that I am praying for you for peace and health.  The Lord reminds us in scripture that He has plans for us, “plans for your welfare, not for woe!…

The sugary-sweet aroma is unmistakable around parish kitchens and social halls this time of year. From warm and sticky fastnatchts to luscious chocolate eggs, the sugary treats are staples in several parish communities, drawing thousands of customers to the longstanding saccharine traditions. A “foodie” road trip ahead of Shrove Tuesday…

Lent is a time of repentance, preparation and renewal leading up to Easter. For more than 90 men, women and children in the Diocese of Harrisburg, it is also their last phase of preparation before they enter into full communion with the Church at the Easter Vigil. On Sunday, March…

Father Jonathan Sawicki is the Diocese’s Vocations Director. Not too long ago, I had the privilege of accompanying him to a vocations awareness day in the southwestern part of our Diocese. I truly LOVE talking vocations: the unique call of God to be holy! The journey to be holy is…

Woven in the collective memory of this nation is the tragic terror African Americans have long endured. One hundred and sixty years ago, more than four million blacks were slaves in America. One hundred and twenty years ago, more than a thousand blacks were lynched, hanged from a tree for…

Tramping the muddy upturned earth at the groundbreaking ceremony for their new school, students from St. Anne’s in Lancaster had reason to cheer on Feb. 2. It wasn’t because of Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early spring that day, or even the burst of flurries from a snow squall as…

Each February 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, commemorating the Blessed Mother’s appearances to young Bernadette in 1858 in Lourdes, France, today a pilgrimage site where people find healing in the holy waters that flow from the grotto where Mary appeared. In one of…

Grit requires longevity to prove it true. When you drive over Chickies Hill and descend the long funneling way into Columbia, Lancaster County, what strikes you as you peer down upon the industrial town along the Susquehanna River is the tenacity it houses. In a very good way, Columbia is…

Fulfilling his promise to involve more lay member in Diocesan operations, Bishop Ronald Gainer hosted the first meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council in early February. This board includes nearly 30 lay members, two religious sisters, two permanent deacons and two priests. The Council is a consultative board that assists…

One of the pictures I treasure from my childhood is of me when I was probably two years old. I was dressed in a bright pink frilly dress and my thin blond hair was a mass of wispy, unruly ringlets. My sister, who was ten at the time, stood holding…

Catholic Schools Week is a spirited time for students, and the celebration was heightened even more so for students at St. Margaret Mary School in Harrisburg, who welcomed Bishop Ronald Gainer on Jan. 29. The bishop celebrated Mass in the school gym, and visited classrooms to interact with the students…

A planned pilgrimage led to an unexpected encounter with Pope Francis for about a dozen seminarians from St. Charles Borromeo in Philadelphia last month. Aaron Lynch, a seminarian of the Diocese of Harrisburg, and his Theology III classmates were in Italy on pilgrimage as part of a formation program made…

Challenging and supporting students to do good works for the benefit of others, Our Lady of the Angels School in Columbia has adopted the theme, “Apostles Assemble” this school year. Stemming from the popular Marvel and DC comics, the “Apostles Assemble” motto is a motivator for students to contribute and…

Much of my time working in Information Technology is listening to folks describe “what it’s supposed to do” but doesn’t. Sometimes, I have to translate what people are telling me with what I know about how a computer or another technical device works. Sometimes, I have to talk them off…

Offering prayers and inspiring support for persecuted Christians throughout the world, Gene Skurlak of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in New Holland turns to the Knights of Columbus’ commissioned icon of Our Lady, Help of Persecuted Christians. “We can pray to Our Mother to end this terrible disease of persecution,”…

Catholic Schools Week was filled with excitement at Holy Family School in Berwick, as community support for the Columbia County school added to the week of special liturgies, visitors and activities for the students. The first-grade class was surprised with boxes of school supplies from J.B. Hunt Transportation. The trucking…

Tina Skubon, parish manager at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Lancaster, was overcome with emotion when she entered the newly-renovated Holy Family Chapel in the parish’s former convent. “When I walked in and saw it, I cried,” she said. “It’s beautiful and stunning, the result of a…

As throngs of people descended upon the nation’s capital on Jan. 24 for the 47th annual Rally and March for Life, Sandra Paveglio stood in solidarity with several dozen men, women and students along Lebanon’s busy noon-time thoroughfare. Coordinating a Right to Life Rally at the intersection of Route 422…

Eight Catholic schools in the Diocese have received a combined $147,520 in state-funded grants to enhance the safety and security of their campuses. The grants were awarded through the Safe Schools Initiative Targeted Grant for Equipment, a project of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Its purpose is to assist schools…