As the Church celebrates Corpus Christi this weekend, the Body and Blood of Christ, I invite you to join our priests as we celebrate our priesthood anniversaries. Fr. Bill has confirmed that he will make a trip to Portage for the weekend. Not only do we celebrate our priesthood anniversaries, but this will also be a farewell party for Fathers Bill, Ben, and Tom. Please join us for the 11 am Mass this Sunday with all your priests followed by a reception in Marian Hall. We will live stream the Mass for those who may not be able to attend.
You may have heard the news that we have a Bishop-Elect. The Holy Father accepted Bishop Bradley’s retirement. Bishop Bradley will serve as the Diocesan administrator until July 25, 2023, when Bishop-Elect Edward M. Lohse will be consecrated as our new Bishop of Kalamazoo. The ceremonies and liturgies for a bishop are quite ornate and filled with many customs and traditions. All priests and deacons of the diocese and representatives of the people of the diocese are invited to participate as well as the bishop’s family and friends. It is already anticipated that there will not be enough room in the Cathedral for everyone who would like to attend. Therefore, this will be a ticketed event. However, the liturgy will be live streamed on the Diocesan website. Please keep both Bishop Bradley and Bishop-Elect Lohse in your prayers.
Our staff and volunteers here at the parish have been working behind the scenes for several months on preparing for our Vacation Bible School. We are excited for this summer’s event at St. Catherine. If you didn’t have a chance to register your child for VBS, we are accepting registrations for our waitlist. Register online through our website at:
https://stcatherinesiena.org/vbs. We have over 200 kids registered now, but if we are able to get enough volunteer-to-kid ratios, we will accept more. Speaking of volunteers, if you are able to help with your time or talent, please contact our VBS team at [email protected].
Important breaking news:
As you can see, we have a lot of changes happening around here. Many have asked me who will be arriving at St. Catherine to assist me in the upcoming months. We have been working on getting another missionary (MSFS) priest, but he is still working through all the immigration paperwork. Luckily, starting July 5, Fr. Antony Rajesh (concluding his time at St. Joseph Kalamazoo) is coming to assist me at St. Catherine’s for several months. Welcome, Fr. Antony! For a complete list of priest assignments, visit the Diocese’s website at: https://diokzoo.org/news-releases-statements.