Latest news with #BlessedSacrament
Herald Malaysia
21-07-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
New short documentary highlights the life of Servant of God Julia Greeley
A new, short documentary tells the story of Servant of God Julia Greeley, also known as Denver's Angel of Charity, who was born into slavery near Hannibal, Missouri. Jul 21, 2025 An image of Servant of God Julia Greeley in a parish. | Credit: Screenshot/Colorado Capuchin Franciscans By Francesca Pollio Fenton A new, short documentary tells the story of Servant of God Julia Greeley, also known as Denver's Angel of Charity, who was born into slavery near Hannibal, Missouri. 'Julia Greeley: Servant of the Sacred Heart' features interviews with Father Blaine Burkey, OFM Cap, who wrote a book on Greeley's life; Mary Leisring, president of the Julia Greeley Guild; Father Eric Zegeer, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Denver, Greeley's parish; and Jean Torkelson, executive director of the Julia Greeley Home, a Denver nonprofit that serves women in need. In the 13-minute documentary, interviewees discuss Greeley's deep faith, her acts of charity, and her courageous response to the challenges presented throughout her life. When she was a child, while her master was beating her mother, his whip caught Greeley's right eye and destroyed it. After she was freed in 1865, she spent her time serving poor families, mostly in Denver. In 1880, Greeley entered the Catholic Church at Sacred Heart Parish in Denver. She attended daily Mass and had a deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. She joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1901 and was known for her dedication to the people in her community, bringing them things they needed. Despite having arthritis, she walked countless miles to collect and distribute alms and to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Greely died on June 7, 1918, and her cause for canonization was opened by the Archdiocese of Denver in 2016. Burkey is a retired priest in the Archdiocese of Denver. A scholar and expert on the life of Greeley, in an interview with CNA he described her as 'a very zealous person.' 'Despite all the problems people gave her, she turned it around and didn't spend time worrying about that,' he said. The priest also highlighted that among Greeley's many charitable deeds, 'every time she had money leftover to take care of herself, she [instead] took care of the poor,' and 'she didn't spend her life trying to get even or [seek] vengeance or anything like that.' He said he hopes the faithful are 'encouraged by that message that you shouldn't be concerned with vengeance but with mercy.'--CNA
Herald Malaysia
15-05-2025
- Herald Malaysia
Young pilgrims prepare to share love of Christ in the Eucharist during 3,300-mile trek
Young men and women preparing to take part in the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage spoke at a Tuesday press conference about their preparation and excitement for the 3,300-mile pilgrimage, set to kick off in Indianapolis this Sunday. May 15, 2025 The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage passes southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, on June 21, 2024. | Credit: Kate Quiñones/CNA By Jonah McKeown Young men and women preparing to take part in the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage spoke at a Tuesday press conference about their preparation and excitement for the 3,300-mile pilgrimage, set to kick off in Indianapolis this Sunday. The 36-day pilgrimage, which will likely attract thousands of participants to walk with and adore Christ in the Eucharist, is a response to the cultural and spiritual needs of today, said Leslie Reyes-Hernandez, a pilgrim and a high school algebra teacher from Phoenix. 'If anything, I think this [pilgrimage] is an invitation for something that the world is hungry for, and the Eucharist is our anchor, and the pilgrimage is a public expression of hope,' she said. Reyes-Hernandez is one of eight young pilgrims who will seek to publicly witness to the truth that Christ is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament by accompanying the Eucharist the entire route from Indianapolis to Los Angeles, crossing through 10 states and taking part in numerous special events. The pilgrims will be accompanied by a rotating group of priest chaplains, and any person wishing to join for small portions of the route will be able to sign up to do so for free. Preparation for the once-in-a-lifetime walking pilgrimage experience has involved both spiritual and practical aspects, and the pilgrims said they hope the experience will have a lasting impact on their own lives and enable them to continue sharing their faith with others. The team has convened for weekly formation meetings to prepare spiritually and build team cohesion. Rachel Levy, who works for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis serving Catholic young adults, described preparing 'spiritually, just trying to keep a consistent prayer life,' attending daily Mass, and spending time in adoration. Practically, she's been 'trying to get out and walk a little bit more than normal,' getting prepped for the upcoming extended periods of time outside and getting some 'good walking shoes.' Asked what the Eucharist has done for her in her life, Levy recounted a moment in adoration in front of the tabernacle where, feeling 'unworthy' and 'unequipped' for ministry due to past brokenness, she experienced a profound sense that the Lord 'loved me just as much in the worst of the worst of my sin as he did in that moment that I was sitting in front of the tabernacle, and that he loves us each each moment of every day the same no matter what we're doing. His love is constant.' Johnathan 'Johnny' Silvino Hernandez-Jose, who resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and helps run his family's construction company, said he anticipates challenges during the pilgrimage experience: 'walking every day, talking every day, lack of sleep.' He described a previous walking pilgrimage experience at World Youth Day 2023 in Portugal that touched him deeply. 'Emotionally, maybe we'll get a little drained,' he noted, anticipating the intensity of constant interaction during the pilgrimage and the need to manage social energy. He also mentioned overcoming personal shyness and not taking any perceived shortfalls too hard on himself. Ultimately, though, he said he sees the pilgrimage as a 'walk with Christ, the trust that we put with him and the love that we have for him.' 'The root of this is spiritual,' Hernandez-Jose continued. 'I think when anything comes our way, these challenges, I think all we could do is really trust God and just pray with each other. And honestly, for me, what I like to do is just offer it up, you know?' Stephen Fuhrmann, a prospective Texas A&M University graduate, said he is excited to start the pilgrimage and, with his fellow pilgrims, 'just be thrown into a van and just have to live life together with Jesus, and what a beautiful thing that will be.' Fuhrmann said he was inspired by the witness of 2024 pilgrim Charlie McCullough, who is returning as team leader for 2025. He looks forward to getting to know 'each other's stories and each other's lives and how each of us have encountered Jesus in a very special way.' 'Then, also, to take that to the people we encounter and the people who we want to show who Jesus Christ is in the Eucharist, it's just extremely exciting,' Fuhrmann said. Arthur 'Ace' Acuña, who works in campus ministry at Princeton University, was drawn to the pilgrimage by the pivotal role the Eucharist played in his own reversion to the faith and his desire to 'see Jesus do what he does best, which is draw all things to himself.' He said he looks forward to 'seeing people fall in love with him ... fall in love with the Eucharist and the love that he's offering them, because he's passing by. And just like in the Gospels, he encountered so many people.' Acuña also emphasized the importance, especially during the Church's ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope, of carrying Jesus not only into cities and rural areas but also into prisons and other places that experience suffering or isolation, seeing it as a 'testament to the fact that Jesus wants to encounter everyone' and bringing healing and 'light into the dark places.' Frances Webber, originally from Virginia but currently living in Minnesota, is a senior in college studying theology and business. She said she hopes, through the pilgrimage experience, to reach those questioning their faith and remind them that 'Jesus doesn't want to disappoint you; he's not going to disappoint you.' How to take part The 2025 pilgrimage begins Sunday, May 18, with an opening Mass at St. John's Parish in Indianapolis. This year's pilgrimage is a continuation of last year's unprecedented four simultaneous Eucharistic pilgrimages, which started at the edges of the country and eventually converged in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congress in July 2024. The 2025 Drexel Route, named for St. Katharine Drexel (1858–1955), will take the procession through 10 states — including the country's two most populous, California and Texas — as well as through 20 Catholic dioceses and four Eastern Catholic eparchies. Masses at stops along the way, which include numerous shrines and cathedrals, will be offered in various languages and liturgical styles, including the Traditional Latin Mass, Gospel choir, praise and worship, Vietnamese, and Spanish, representing five different rites of the Church. In keeping with the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope in the worldwide Catholic Church, the focus of the Drexel Route is on 'hope and healing,' with visits planned not only to churches but also to prisons and nursing homes. Service projects and encounters with the poor and those in need are planned, including opportunities to serve the homeless, visit hospice facilities, and participate in a service project with Catholic Charities. Special Masses and prayers will be offered for the Wichita, Kansas, plane crash victims; at the Oklahoma City bombing memorial; at the southern border; and in areas impacted by wildfires in Los Angeles. Numerous holy men and women have ties to planned stops, such as the tomb of Venerable Fulton Sheen in Illinois and the Shrine of Blessed Stanley Rother in Oklahoma City.--CNA
Herald Malaysia
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
As conclave begins, it's business as usual at the Vatican
Vatican locks down and cuts signals as conclave begins to elect the next pope May 08, 2025 Cardinals pray before the Blessed Sacrament in a chapel near the New Synod Hall (@Vatican Media) By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News ServiceIn Rome, the conclave is the talk of the town: from speculation over a morning espresso about who will be the next pope to taxi drivers complaining about how roadblocks have made their work even more along the immense walls surrounding the Vatican, it was business as usual on May 7 as hundreds of tourists joined the long line, which stretched around the corner of the wall, waiting to enter the Vatican to its website, the Vatican Museums continued its normal schedule. However, tourists have limited access to the museums' treasures."Notice is hereby given that the Sistine Chapel will be closed to the public from Monday, April 28, 2025, for the requirements of the Conclave," a pop-up on the museum homepage read. "All tours of the Vatican Gardens and the Necropolis of the Via Triumphalis are also suspended." Vatican employees also needed to adapt their schedules and plan ahead to reach their offices, visit the duty-free shop or fill their fuel tanks from the Vatican's tax-free gas pump. Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Raffaella Petrini, president of the office governing Vatican City State, issued a notice the day before the conclave, May 6, informing employees of areas that will be closed off when the cardinals make their way from the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence to the Apostolic Palace for the conclave. "Starting today, at 6 p.m., all access to the San Damaso Courtyard will be closed and sealed off," Sister Petrini wrote. "The Secretariat of State and other offices located in the Apostolic Palace will only be accessible using the elevator located in the Belvedere Courtyard." The notice went on to inform employees and residents which streets to use to access apartments, the offices of the Vatican bank, the Prefecture of the Papal Household and the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See. Doors and entryways along the paths the cardinals might take to and from the Sistine Chapel were sealed May
The Onion
24-04-2025
- Health
- The Onion
Vatican Coroner Confirms Eucharistic Overdose
VATICAN CITY—In a stunning discovery that revealed the full extent of the pontiff's addiction, Vatican coroner Fernando Ruini released a report Thursday confirming Pope Francis died of a eucharistic overdose. 'Our autopsy found the Holy Father had a substantial amount of Eucharist in his system— roughly four times the legal limit—at the time of death,' said Ruini, who added that measurements of the pope's blood of Christ (BOC) were consistent with those from someone who had communed with Jesus for decades. 'It's a wonder he lived as long as he did given his clear dependency on letting God into his heart. By the end, he was probably getting the Blessed Sacrament once or twice every day just to function. There are also some signs he was mixing in other sacraments—penance, the anointing of the sick, or whatever he needed to hit that spiritual high he got off his first communion wafer.' The coroner added that he wouldn't let anyone he loved get behind the wheel of the popemobile with the late pontiff's level of blessedness.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wisconsin hit record migration in '24. Will it last under Trump's immigration policies?
When the Rev. Javier Bustos moved to Milwaukee in 2017, he celebrated just one Spanish-language Mass a week. Today, he says three as pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace and Blessed Sacrament parishes, on the city's south side. "Our churches are packed," said Bustos, who is also in charge of Hispanic ministry for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. "I have seen immigrants of many, many countries, mostly from Latin America, but also Africa, and even some European immigrants." It's not just Milwaukee. Migration to Wisconsin reached the highest level in two decades last year, largely spurred by people moving to the state from other countries, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates earlier in March. Of the more than 28,000 people who moved to Wisconsin between June 2023 and June 2024, more than 22,000 were international migrants. More than 6,000 were domestic migrants — moving to Wisconsin from other states — and slightly more than 2,000 new residents were the result of natural population change, or the number of births minus deaths. The overall increase is a marked change from Wisconsin's shrinking population during the pandemic. The looming issue is what's ahead. President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration — everything from killing refugee programs to revoking protected status for hundreds of thousands of migrants to ranking countries for a potential new travel ban — would slow if not dramatically reverse any gains in population Wisconsin has seen. The numbers don't exist in a vacuum. Some Wisconsin economists and population experts have argued an influx of immigrants is key to bolstering local economies statewide. Just on Milwaukee's south side, for example, the flow of immigrants has led to new businesses, more traffic to local restaurants and growing school enrollment, Bustos said. "With the current administration, we are facing challenges and fear of the uncertainty," Bustos said. "Restaurants are feeling the fear, churches are feeling the fear, schools are feeling the fear. Those fears may affect the economy." Wisconsin's population growth has been part of a nationwide trend of steadily rising migration since the mid-2010s, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past few years, in particular, global unrest has driven people to the U.S. The fall of Kabul and Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to a national influx of refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine. Biden-era sponsorship of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela also allowed more legal immigrants. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee has become a hub for Burmese refugees from Myanmar. Between June 30, 2023, and June 30, 2024, the Census Bureau found international migration accounted for 2.8 million of 3.3 million new residents nationally, up from the previous two years. The Bureau's count attempts to include migrants who are in the U.S. both legally and illegally. Net migration to Wisconsin, which includes both people moving from abroad and from other states, also outpaces most other Midwestern states, according to an analysis of the Census Bureau data by the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Over the past three years, net migration in Wisconsin rose to its highest point since 2004 — a rate second only to South Dakota when compared to 12 other states in the region, said Mark Sommerhauser, communications director for the Policy Forum. "In recent decades, migration to some of the Southern states and Western states has been quite high, while to the Midwestern and Northeastern states it's been a lot lower," Sommerhauser said. "We're doing pretty well by Midwestern standards when it comes to people migrating to our state." Wisconsin in particular also is seeing fewer leave, according to Ananth Seshadri, director of the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Between 2012 and 2016, Wisconsin lost about 8,000 taxpayers a year to other states, according to data from the Internal Revenue Service. But, between 2017 and 2020, that number neutralized to about 0 — meaning about the same number of taxpayers moved in as moved out. Seshadri said falling tax rates could be one reason why. "We still tax our residents more than most of our neighboring states, but the tax structure in Wisconsin is a little more friendly," he said. Bustos said he's seen what is essentially a combination of international and domestic immigration; families from other countries initially land in another state, such as California or Texas, then settle in Milwaukee for its existing immigrant community. Referring to the city's south side, he said: "If you're an immigrant in that area, you fit in immediately. People who are coming in benefit from immigrants like myself and many others who've been here for 30 or 40 years." Though Dane County continues to lead the state in population growth by wide margins, the latest Census Bureau numbers showed Milwaukee County's population grew for the first time in a decade last year. The county added about 2,880 residents through both migration and new births, bringing its total to just under 925,000 people. Milwaukee County still has lost 15,000 residents since 2020 — the most of any Wisconsin county in that time period, according to Seshadri. However, its international migration numbers were the highest in the state. The county has seen more than 18,000 people move in from other countries in the last five years, compared to about 16,700 in Dane County. Further, the net number of people leaving Milwaukee has decreased steadily in recent years, going from about 17,000 in 2021 to about 6,000 last year. Those numbers indicate "a real improvement," immigrants from other countries will still be critical to continue growing Milwaukee's population and economy, according to John D. Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette Law School's Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. "If we see a decline in the population from immigration, you'll see fewer kids in schools, less funding for those schools, and prices for all different kinds of things will go up as there's labor shortages," Johnson said. All of this comes as natural population growth continues shrinking, both nationwide and in Wisconsin. For more than a decade after 2004, the last year analyzed by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, natural population change was the main driver of population growth in Wisconsin. But in 2018, migration started exceeding natural population change and, by 2024, migration was a whopping 14 times higher than natural population change. That's because the Baby Boomer population is beginning to die while the country continues to experience a decades-long plummet in birth rates. The first three years of the 2020s each set records for the lowest number of births in Milwaukee, according to Marquette's Milwaukee Area Project. "Fewer babies are being born," Sommerhauser said, "and, at the same time, we have this big cohort of people in their 60s and 70s, the Baby Boomer generation, that are just reaching that stage of life." As a candidate, Trump pledged to crack down on illegal immigration as a means to reduce crime in the U.S. However, his administration's actions have broadly targeted immigrants and refugees, legal and illegal. The effects will be widespread, according to Jennie Murray, president of the National Immigration Forum, a nonprofit advocacy group for immigrants. Immigrants make up about 14% of the U.S. population, but more than 18% of the workforce, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Healthcare, education, technology, hospitality and agriculture — including Wisconsin's dairy industry — all rely on immigrant labor, documented and undocumented. A drastic decline in immigration could have "a really negative impact on the economy," Murray said. "We were already kind of in a pressure cooker just waiting for a recession," Murray said. "We have this all-time low birth rate, we have almost 10 million open jobs available every month, so that means we don't have the workers to fill the roles that we need to remain globally competitive." In addition to filling labor shortages, immigrants can bring skill sets to bolster existing institutions, Seshadri said. "If you go to any major research university, like UW-Madison, immigration is a really important factor in terms of the lifeblood of the place," he said. On Milwaukee's south side, Bustos said he's been proud to see the city welcome immigrants, and he hopes the trend will continue despite new national policies. "These are people who are coming in with real reasons to migrate from situations that are difficult in their country of origin," the Catholic priest said. "They come into the city of Milwaukee, and as soon as they get here, they start looking for jobs and start working for the community." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin sees record migration as Trump cracks down on immigration
