News - June 2018 RSS Feed

On July 2, a delegation of bishops led by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will be visiting the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas. The bishops will be holding a press conference to offer reflections on engagements with the Catholic community, U.S. government officials and Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley organizations on the issue of family separation.

The Parish and Diocesan Bishop’s Faith Appeal Chairs put the coffee pot to work at their Mid-Year Meeting on June 28 at Lupe Tortilla in Beaumont. The evening meeting provided everyone the opportunity to workshop in large and small group sessions involving their successes and struggles with their Bishop’s Faith Appeal (BFA) pledges that support diocesan ministries.

This weekend, Catholics in South East Texas will have the opportunity to support the works of mercy of the Holy See and the functioning of ministries used in promoting the Universal Church through donations to Peter’s Pence.

The 52nd Annual Diocese of Beaumont Youth Convention was home to more than 960 youth and young adults who spent four days in Houston encountering Christ through worship, workshops, service projects and other activities.

Providing exposure to different parts of the community was the goal of the service projects portion of the 2018 Diocese of Beaumont Youth Convention in Houston. Young people spent time working on several projects, including cards for vocations, rosaries for responders, letters to offenders, letters to military personnel, blankets for Birthright, stained-glass crosses for nursing home residents and blessing bags for the homeless ministry.

Along with worship, workshops also drew Youth Convention participants closer to Christ, including the “You’ve Graduated High School…Now What?” workshop presented by Kelly delaRosa and students from Lamar University’s Catholic Student Center.

During days of presentations and worship, youth and young adults at the Diocesan Youth Convention in Houston also got some time for fun and fellowship, including the talent show and the concert/dance celebration June 22.

“Every day we have to decide am I going to follow Christ, or am I going to follow the false values of the world?” Bishop Guillory said during Mass at the Diocesan Youth Convention in Houston June 22.

Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, said during the Youth Convention awards presentations June 21 in Houston that he draws on youth and young adults as the source of his inspiration to minister to people. “I always look forward to the convention,” Bishop Guillory said.

“Just being in the presence of the Lord as we are tonight, we become one with him. Our understanding of the mystery of his presence becomes clear,” said Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, during the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament June 21 at the Youth Convention in Houston.

“It’s not whether God is choosing me. It’s the fact that I need to make the choice to be chosen,” said keynote speaker and musician Mikey Needleman during the opening session of the 2018 Youth Convention in Houston June 20.

Parishioners are arriving and settling in for the 2018 Diocese of Beaumont Youth Convention at the Hyatt Regency Houston on June 20. This evening’s opening session kickstarts the convention, which will wrap up June 23.

By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said he stands with the U.S. bishops who recently condemned the Trump administration’s policy on immigration that has led to children being held in government shelters while their parents are sent to federal prisons.

By Rhina Guidos, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) — From Denver to New York City, the country’s Catholic bishops have joined a chorus of organizations, institutions and high-profile individuals urging the Trump administration to stop separating children from their parents as they seek respite in the U.S. from dire conditions in their home countries, largely in Central America.

The Diocese of Beaumont took home four awards at the 2018 Catholic Press Awards ceremony. The Diocese of Beaumont staff was awarded first place for The Diocese of Beaumont Annual Report 2015-2016 . Staff was complimented for using multiple languages to ensure that the message was accessible to all of the East Texas Catholic audience.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CNS) — The U.S. bishops June 13 decried U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision that asylum seekers fleeing domestic or gang violence cannot find protection in the United States.

Local charities are now benefitting from the St. Joseph Altar celebration. St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica pastor Msgr. Jerry McGrath and St. Joseph Altar Committee chair Linda Domino presented checks during a ceremony June 13 to award proceeds from the 2018 St. Joseph’s Altar event.

Parish and school families gathered for faith, food and fellowship during the St. Anthony Feast Day Celebration June 13 at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica. The evening included a prayer service, a procession to the cathedral center as well as bingo, music and games.

Catholic Charities is saying ‘thank you’ to everyone that helped make the annual Breakfast with the Bishop a huge success. Food, fun and faith were part of the day at the St. Jude Thaddeus Family Life Center on June 9.

“I would watch the priest or altar servers swinging censers back and forth,” Msgr. Salvador Culotta commented with a grin at the memory. “I thought that if I counted how many times they did it, I would know something others wouldn’t at school.