Category: Diocese of Scranton News

SCRANTON – All 102 parishes across the Diocese of Scranton, including the Cathedral of Saint Peter, are busy preparing for Holy Week and Easter. The faithful are invited and encouraged to attend Masses to experience the joy, hope and love of Jesus Christ.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will celebrate Pontifical Liturgies at the Cathedral of Saint Peter for this holiest time of the year.

CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton will provide live coverage of all Pontifical Masses from the Cathedral of Saint Peter. In addition to being broadcast, the Masses will also be available via livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website, YouTube channel, and all Diocesan social media platforms.

PALM SUNDAY, MARCH 29

The solemn observances of Holy Week, which recall the passion and death of Jesus Christ, begin on Palm Sunday, March 29. Those attending the service receive palms, a reminder of Scripture telling us that people welcomed Jesus by laying down their cloaks and waving palm branches.

Bishop Bambera will celebrate a Pontifical Liturgy at 12:15 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

CHRISM MASS, MARCH 31

Priests serving throughout the Diocese will gather at the Cathedral on Tuesday, March 31, at 4:00 p.m. for the Solemn Pontifical Chrism Mass, at which the Holy Oils used during the conferral of sacraments throughout the Church year will be blessed. Bishop Bambera will be the principal celebrant and homilist.

HOLY THURSDAY, APRIL 2

The three most sacred days of the Church’s liturgical year, known as the Sacred Paschal Triduum, begin on Holy Thursday, April 2, with the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper.

The Pontifical Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which will include the Rite of the Washing of Feet, will begin at 5:30 p.m.

GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 3

On Good Friday, April 3, and the following day (up to the Easter Vigil Mass), by a most ancient tradition, the Church does not celebrate the sacraments at all, except for Penance and Anointing of the Sick.

The Commemoration of the Passion and Death of the Lord celebrated by Bishop Bambera will begin at 12:10 p.m.

HOLY SATURDAY, APRIL 4

Holy Saturday, April 4, is the day that the Church waits at the Lord’s tomb in prayer, meditating on his passion and death and awaiting his resurrection.

Bishop Bambera will be the principal celebrant and homilist of the Easter Vigil Mass at the Cathedral beginning at 8:00 p.m.

EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 5

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord is the most joyous day in the Church year. This joy overflows into the 50 days of the Easter season, which concludes on Pentecost Sunday.

On Easter Sunday, Bishop Bambera will celebrate a Pontifical Mass at 10:00 a.m. at the Cathedral.

JERUSALEM (OSV News) – The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said wartime restrictions have forced the cancellation or postponement of key Holy Week observances, urging the faithful to remain united in prayer despite the inability to gather for traditional celebrations.

In a March 22 statement, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said the ongoing conflict has disrupted customary Lenten practices in Jerusalem, including communal observances at some of Christianity’s holiest sites.

“Due to the war, this year we were unable to experience the traditional Lenten journey in Jerusalem, with the solemn celebrations at the Holy Sepulcher and in the Holy Places of the Passion,” the statement said. “Though we were able to pray and prepare personally, we felt the loss of the community journey towards Easter.”

The statement described uncertainty surrounding upcoming Holy Week liturgies — central to the Christian faith and typically drawing large gatherings of pilgrims and local worshippers in Jerusalem.

“Now we ask ourselves about the celebrations of Holy Week, the beating heart of our faith, in Jerusalem and at the Holy Sepulcher,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said, adding the patriarchate remains in communication with civil officials and leaders of other Christian communities to determine what limited observances may still be possible.

“The restrictions imposed by the conflict and the events of recent days do not bode well for any imminent improvement,” the statement said, adding that the situation remains fluid, leaving little room for firm planning.

“The situation is constantly evolving, and it is not possible to provide definitive indications for the days to come; we will therefore be forced to coordinate on a day-to-day basis,” the statement said.

Cardinal Pizzaballa made clear however that large, public liturgies will not take place this year: “Ordinary celebrations open to all cannot take place,” the statement said.

Among the most significant changes is the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, an event that typically commemorates Jesus’ entry into the city and draws thousands of participants.

“The traditional Palm Sunday procession, which goes up to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, to Jerusalem is canceled,” the statement said. “It will be replaced by a moment of prayer for the city of Jerusalem, at a location to be determined.”

The chrism Mass, during which priests renew their vows and sacred oils are blessed, has also been postponed “to a date to be determined,” and it will be concelebrated “as soon as the situation allows, possibly within the Easter season,” the statement said, noting that “the Dicastery for Divine Worship has already granted the necessary approval.”

Despite the disruptions, churches in the diocese will remain open, and clergy have been instructed to encourage participation in whatever forms are feasible.

The Latin patriarch acknowledged the emotional toll of the situation, describing the inability to celebrate Easter together as an additional burden amid the broader suffering caused by the U.S. and Israel-Iran war.

“The harshness of this time of war, which affects us all, today bears the added burden of not being able to celebrate Easter together and with dignity,” the statement said. “This is a wound that adds to the many others inflicted by the conflict.”

Even so, the message urged resilience and perseverance in faith and prayer.

“But we must not allow ourselves to be discouraged. Though we may not gather as we would like, let us not give up prayer,” Cardinal Pizzaballa said.

Israeli authorities closed Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher as part of wider closures for security concerns, beginning Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched attacks against Iran.

A statement from the head of Israel’s Civil Administration confirmed that “all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, will remain closed … for security reasons in light of the current tensions in the region.”

In a March 21 statement, the Custody of the Holy Land said the Church of the Holy Sepulcher remains a place of continuous prayer despite restricted access and ongoing uncertainty over Holy Week and Easter, as friars — now praying without the faithful and unsure how long limits will last — appealed to Catholics worldwide to unite in prayer for an end to violence and for dialogue and diplomacy to prevail in what they described as a “time of trial.”

The Latin patriarch’s March 22 statement pointed to Scripture for encouragement, recalling Jesus’ exhortation to perseverance.

“This is the time to remember Jesus’ invitation to his disciples: ‘Pray always and do not lose heart’ (Luke 18:1),” it said.

The faithful were encouraged to pray within their homes and religious communities as a substitute for public gatherings.

“We therefore wish to compensate for these limitations with moments of prayer as families and in our religious communities,” the statement said. “I know that prayer is already being practiced everywhere, and I am comforted by the commitment to keeping spiritual tension alive.”

As a sign of unity, Cardinal Pizzaballa proposed a shared day of prayer — March 28 — “reciting the Rosary to implore the gift of peace and serenity, especially for those suffering because of the conflict,” the statement said.

The appeal emphasized that physical separation does not diminish spiritual unity.

“We will do so with humble hearts, certain that our prayer, even while we are physically distant, is capable of drawing upon the strength of God’s love, which unites us in a spirit of hope and trust,” it said.

“Easter, which we celebrate in the name of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, reminds us that no darkness, not even that of war, can have the last word,” Cardinal Pizzaballa concluded. “The empty tomb is the seal of the victory of life over hatred, of mercy over sin.”

(OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV renewed his appeal for a ceasefire in the ongoing U.S. and Israel-Iran war in comments to journalists in Castel Gandolfo on the night of March 24, urging leaders to pursue dialogue over military force.

“I want to renew my call for a ceasefire, to work toward peace, not through weapons, but through dialogue, and to genuinely seek a solution that benefits everyone,” the pope told journalists gathered outside the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo on the 25th day of the war.

The pope, who regularly spends Tuesdays at the palace outside of Rome, approached reporters and delivered the appeal without taking questions.

“Right now, hatred is on the rise, violence is getting worse, there are over a million displaced people, and so many have lost their lives,” Pope Leo said.

“We want to pray for peace, but I urge all authorities to truly engage in dialogue and resolve these issues.”

The following day, on March 25, Iran dismissed an American ceasefire proposal, issuing a counterproposal of its own while launching additional attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries.

According to The Associated Press, the war has claimed more than 1,500 lives in Iran and over 1,000 in Lebanon, along with 16 in Israel and 13 U.S. military personnel. An unspecified number of civilians have also been killed in the Gulf region, on both land and sea.

In Iran and Lebanon, millions of people have been displaced since the conflict began.

The pope did not specify which parties he was addressing in his appeal, but called broadly on “all authorities” to engage in meaningful negotiation.

VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be beatified on Sept. 24 in St. Louis, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints announced March 25.

The beatification will take place in St. Louis, with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelization, presiding.

On Feb. 9, the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, had announced that the Vatican had given the green light for the beatification of Archbishop Sheen to move forward six years after the Holy See had postponed the beatification, initially scheduled for December 2019, only weeks before the event was to take place.

In a statement March 25, Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria said the beatification will take place at 2 p.m. CT at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.

“With anticipation of a great number of people wanting to participate, we chose this location because of availability, being indoors, and the close proximity to the Diocese of Peoria,” Bishop Tylka said.

Bishop Tylka added that a “number of events in Peoria” will be held “to celebrate this wonderful occasion.”

“This is a moment of immense grace for the Church — especially for us in the Diocese of Peoria, where Archbishop Sheen was born, ordained, and first served as a priest,” he added. “His life and ministry continue to inspire countless people to know and love Jesus Christ more deeply.”

“The Beatification Mass will be a profound moment of prayer and celebration for the faithful near and far,” Bishop Tylka said. “I invite all who have been touched by Archbishop Sheen’s life and legacy to join us in spirit or in person for this historic event.”

Msgr. Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies USA, received the news of the beatification date with “indescribable joy” and said he was “thrilled” Cardinal Tagle has been chosen “to be the papal legate, celebrant and preacher of the beatification Mass.”

Archbishop Sheen — who himself was national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (1950-66) — “is an inspiration not only to all of us who continue his work of prayer and support for the Church’s missionary work across the globe but for all those whose faith has been strengthened by his preaching, broadcasting, writing, and holy Catholic life,” Msgr. Landry said in a March 25 statement to OSV News.

“Cardinal Tagle, like Sheen,” he added, is “an incredibly gifted preacher, but he will no doubt be able to emphasize the contributions that soon to be Blessed Fulton Sheen made and in many ways continues to make to the Church’s mission work.”

In February, when it was announced Archbishop Sheen’s beatification would go forward, Bishop Tylka called the prelate “one of the greatest voices of evangelization in the Church and the world in the 20th century.”

“I have long admired his lifelong commitment to serve the Church as a priest, rooted in his deep devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Eucharist,” Bishop Tykla said. “As he journeyed through the different stages of his life, his ability to share the Gospel and truly relate to people drew countless souls into an encounter with Jesus — one that transformed not only his life, but more importantly, the lives of those he touched.”

Archbishop Sheen is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative evangelists in American history. Once dubbed “God’s microphone,” Archbishop Sheen announced God’s truth in a nonconfrontational, yet no less life-giving, manner to untold millions through radio, print and television.

That the announcement of the date of beatification for the archbishop was made on the Solemnity of the Annunciation is likewise very fitting,” Msgr Landry said in his statement. “Archbishop Sheen spent his life continuing the work of the Archangel Gabriel, calling us to rejoice because the Lord is with us, and imitating the response of Mary in placing himself as a servant of the Lord, allowing his whole life to develop according to the Lord’s word.”

The priest added, “I can’t wait to be in St. Louis on September 24 celebrating with Catholics from across the states and the world.”

(OSV News) – Younger Catholic adults in the U.S. are more likely to be Hispanic or Latino, while just over half of Gen-Z individuals raised Catholic are likely to retain that identity in adulthood.

Those and other insights on the nation’s adult Catholics were shared by researcher Mark Gray in a March 23 analysis posted to Nineteen Sixty-four, the blog of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

“We heard a lot in 2025 about a possible religious revival and about Catholics outnumbering Protestants in this younger demographic. What’s in the numbers?” wrote Gray, director of CARA Catholic Polls, research associate professor at Georgetown, and editor of the blog.

To find out, CARA drew on data from the Comparative Election Survey (CES) in 2023 and the General Social Survey (GSS), a nationally representative survey of adults in the U.S. conducted since 1972.

CARA researchers used Pew Research Center’s generational year definitions, which classify Gen-Z as those born between 1997 and 2012, Millennials as between 1981-1996, Generation X as between 1965-1980, and Baby Boomers as between 1946-1964. The Silent Generation was born between 1928 and 1945.

Baby Boomers represent one third (33%, or 17.2 million) of the nation’s adult Catholics, with Gen-X (13.1 million) and Millennials (12.7 million) each representing a quarter.

The Silent Generation counts 2.8 million, or 5% of U.S. adult Catholics.

Gray noted in his post that researchers could only “see” Gen-Z adults (age 18 and up), not younger members, in the survey data, but presently they comprise 13% (7.1 million) of adult Catholics.

“It’s with these youngest Catholics that there seems to be the greatest interest in data,” he said.

He noted the data available now shows that 2023 CES data showing Millennial and Gen-Z Catholics appearing to “match or eclipse” their Protestant counterparts was “more than likely” a fluctuation in the survey’s margin of error. The CES data before and after 2023 doesn’t align with that finding, and the GSS also did not show “any similar jump in Catholic affiliation” in those generations either.

“Surveys are always blurry images rather than picture portraits,” he explained in his post.

For older generations, “Catholics trail Protestants in all observations” of CES and GSS data since 1972, he said.

Still, Gray told OSV News, “there is a narrowing” between Catholics and Protestants in the younger age cohorts.

“Protestants have really seen their affiliation rates decline over time, much more than Catholics,” Gray said, speaking by phone with OSV News. “In fact, Catholics have remained relatively stable, between 20% and 25%.”

CARA found that in 2024, 36% of adult Catholics attended Mass at least once a month, 65% prayed at least once a week, and 76% said their religion is “somewhat” or “very” important to them.

Gen-Z adult Catholics were more likely to attend Mass at least once a month (39%) than Gen-X (30%) and Baby Boomer (35%) Catholics.

At the same time, Gray wrote, “Gen-Z were less likely than older Catholics to pray at least weekly and to say that their religion is ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important to them.”

Data indicates those in Gen-Z who are raised Catholic are less likely than other age cohorts to retain that identity in adulthood.

Gray observed that since 2021 — when Gen-Z numbers became “visible in large enough numbers in the GSS” to be statistically significant — their retention rates in the Catholic faith have “fallen each year to 52% in 2024.”

In other words, “only about half of Gen-Z who are raised as Catholic remain Catholic as adults,” he said.

However, Gray told OSV News he “would expect that number to rise” over time, since many young adults raised Catholic often distance themselves from their childhood faith before eventually returning to it.

By comparison, between 2014 and 2024, higher retention rates of the Catholic faith were seen in Baby Boomers (68% to 62%), Generation X (70% to 60%) and Millennials (64% to 53%) even as those cohorts saw overall declines during that decade.

Adult conversions to the Catholic faith after the age of 16 remain in the range of 2% to 3% of the share of U.S. adults across all age cohorts, said Gray.

Conversions among Gen-Z adults in the U.S. increased from 0.4% in 2021 and 0.3% in 2022. In 2024, that share rose to 2.9%, consistent with other generations in recent years.

“A 2.9% convert percentage in 2024 is not an outlier from other generations in recent years and brings Gen-Z in line with prevailing patterns,” Gray wrote.

Gray said the low rates in 2021 and 2022 may have been due to two factors.

First, as a younger generation, the Gen-Z cohort has had “less time” to “make a religious switch,” he said.

Secondly, he said, the period “overlaps with the COVID-19 pandemic,” when potential converts may have been unable to enroll in OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) classes.

He also pointed out that “significant change” could be seen across generations in “racial and ethnic diversity.”

Data shows that 40% of Gen-Z Catholics self-identify as Hispanic or Latino, compared to 18% among their Baby Boomer counterparts, he wrote.

Less than half of Gen-Z (47%) and Millennial (46%) Catholic adults identify themselves as white and non-Hispanic, Gray noted. He added that “the number of Catholics who self-identify as something other than Hispanic or non-Hispanic white is also larger among Millennials and Gen-Z than older Catholics.”

Gray told OSV News that statistical evidence of an overall rise in Catholics is not yet available.

“It could be true. We hope it’s true; we hope that there’s this big influx of new Catholics,” he said. “We won’t know until next year.”

(OSV News) – A notorious Philadelphia abortionist who was serving several life sentences for infanticide of three babies who survived abortions, manslaughter for the death of a woman, and for performing numerous abortions beyond Pennsylvania’s regulatory standards, has died.

The superintendent’s office of the Smithfield Correctional Institution in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, confirmed in an email to OSV News that Kermit Gosnell died March 1. The office said he was admitted to an outside hospital where he died. He was 85.

OSV News inquiries with the Huntingdon County Coroner about the cause of death have not yet been answered.

Gosnell was convicted in 2013 for the murder of three babies after facing murder charges in the deaths of seven identified babies. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Karnamaya Mongar. She was a 41-year-old refugee from Nepal, who was so heavily sedated prior to the abortion she was scheduled to have, that she stopped breathing. Her medical emergency was not acted on quickly enough because of dangerous conditions in the clinic and a staff coverup.

A 2011 grand jury indictment found through testimony of staff and patients at his West Philadelphia clinic that Gosnell, through a series of coverups and ultrasound image manipulation, often terminated the lives of unborn babies well beyond the 24-week gestation limit on abortions in Pennsylvania. As a result, the indictment said babies were “often born alive at his clinic.” If they were breathing or showing other signs of life, the doctor cut their spinal cords with scissors.

The grand jury report labeled Gosnell’s clinic, the Women’s Medical Society, a “house of horrors” after investigators found fetuses and fetal body parts in a variety of containers including plastic bags, milk jugs, cat food containers, medical specimen cups as well as blood stains on the floor and furniture, cat feces and dust everywhere. Bags of biohazards had piled up in the basement and in a freezer.

Federal agents made the grisly discovery when they entered the clinic in 2010 as part of a joint investigation of Gosnell carried out by the FBI, Philadelphia police and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Dangerous Drug-Offender Unit into “illegal prescription drug activities.”

The 2015 documentary, “3801 Lancaster: American Tragedy” about Gosnell’s life and criminal trial highlighted the failure of state regulators to act on the multiple violations they found at the clinic on the three occasions they inspected the facility from its opening in 1979 through 1993.

The film also noted beyond those inspections, the state received and still failed to respond to numerous complaints including alerts from a medical examiner’s office of Mongar’s death, an abortion of a 30-week-old whose mother was 14 and suffered complications, and patients contracting the same venereal disease after having abortions at the clinic.

SBA Pro-life America, a Washington-based pro-life policy group, in a March 23 post on X announcing Gosnell’s death, called for change.

“The abortion industry today STILL fights health/safety standards, inspections, and transparency. Babies are still born alive after botched abortions and left to die without care in too many states. We need this to change now,” said the six-part post.

Illinois Right to Life president Mary Kate Zander in a March 23 message about Gosnell’s death also pointed out regulatory inaction on the findings at his clinic and used it as a call to action in Illinois.

“Because Illinois does not regularly inspect the State’s many abortion clinics, women who travel here for abortions, or who live here, are at risk for substandard care,” said Zander in the statement. “Even those citizens who support legal abortion want abortion to be ‘safe,’ — at least for the mother.”

Illinois’s abortion policies are considered “very protective” according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion research and policy group that advocates for legal abortion. The state has done away with parental consent for minors to have abortions, calls itself a safe haven for out-of-state doctors who perform abortions their home states have made illegal, and mandated public college and university campus pharmacies stock drugs intended for abortion, among other measures.

Pro-life advocates have said the industry has mostly gone unregulated in this state.

“We are calling upon Governor (JB) Pritzker to put the health and safety of women first, and to reinstate regular, intentional, and thorough inspection of Illinois’ abortion clinics,” said Zander.

VATICAN CITY (Vatican News) – Universal health coverage is not “merely a technical goal to be achieved” but is a “moral imperative,” Pope Leo XIV told participants at a conference on health equity.

“It is primarily a moral imperative for societies that wish to call themselves just” and also to prevent injustice from becoming a cause of conflict, the pope said in a private audience at the Vatican March 18 with attendees at a conference titled “Today who is my neighbor?” organized by the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe, the World Health Organization (European Region) and the Italian Episcopal Conference.

The audience came the same day as the release of the second “WHO European Health Equity Status Report.” The document “draws attention to the situations faced by many poor and isolated people in Europe,” the pope said.

Inequalities in the field of health care are growing in many European nations, Pope Leo noted, while also calling for urgent attention to people’s mental health, particularly that of young people.

“Healthcare must be accessible to the most vulnerable, not only because their dignity requires it but also to prevent injustice from becoming a cause of conflict,” he said. It is “an essential condition for social peace,” he said.

After having reflected on passages from the Gospel, from the Book of Genesis, from St. Augustine’s writings and from Pope Francis’ encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Leo said, “Distance, distraction and desensitization to the sight of violence and the suffering of others lead us toward indifference. Yet all men and women, especially Christians, are called to fix their gaze on those who suffer: on the pain of the lonely, on those who, for various reasons, are marginalized and considered ‘outcasts.’ For without them, we cannot build just societies founded on the human person.”

Only together, he continued, “can we build communities of solidarity capable of caring for everyone, in which wellbeing and peace can flourish for the benefit of all.”

“Caring for the humanity of others helps us to live our own lives to the full,” he said.

The pope reaffirmed that the Church’s role is always at the “service of the advancement of humanity and of universal fraternity.”

He said that the Churches in Europe and throughout the world, in cooperation with international organizations, can “play a decisive role today in combating inequalities in healthcare, particularly in support of the most vulnerable populations.”

And finally, he appealed to Christians to ensure “our Christian lifestyle will always reflect this fraternal, ‘Samaritan’ spirit — one that is welcoming, courageous, committed and supportive, rooted in our union with God and our faith in Jesus Christ.”

ROME (OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV declared Father Edward Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, venerable on March 23, recognizing his heroic virtue and moving him one step closer to sainthood.

The pope signed the decree during an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

The declaration grants Father Flanagan the title “Venerable” and now requires two approved miracles, one for beatification and one for canonization, before his cause can advance further.

Father Flanagan, who was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, in 1886 and emigrated to the United States at age 18, is best known for founding Boys Town, a home for orphaned and at-risk youth on the outskirts of Omaha, Nebraska.

“Father Flanagan made such an impression on the hearts of people, Catholic and non-Catholic, that people still speak of him with pride and a sense of reverence, even,” Archbishop Michael G. McGovern, who was installed in Omaha in May 2025, told OSV News March 23.

“I was always impressed by his courage,” Archbishop McGovern added. “He faced a lot of opposition and yet he kept going forward and really believed in what he was doing, and that made all the difference in the world for these youth, and so we’re very, very proud that his legacy continues. I hope that people get to know him better.”

Father Flanagan started with a rented house and five boys on Dec. 12, 1917, driven by the conviction that every child deserved care, education, and love.
“There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking,” Father Flanagan once said.

What began as a small home grew into a self-governing community west of Omaha, incorporated as a municipality in 1934. Boys Town today includes a campus of group homes, a grade school and high school, a post office and bank, a national research hospital, and a national hotline for children in crisis.

Father Flanagan became widely known to American audiences after actor Spencer Tracy portrayed him in the 1938 film “Boys Town.” His reputation extended far beyond Nebraska; following World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur invited him to visit Japan and Korea to advise on improving conditions for children in occupied territories.

He later traveled to Austria and Germany on a similar mission, and in 1946 he publicly condemned the treatment of children in Irish industrial schools and reformatories, a critique that a 2009 Irish government report would later vindicate.

Father Flanagan died of a heart attack on May 15, 1948, in Berlin, at age 61, while on a government-sponsored mission to assess child welfare conditions in occupied Germany. His body was repatriated and about 30,000 people paid their respects in the two days before his burial.

“The work will continue, you see, whether I am there or not, because it is God’s work, not mine,” Father Flanagan said.

His cause for sainthood was formally opened in 2012. Documentation of his life and ministry was submitted to the Vatican in 2015, and a detailed account of his virtues was presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 2019.

In the same decree, Pope Leo XIV also recognized the “offering of life” of Italian Cardinal Ludovico Altieri, bishop of Albano, who died in 1867, and declared four others venerable.

— Father Henri Caffarel, a French diocesan priest born in Lyon in 1903, was among those declared venerable. He founded the “Teams of Our Lady” in Paris in the late 1930s, a Catholic lay movement centered on married spirituality that brings together Christian couples seeking to deepen the graces of the Sacrament of Marriage. Now active in 75 countries, the movement grew out of informal monthly gatherings Caffarel held with married couples in a Paris parish. He died in Beauvais in 1996.

— Giuseppe Castagnetti was an Italian layman, father of 12 children and politician from Modena who served as mayor of Prignano sulla Secchia from 1945 to 1959. He became widely known for his austere spiritual life and his close relationship with Padre Pio, who served as his spiritual director and before whom he pledged to wear sandals for the rest of his life. Castagnetti later joined Catholic Action and the Third Order of St. Francis. He died in 1965 and was praised for his expression of Christian virtue in ordinary life.

— Sister Stanislawa Samulowska, born Barbara Samulowska in present-day Poland in 1865, entered the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and devoted nearly her entire religious life to missionary work in Guatemala, where she served for 54 years until her death in Guatemala City in 1950.

— Sister María of Bethlehem of the Heart of Jesus Romero Algarín, born María Dolores in Seville, Spain, in 1916, was a professed religious of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Divine Heart. She died in Sanlúcar la Mayor in 1977.

SCRANTON — Due to the threat of an impending winter storm, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, cancelled the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion traditionally held at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on the First Sunday of Lent.

With the announcement, Bishop Bambera directed that the ceremonies for those seeking full communion in the Catholic Church this year be celebrated in local parishes that weekend, if possible, or during the Second Sunday of Lent weekend.

“I’ve asked our Pastors to celebrate this cherished ritual within your parishes,” the Bishop related in the preface of a prepared text of his homily meant to be delivered in person in the venerable Scranton Cathedral on Feb. 22. “While disappointed, we all have much for which to be grateful as we pray for the well over three hundred catechumens and candidates from parishes throughout our eleven counties who have answered the Lord’s call to discipleship.”

As Bishop Bambera indicated, the 2026 Rite of Election numbers are most impressive.

The 137 catechumens — those who have never been baptized in the Christian faith — and 175 candidates — baptized Christians who desire full communion in the Church through Eucharist and Confirmation — outnumber by more than 100 the 207 catechumens and candidates from last year’s Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion.

The Rite of Election is a pivotal moment in the journey of those seeking full initiation into the Catholic faith. Following months — sometimes even years — of prayerful preparation, study and discernment, the ceremony symbolizes their formal selection to become members of the Church at the upcoming Easter Vigil.

“While it was unfortunate that we weren’t able to celebrate at the Cathedral with the Bishop and hundreds of others, the flip side was that the parish community was able to witness and participate in this important milestone for all of our catechumens and candidates,” Ann O’Brien, coordinator for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Peckville, said. “It was beautiful to be a part of this ancient tradition at the parish level and surround the catechumens and candidates with our community’s prayer and support.”

Joyce Chowanec, one of five candidates from the Peckville parish where Father Andrew Kurovsky serves as pastor, knew she probably would not be in attendance for her local celebration held on the First Sunday of Lent. However, she was able to enjoy the livestream through her phone.

“While I watched…as my friends continued the process, it was emotional because I could really feel I was there spiritually,” she said. “Father Andy included me with his special message, and I felt that was so very special. I am forever grateful for everyone that has worked with our group.”

Describing his new prospective parishioners as being “on fire” about entering the Catholic Church, Father Joseph Kutch, pastor of Saint Michael Parish in Canton, expressed, “I am thrilled with all six of the individuals involved in our OCIA. I am very proud of each and every one of them. They are so excited and proud about their newfound faith, to the point of tears.”

The pastor also shares in their enthusiasm about the upcoming Easter Vigil ceremonies.

“I, too, am so looking forward to this year’s Vigil, which will be extra special as I have the privilege to baptize the three catechumens and minister the Sacrament of Confirmation to all six,” Father Kutch remarked.

Among the three candidates at Saint Michael’s is Sandy Jackson, who was baptized into the Lutheran church and most recently worshipped in the Methodist tradition.
“Last September, I attended my first Catholic Mass and immediately felt at home,” she shared.

“Participating in the Rites of Initiation and witnessing the Rite of Election was deeply moving,” Jackson continued. “The reverence and formality of these moments made God’s presence tangible. Holding the Rite at our parish allowed the congregation to share in and support our journey.”

Concerning the celebration of this year’s Rite of Election in local churches, Katie James offered her unique perspective as a catechist for the OCIA program at Christ the King Parish in Archbald.

“It is a gift to journey with these catechumens as they prepare to receive the Sacraments of Initiation. One of the beauties of the Order is that the entire parish joins in supporting them,” James explained. “Through the Rite of Election and the Scrutinies, the community comes together to pray for the continued formation of these catechumens, while also being strengthened by their witness and desire to seek the faith.”

Tracey Singletary joins her husband, William, as candidates journeying through the Call to Conversion process at Saint Patrick Parish in Nicholson.

As she returns to her Catholic roots seeking full communion into the Church, Tracey is serving as Confirmation sponsor for her husband, who received Christian baptism and now desires entrance into the Catholic faith.

“Returning to the Church after so many years has been humbling,” Tracey began. “There is something powerful about coming home to the sacraments and the truth of the faith that was always there waiting.”

She continued by stating how her faith journey has become even more meaningful with William walking beside her as a candidate for First Eucharist and Confirmation.

“As Easter approaches, I feel a deep longing to receive the Eucharist again — to encounter Christ truly present — a gift I once took for granted but now cherish with a grateful heart,” Tracey said. “This journey has reminded me that even when we wander far, Christ patiently waits for us and never stops calling us home.”

Carlie Craven of Dupont, an OCIA candidate at Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Pittston, was candid about her circuitous path to full communion in the Catholic Church.

“Some people grow up with faith and never leave it. My story is different,” Craven related, explaining that as a “cradle Catholic” she was baptized into the faith and received First Communion and First Reconciliation.

“Mine is the story of leaving, wandering, questioning everything — and slowly, unexpectedly, finding my way home,” she continued as she told how a fractured family unit prevented her from receiving Confirmation, leading ultimately to separation from her faith and even her beliefs.

“The faith that was planted in me through baptism had never truly disappeared. It had simply waited…for the moment when I would finally be ready to return,” Craven said. “And when that moment came, I realized something profound. I had not just rediscovered the Catholic Church. I had come home.”

Matt Rosencrans, who participated as a catechumen in the Rite of Election at Saint John the Evangelist on March 1, describes his faith journey of conversion to Catholicism with a quote by Saint John Henry Newman: “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

Stating it took years for him to “succumb to my thoughts and pursue my faith,” Rosencrans said during the past year, “it just clicked, everything aligned, and I knew it was time.”

“A dear friend of mine from the Harrisburg area, who also recently converted, stated that it must have been a calling,” he expressed. “I wholeheartedly believe that because I was blessed with a great (OCIA) class, led by amazing people, and a beautiful church.”

Also among the three candidates from the Pittston parish is Ryan Camaratta, who openly shared that he celebrated seven years of sobriety on the same day he participated in the Rite of Election at Saint John’s.

“I was baptized as a Catholic at birth and raised in a Catholic family and attended a Catholic school. I was adherent to the faith and the Church until about the age of 14, when I developed an addiction to opiates,” Camaratta declared forthrightly.

From there, his story spirals steeply out of control, eventually leading to chronic homelessness and extended incarceration.

“Last year I felt compelled to come back to the Church after years spent rebuilding my relationship with Christ, and I felt called to the parish of Saint John the Evangelist,” he remarked. “I requested to meet with a priest and had the great fortune to meet Father (Joseph) Elston, who welcomed me back to the Church after having willfully spent most of my life away from it.”

Camaratta concluded, “I’ve learned what a powerful force God can work on the sick and the afflicted and the lost, and that forgiveness truly is unconditional and never ending. Above all, I’ve learned and come to appreciate that living with Christ and with His Church is the only key to happiness and contentment I have ever found.”