Category: Diocese of Scranton News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As they waited for Pope Francis to arrive at the Clementine Hall in the Vatican Apostolic Palace for an early morning audience, late night comedy stars looked at each other and thought, “something’s wrong.”

“We’re in this beautiful, beautiful space in the Vatican and for some reason they’ve let comedians in, which is always a mistake,” comedian Conan O’Brien told reporters after meeting the pope June 14.

He was just one of 105 comedians from around the world who traveled to the Vatican for a papal audience and to “establish a link between the Catholic Church and comic artists,” according to the Dicastery for Culture and Education, which organized the meeting.

Comedians from the United States included Stephen Colbert, Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Gaffigan and Mike Birbiglia among others.

Before Pope Francis entered the room, Fallon stood in front of the pope’s chair and was cracking jokes to the entertainment of his peers. But once Pope Francis entered, they all took to their feet to applaud. Several stars, accustomed to being in front of the cameras, held out their phones to record the pope walking steadily to his seat.

And immediately Pope Francis cracked a joke, saying that since smiling is good for one’s health, it would be better for him to just make a funny face for the crowd rather than to read his lengthy speech.

Yet he told the comedians that “in the midst of so much gloomy news, immersed as we are in many social and even personal emergencies, you have the power to spread peace and smiles.”

“You are among the few who have the ability to speak to all types of people, from different generations and cultural backgrounds,” he said.

The pope highlighted the unique role of laughter in bringing people together in the face of conflict, stressing that humor “is never against anyone, but is always inclusive, purposeful, eliciting openness, sympathy, empathy.”

He also encouraged them to remember a prayer often attributed to St. Thomas More, which he said he prays every day: “Grant me, O Lord, a good sense of humor.”

Louis-Dreyfus, the star of hit shows “Seinfeld” and “Veep,” said after the meeting that Pope Francis’ words were “gorgeous,” and praised the pope’s message for highlighting that comedy “has a sacredness to it.”

Each comedian was able to greet the pope individually at the end of the audience.

Colbert, a Catholic, said he told the pope in Italian that he gave his voice to produce the audiobook version of the pope’s recently published autobiography. He later told reporters that after reading the book, he thought he would love to interview the pope on his late-night TV program, “but I really want to do a cooking segment with him, because he talked a lot about cooking: evidently he makes a great ‘tortellini in brodo.'”

Jim Gaffigan, another Catholic comedian who speaks often about his faith life, brought his family with him to the Vatican to meet the pope. His son Michael got rosary beads blessed by the pope that he proudly touted around the Vatican hallway leading out of the meeting.

Gaffigan told reporters after the meeting that being Catholic and a comedian is “the most punk rock thing you can do,” since believing in God in the comedy business is just “asking for trouble.”

Although the group of comedians who came to the Vatican and met the pope was not composed solely of Catholics, the experience “was universal,” Gaffigan said. “There is this warmth, this openness, even with the exceeding amounts of problems that have existed and will exist.”

The pope typically sits in front of the groups he meets with for a group photo before leaving his audiences, and participants often sit politely and clap as he walks away.

This time, Chris Rock, seated near the front row, jumped up behind Pope Francis to put his face right by the pope’s for the photo. Other comedians couldn’t resist following suit and soon enough a group swarmed around the pope for the picture.

Pope Francis encouraged the fun, chuckled and gave a wave as he walked out.

WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Supreme Court June 13 unanimously dismissed a challenge to mifepristone, a pill commonly used for abortion, finding that the challengers lacked standing to bring the case.

In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court found in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine that the “plaintiffs lack Article III standing to challenge FDA’s actions regarding the regulation of mifepristone.”

“Plaintiffs are pro-life, oppose elective abortion, and have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to mifepristone being prescribed and used by others,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Because plaintiffs do not prescribe or use mifepristone, plaintiffs are unregulated parties who seek to challenge FDA’s regulation of others.”

“Plaintiffs advance several complicated causation theories to connect FDA’s actions to the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries in fact. None of these theories suffices to establish Article III standing,” he added.

The ruling was not unexpected, as during March oral arguments in the case, justices from across the court’s ideological spectrum appeared skeptical that the coalition of pro-life doctors challenging the reduced regulations had legal standing to bring the lawsuit, with the question of standing becoming more of a focus than whether the FDA acted lawfully.

A coalition of pro-life opponents of mifepristone, which is the first of two drugs used in a medication or chemical abortion, filed suit over loosened restrictions on the drug by the Food and Drug Administration, which included making it available by mail, arguing the government violated its own safety standards in doing so.

The FDA argued the drug poses statistically little risk to the mother in the early weeks of pregnancy.

“Today’s Court ruling on procedural grounds will continue to put the health of women and girls at risk,” Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement, adding that as the USCCB’s pro-life chair, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, has stated, “Abortion is not health care.” “The Church will continue to advocate for women’s health and safety, and to lovingly serve mothers in need,” she added.

Bishop Burbidge told OSV News in an interview June 13 that the ruling was “procedural” and “really didn’t rule on the merit of the case or the substance.”

Still, “it’s disappointing because, again, what it does is it makes this abortion pill even more accessible and available,” he told OSV News. “And we know the horrific damage it does to life itself and even to women.”

Bishop Burbidge, who along with USCCB’s president, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, led a nationwide novena for life in March in anticipation of the case’s oral arguments, said the church will continue to pray for life and will continue to “educate the communities about the dangers of this pill and its devastating effects.”

President Joe Biden said in a statement, “Today’s decision does not change the fact that the fight for reproductive freedom continues. It does not change the fact that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, and women lost a fundamental freedom. It does not change the fact that the right for a woman to get the treatment she needs is imperiled if not impossible in many states.”

“It does mean that mifepristone, or medication abortion, remains available and approved. Women can continue to access this medication — approved by the FDA as safe and effective more than 20 years ago,” he said.

Erin Hawley, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom and vice president of the ADF Center for Life and Regulatory Practice, who had argued on behalf of the pro-life organizations before the court, told reporters on a press call June 13 that the ruling was a “based on a legal technicality,” and “ADF and our clients will continue to advocate for women’s health and seek to restore common sense safeguards for abortion drugs.”

Hawley indicated that other challenges to the FDA’s approval of the drug will continue, in cases from Idaho, Kansas and Missouri.

“The court did find that our clients don’t have standing, but we are very hopeful,” added Hawley, who also is the wife of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “The Supreme Court again did not address the merits. And we are very hopeful that the federal courts will have the chance to hold the FDA accountable for its unlawful actions in removing these long-standing safeguards for women.”

Dr. Ingrid Skop, a board-certified OB-GYN who has practiced in Texas and is a senior fellow and director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, said in a statement, “It is deeply disappointing that the FDA was not held accountable today for its reckless decisions.”

“As a practicing OB-GYN with over 30 years’ experience, I have seen firsthand that mail-order abortion drugs harm my patients, both mothers and their unborn children,” she said. “Abortion advocates and corporate media ignore their stories as they shamelessly promote mail-order distribution of dangerous drugs without a single in-person doctor visit. As a tragic result, I expect to see more women need blood transfusions, emergency surgery and other drastic measures and our emergency medical systems overwhelmed. This is not health care, it’s abandonment and the pro-life community will never stop advocating for patients.”

Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, said in a statement, “We are deeply relieved that the Supreme Court recognized the unfounded legal challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s power to authorize mifepristone, and preserved access to the safe and effective abortion medication nationwide.”

Katie Daniel, state policy director for SBA Pro-Life America, called it “a sad day for all who value women’s health and unborn children’s lives, but the fight to stop dangerous mail-order abortion drugs is not over. Abortion drugs send approximately one in 25 women to the ER according to the FDA’s own label, yet the abortion lobby gaslights women about the risks and seeks to block states from even collecting safety data.”

She added, “Planned Parenthood boasts about dispensing these high-risk drugs by app, ‘completely free of face-to-face interaction with a clinician,’ to anyone with a mailing address. … The old talking point that abortion is a ‘choice between a woman and her doctor’ has been exposed as a lie.”

First approved by the FDA in 2000, mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, which maintains proper conditions in the uterus during pregnancy. The drug is paired with misoprostol (initially created to treat gastric ulcers) as part of a chemical regimen for early abortion. Regulations on the drug were eased in 2016 and 2021, allowing it to be administered a few weeks later in pregnancy and for its distribution by mail.

The same pill combination also is sometimes prescribed to women who experience early pregnancy miscarriage in order to expel any fetal remains and residual pregnancy tissue from the womb. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists updated its protocols to recommend a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol as more effective than misoprostol alone for early miscarriage care based on research published since 2018.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than half of the abortions performed in the U.S. are chemical or medical, rather than surgical. The ruling maintains the current availability of the drug.

The case was the first major case involving abortion on its docket since the high court overturned its previous abortion precedent in 2022.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis said he hopes the spirit of openness and dialogue embodied in synodality remain the norm for the Catholic Church after the current Synod of Bishops comes to a close.

The pope told the moderators of church movements June 13 that his hope is that “synodality remain as the permanent way of acting in the church at all levels, entering in the hearts of all pastors and faithful until it becomes a shared ecclesial style.”

The “most important thing from this synod on synodality is not so much dealing with this or that issue,” the pope said. “The most important thing is the parish, diocesan and universal journey in synodality.”

In March, Pope Francis decided that the most controversial issues raised at the first assembly of the Synod of Bishops, including the role of women in the church and guidelines for training priests, will be examined by 10 study groups and sidelined from main conversations at the next synod assembly. The groups are scheduled to present a preliminary report to the synod’s second assembly in October and to give the pope a final report on their work by June 2025.

Some 200 participants in a conference of moderators of associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements and new movements met with Pope Francis as part of a yearly meeting at the Vatican organized by the Dicsatery for Laity, the Family and Life; the theme this year was “The Challenge of Synodality for Mission.”

The meeting “aims to highlight some examples of synodal structures and practices already implemented in associations and movements that can be an example and stimulus for the whole Church,” a statement by the dicastery said, such as ” sharing experiences of faith within small groups or small communities, community discernment, co-responsibility of lay and ordained ministers in assuming roles of governance, involvement of married couples and young people in evangelization (and) charitable and social action.”

Pope Francis said that humility and an openness to other people and ideas are “synodal virtues,” and he told participants that ecclesial movements are meant to be at the service of the church and not seen as “a superior thing” within the church.

“Closed movements should be canceled,” he said; “they are not ecclesial.”

The pope said it is a temptation for members of the church to remain in a “closed circle,” to be “convinced that what we do is good for everyone, to defend, perhaps without realizing it, ‘group’ positions, prerogatives or prestige.”

Yet synodality asks Christians to see God’s presence at work “even in people we do not know, in new pastoral ways,” he said, as well as to “let ourselves be struck, even wounded, by the voice, experience and suffering of others: of brothers and sisters in the faith and of all the people close to us.”

Pope Francis asked the leaders of movements to remember that synodality involves thinking about what God wants from individuals and the church, so an absolute requirement is to not “take for granted that we are attuned to God” but rather “convert ourselves to think according to God and not according to men.”

“Let us remember that the protagonist of the synodal journey is the Holy Spirit, not us,” the pope said. “He alone teaches us to listen to God’s voice, individually and as the church.”

HONESDALE – As a young boy, William Asinari can clearly recall many of the formative moments that were forged in his home parish – the faith community of Saint John the Evangelist in Wayne County.

“I remember sitting in Saint John the Evangelist Church, looking up from the pews, and seeing one of the priests at the time approaching the altar and there was this unexplainable desire that just shot through me,” he said. “I said, ‘I want to do that, I don’t know why, but I want to do that.’”

It took him years to realize that God was calling him to the priesthood.

“It’s a feeling that I have not felt with anything else,” Asinari said. “I just associated the priesthood with that feeling and then as I developed more spiritually, I realized that God was pointing me in a direction.”

When his parish priest would give homilies on vocations to the priesthood, Asinari also found encouragement from the “little old ladies” of Saint John the Evangelist Parish, who would turn to him and say “you, you!”

“God has written this amazing story and allowed me to play in it and I’m profoundly grateful,” he explained.

On Saturday, June 29, 2024, Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will ordain Reverend Mr. William A. Asinari to the Order of the Priesthood for service in the Diocese of Scranton.

Saint John the Evangelist Church, 150 Terrace Street, Honesdale, will be the setting for the Ordination Mass at 10:00 a.m.

The public is welcome and encouraged to attend the Ordination Mass.

“It is special to be here with the people who have seen me grow up. A lot of these people were here with my parents before I was born. They have seen me since I was a baby and they have watched me grow. They’ve watched me grow in faith. They’ve been examples to me, teaching me how to pray, learn how to live a Christian life, so having these same people who are older and might be unable to make the trip to Scranton, knowing that they can just go to the same church that they go to for Sunday Mass and having them here, is overwhelming,” he said.

Asinari, a native of Honesdale, was ordained a transitional deacon in 2023. He says he is ready to take his final steps toward priestly ordination.

“Looking back now and seeing the path that God has taken me on, it is beautiful. Everything connects and the more I look back at those experiences that might have been bad, God brought so much good out of it. I can look back and see what used to be thorns are now roses,” he said. “My whole life is a gift that I’m happy to give, I’m humbled to give, especially when looking at the People of God.”

Asinari, 25, is the son of Robert and Cathleen Asinari, and he attended Saint Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore.

“I loved my time at Saint Mary’s. It has forced me to stretch myself and grow in ways that I haven’t really tried before,” Asinari reflected. “I exceeded the limits that I thought I had. I haven’t had moments of prayer quite as deep as when I was there.”

Asinari said he is also thankful for the many priests and parish communities that he has served in over the years, including Clarks Summit and Carbondale.

Asinari said he has also been touched by the generosity of the faithful, not only in his home parish, but the entire diocese.

“The people of my parish donated a chalice to me; they bought a cassock for me when I needed it. Everything has been taken care of by the People of God,” he explained. “At the diocese, there is an intense investment in us, and we don’t forget it and we don’t not notice it. It’s humbling that people would give that to us, people that they might not have ever met.”

Asinari says he will be forever grateful to all those who have supported him on this journey.

“I’ve been thinking about this (Priestly Ordination) ever since I was a little kid, and I can’t put it into words. It feels like all my life has been working to this one point and I have to constantly remind myself that as much as this is the wonderful thing that I’ve been looking forward to so long, it is part of the next step of lifelong service,” he said. “I’m overjoyed that God would call me to this and give me this gift!”

CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton will broadcast the Ordination Mass live and provide livestreaming on the Diocese of Scranton’s website, YouTube channel and social media platforms.

SCRANTON – With just two weeks left in this year’s Diocesan Annual Appeal campaign, more than $4 million of the $4.5 million goal has been raised.

A total of 46 parishes have reached their goal and many others are at 70-percent or above. Those parishes are listed below, along with the amount needed to reach goal.

The Diocesan Annual Appeal provides critical funding for many important Catholic ministries that assist tens of thousands of people each year, including Catholic Social Services, Catholic Schools, Parish Life initiatives, Catholic Communications and Support for Seminarians and Retired Clergy. The Appeal also funds Social Justice and Faith Formation projects in dozens of parishes each year.

It is not too late to make a gift to the current Diocesan Annual Appeal campaign. To make a gift before June 30, visit annualappeal.org or call the Diocesan Development Office at (570) 207-2250.

Thank you for your support!

 

PARISHES AT 90% OR MORE OF GOAL WITH AMOUNT NEEDED

Queen of Heaven Parish, Hazleton $4 (99%)
Saint Joseph Parish, Matamoras $1,977 (95%)
Holy Rosary Parish, Hazleton $1,040 (94%)
Holy Child Parish, Mansfield $1,986 (93%)
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Dunmore $4,033.50 (93%)
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Dushore $3,610 (91%)
Queen of the Apostles Parish, Avoca $2,346.75 (90%)

PARISHES AT 80% OR MORE OF GOAL WITH AMOUNT NEEDED

BVM Queen of Peace Parish, Hawley $8,483 (89%)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Bastress $2,940 (89%)
Saint Peter the Apostle Parish, Wellsboro $4,805 (89%)
Nativity of the BVM Parish, Tunkhannock $3,832 (88%)
Saint Ann Parish, Williamsport $7,595 (87%)
Saint John Vianney Parish, Montdale $3,771 (87%)
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Montoursville $5,948 (86%)
Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Clarks Summit $11,815.97 (86%)
Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Pocono Pines $3,298 (86%)
Saint Robert Bellarmine Parish, Wilkes-Barre $4,765 (86%)
Visitation of the BVM Parish, Dickson City $7,894.25 (86%)
Most Precious Blood Parish, Hazleton $5,295.05 (85%)
Resurrection Parish, Muncy $5,105 (85%)
Saint Thomas More Parish, Lake Ariel $7,440.60 (85%)
Saint Monica Parish, West Wyoming $4,955 (84%)
Christ the King Parish, Archbald $11,188.15 (83%)
Saint John the Baptist Parish, Larksville $3,624 (83%)
Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Pittston $9,141 (83%)
Most Holy Trinity Parish, Cresco $8,718.80 (82%)
Saint Rita Parish, Gouldsboro $2,583 (82%)
Most Holy Trinity Parish, Susquehanna $5,747.10 (81%)

PARISHES AT 70% OR MORE OF GOAL WITH AMOUNT NEEDED

Saint Michael Parish, Scranton $1,895 (79%)
Saint Eulalia Parish, Roaring Brook Township $8,781.76 (78%)
Saint Patrick Parish, Nicholson $2,030 (77%)
Divine Mercy Parish, Scranton $15,303 (76%)
Saint Rose of Lima Parish, Carbondale $14,888 (76%)
SS Anthony & Rocco Parish, Dunmore $11,705 (75%)
SS Peter & Paul Parish, Scranton $3,265 (75%)
Holy Cross Parish, Olyphant $12,759 (73%)
Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish, Pittston $4,265 (73%)
Saint Luke Parish, Jersey Shore $4,325.67 (73%)
Annunciation Parish, Hazleton $9,301 (72%)
Epiphany Parish, Sayre $24,077 (72%)

Saint Ann’s Closing Feast Day Mass July 26, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 26, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 25, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 24, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 23, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 22, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 21, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 20, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 19, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 18, 2024

Saint Ann’s Mass & Novena July 17, 2024

SCRANTON – The Very Reverend Richard Burke, C.P., Rector, Saint Ann’s Monastery, has announced the theme for the 100th Anniversary of the Saint Ann’s Solemn Novena: “Gratefulness to God for 100 Years of Blessings.”

This special time of preaching God’s Word and praying for Saint Ann’s intercession begins on Wednesday, July 17, and concludes on Friday, July 26, the Feast of Saint Ann.

The first Solemn Novena was held in 1924, when the newly appointed Novena director, Father John Joseph Endler, C.P., planned and initiated this special nine day period of preaching and praying in preparation for the celebration of Saint Ann’s feast day.

This spiritual event has taken place every year since.

It survived the roaring 20’s, the stock market crash followed by the Great Depression years and the subsequent World War II years. The annual time of intensified praying welcomed the rise of continuing prayerful concerns in the war reconstruction years, the Korean conflict, the rise of baby boomers and the social unrest of the 60’s and 70’s.

Our way of praying shifted along with the changes in Church life and practices of the 80’s and following decades. The Solemn Novena continued to be held through the pandemic years thanks to the outdoor capabilities on the West Scranton parish campus.

Through it all, world and church intentions were joined together with family and personal needs in the fervent prayers of all who attended and prayed the Solemn Novena prayers.

The guest Passionist preachers for this year’s novena are Father Luis Daniel Guivas Genera, C.P., and Father Justin Nelson Alphonse, C.P.

Father Daniel was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico. He graduated from the Universidad Central de Bayamon with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He joined the Passionist community and professed his vows on July 11, 2015, after four years of theology studies at Saint Vincent de Paul Reginal Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Father Daniel was ordained to the Passionist priesthood in January 2023. He just completed his assignment as Parochial Vicar of Immaculate Conception Passionist Parish in New York City and has begun his new ministry as Administrator of Saint Gemma’s Passionist Parish and Collegio in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Father Nelson was born and raised on Trichy, Tamilnadu, India. He attended the Passionist Minor seminary in Cochim, Kerala, India, was professed as a Passionist religious in 1996 and was ordained a Passionist priest in 2000 after four years of theology study in Bangalore, India. Father Nelson has served as Pastor of parishes in India, Birmingham, Ala., and is currently Pastor of Saint Agnes Passionist Parish in Louisville, Kent.

In light of our 100th anniversary, our preachers have chosen “Gratefulness to God for 100 years of Blessings” as the theme of the 2024 Solemn Novena. Seeking Saint Ann’s intercession and favors is a personal and family tradition reaching back for generations.

Every family has memories of favors granted to them, to the world and to our church through Saint Ann’s watchful concern over us. Remembering these gifts, our hearts become filled with gratitude. Gratitude is the seed bed of lasting joy, of deepened faith, of shared compassion, of service to the needy, of faithful love. Our Passionist preachers will share God’s Word on all of these and more during our novena services.

For more information on the novena, please click on: https://stannsnovena.org/

SCRANTON – Throughout its 100 years, the Solemn Novena to Saint Ann in West Scranton has reached out to many ethnic groups by inclusion of a Mass or Novena service in their native language.

As part of the Novena’s 100th anniversary outreach, Saint Ann’s is inviting all those who speak Spanish to join in seeking the intercession of Saint Ann, the Mother of God.

Each evening, July 17 through July 25, the 7:30 p.m. Mass and Novena service will be in Spanish this year.

The community will celebrate Saint Ann’s Feast Day in Spanish on Thursday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m. with Bishop Neil Tiedemann, C.P., as our guest celebrant and homilist.
The growing Hispanic community of the Diocese of Scranton and beyond is invited to join in seeking Saint Ann’s intercession during this special time of preaching and praying.

Our Solemn Closing of the Novena in English will be on Friday, July 26, at 7:30 p.m. with the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, serving as principal celebrant and homilist.

All are welcome to attend.

En estas muchas decadas la Solemne Novena se ha acercado a muchos grupos etnicos con la inclusion de servcios de Misa o Novena en su idioma nativo.

Como parte del 100 Aniversario, Santa Ana esta invitando a todos aquellos de habla hisopana a unirse buscando la interseccion de Santa Ana, la madre de la Madre de Dios.

Cada noche, desde el 17 hasta el 25 de julio a las 7.30pm los serivicios de Misa y Novena seran en espanol.

Estaremos celebrando el dia de fiesta de Santa Ana en espanol el dia Jueves 25 de julio a las 7.30pm con el Obispo Neil Tiedeman C. P., como nuestro invitado celebrando y dando la homilia.

Nuestros crecientes creyentes hispanos estan todos invitados a unirse buscando la interseccion de Santa Ana durante este tempo especial de predica y oracion.

Nuestro solemne clausure de Novena en Ingles sera el Viernes 26 de julio a las 7.30pm con nuestro Obispo Joseph Bambera, D.D. JCL celebrando y hacienda la homilia.

Todos estan bienvenido!

SCRANTON – In a powerful display of faith and fellowship, hundreds of Catholic women from around the Diocese of Scranton and beyond gathered for the annual ‘Refresh Your Faith’ Catholic Women’s Conference at Marywood University on June 8, 2024.

The day-long event featured several speakers, recitation of the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, the opportunity for Reconciliation, and Mass celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton.

“I think it’s an opportunity for women to get together and grow deeper in their faith,” Laurie Hanley of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Dingman Township said.

Hanley moved to Pike County in 2022 and attended the Catholic Women’s Conference for the first time last year after reading about it in The Catholic Light.

After being very impressed with the event, she volunteered to help with the planning committee this year.

“To be able to have these speakers and talented musicians share their love of God with us is amazing and then we can share that together and we can bring it back to our parishes,” she added.

The keynote speakers for this year’s conference included Father Justin Cinnante, O.Carm., a priest from Transfiguration Priory in Tarrytown, N.Y.; Father Giuseppe Maria Siniscalchi, CFR, who currently serves as the Local Servant (superior) of Saint Mary of the Assumption Friary in Newburgh, N.Y.; and Jackie Francois Angel, a singer/songwriter and worship leader from California.

Each speaker shared powerful and personal stories about the transformative nature of God’s love.

“Only God can satisfy the desires of our hearts. No human being can do that. No amount of money or success or popularity can do that,” Angel said during her remarks. “We have a massive ache in our hearts for something more. We have a massive ache in our hearts for something that the world cannot give.”

“When a woman is fully alive with the love that comes from God, nothing can stop her, she is a force against the universe,” Father Giuseppe said. “She is powerful and once a woman has this love in her, nobody needs to tell her what to do, it just comes flowing out of her and no one is going to stop her.”

Christy Ghigiarelli of SS. Anthony and Rocco Parish in Dunmore found this year’s conference empowering because she saw so many other women ‘on fire’ with faith.

“It’s just this beautiful day where you truly get your faith refreshed. You listen to these amazing speakers, and you hear things presented in ways that you haven’t heard before,” Ghigiarelli explained. “You’re surrounded by this community of women that have an amazing love of Christ.”

Pati Pawlik of Saint Eulalia Parish in Roaring Brook Township called the conference a “treasure” because it brings so many women together to pray.

“It’s such a high-energy environment,” Pawlik said. “We feed off each other’s joys. We laugh, we cry, it’s just a feminine quality that we don’t get to experience every day in our normal lives and our normal work environments.”

Many participants described the experience as deeply enriching, citing the profound connections formed and the overwhelming sense of support and solidarity among fellow Catholic women.

“I think it’s so wonderful that women can lift each other up with our faith at the foundation of everything that we do in our day to day lives,” Dara Dirhan of Saint Maria Goretti Parish in Laflin added.

As the conference drew to a close, attendees departed with renewed spirits, fortified in their faith, and emboldened by the connections forged during a transformative day of fellowship. While the event may have concluded, its impact will undoubtedly resonate within the hearts and minds of all those who attended, serving as a beacon of hope and inspiration on their continued journey of faith.

“This is something that everybody should come to. It really is a special time,” conference marketing committee spokesman Jackie Lewandoski said. “You’re reminded of how much God loves us and how special it is that we have him in our life … It really is the perfect day!”