Priests will be available to hear confessions in nearly every parish of the diocese from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, April 3, the diocese’s third annual Reconciliation Monday.
This special time for the sacrament of reconciliation is part of the diocese’s Real Presence Real Future campaign and is in addition to the other times made available for the sacrament throughout the year and in the season of Lent.
The first Reconciliation Monday took place on March 29, 2021 as diocesan parishes were recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented all public worship in Ohio for a time. It continued last year on April 11. This year’s event, like the previous two, takes place on the Monday after Palm Sunday.
St. James celebrates 75th anniversary
Columbus St. James the Less Church, 1652 Oakland Park Ave., will celebrate its 75th anniversary at a Mass on Saturday, March 11 at 4:30 p.m. featuring some of the parish’s former priests, followed by a reception in the school gymnasium from 6 to 10 p.m.
Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be available at the event, which will include a reading from the book God’s Silent Soldier by parishioner Elisa D. Fitzmartin. Self-guided tours of some of the classrooms also will be available.
Tickets for the event are $75 per person. They may be ordered at https://www.osvhub.com/st…/forms/75-anniversary-dinner
Record Society to present talk on Catholicism in Perry County
Peter Thomas and William Noll will speak about the Catholic faith in Somerset and Perry County from its earliest days to the present at the quarterly meeting of the Catholic Record Society at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 26 in the Lang Room at The Catholic Foundation, 257 E. Broad St., Columbus.
Doors will open at 1:30 p.m. with the presentation to begin at 2, followed by a society business meeting to elect officers.
Somerset is known as “the cradle of Catholicism in Ohio” because the first Mass in the state was celebrated there in 1808 by Father (later Bishop) Edward Fenwick, OP, and the original Somerset St. Joseph Church, built 10 years later, was the state’s first Catholic church.
Thomas is a direct descendant of Jacob Dittoe, in whose cabin the first Mass was celebrated. He is caretaker of the First Mass Memorial site. Noll is the principal of Somerset Holy Trinity School and is the owner and operator of W.C. Noll Family Farms, located on his ancestors’ land near New Lexington. He is a parishioner of St. Joseph Church, which his family has attended for more than six generations.
Catholic University professor to speak at Josephinum
Dr. Chad C. Pecknold, associate professor of systematic theology at Catholic University of America, will deliver the annual Cardinal Pio Laghi Chair lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 29 in the Jessing Center of the Pontifical College Josephinum, 7625 N. High St., Columbus.
His subject will be “To Make Disciples of All Nations: Rethinking the Catholic Mission in America.” The event is free, and reservations are not required.
The Cardinal Laghi Chair was inaugurated at the Josephinum in 1992 in honor of Cardinal Pio Laghi, who at the time was prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
American cardinals and presidents of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops promoted the funding of this chair in recognition of Cardinal Laghi’s dedicated service to the Catholic Church in the United States.
For more information on the lecture, go to www.pcj.edu or call (614) 985-2274.
Dominican sisters sponsor ‘Come and See’ event
The Dominican Sisters of Peace will host a “Come and See” event for single Catholic women between the ages of 18 and 45 from Friday to Sunday, March 17 to 19 at their motherhouse, 2320 Airport Drive, Columbus.
The sisters have eight women in formation to become religious sisters. The group includes scientists, communications professionals, medical professionals and a former prison guard. Participants in the event will meet these women and learn more about their journey and choice, as well as spending time with other sisters in prayer, study, meals, conversation and recreation.
The program is free, and lodging and meals will be provided. It will begin at 4 p.m. Friday and conclude after Mass and lunch at 1 p.m. Sunday. To register, visit the congregation’s website at oppeace.org, or contact Sister June Fitzgerald, OP, at (570) 336-3991 or jfitzgerald@oppeace.org.
Retreat house announces four seasonal events
The St. Martin de Porres Family Retreat House in the Hocking Hills will host a series of four seasonal retreats featuring author Cecile Smith and her method of becoming closer to God through nature.
Smith is from Columbus, and she and her book Connecting With God in the Garden: An Inspirational Journal for All Seasons were featured in a Catholic Times story in 2022.
Dates for the retreats are May 5-7, Aug. 27-29, Oct. 6-8 and Dec. 1-3. All begin on Friday and end on Sunday.
Participants may spend the day or the night at the retreat house, and there is no requirement to attend all the events, which are described as immersive work/study programs. Space is limited.
The retreat house is a four-bedroom, 2 ½-bath home that sleeps 10 to 15 adults and has a full kitchen, game room, laundry room, patio, fire ring and private prayer room. It was donated to the Pio Project, a nonprofit organization formed by Rebecca Gjostein of Columbus, and is designed for families who would like to spend time in a space with a religious atmosphere and surrounded by beautiful scenery.
It is located at 22997 Goosecreek Road in South Bloomingville. For more information, call (614) 406-3507 or go to www.mdeporres.com.
Bishop Fernandes named to Franciscan advisory board
Bishop Earl Fernandes has been selected as one of five members of Franciscan University of Steubenville’s new episcopal advisory board.
The board will draw upon its members’ experience, wisdom and insights as the university plans for the future and responds to record-breaking enrollment and a growing demand for its evangelization and renewal initiatives.
Other board members are Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, archbishop of San Francisco; Bishops Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut and Andrew Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota; and Bishop Joseph L. Coffey, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA.
Members of the board have committed to a five-year term that includes an annual meeting and one visit per term to the university campus to address the students, faculty and staff.
In his acceptance letter, Bishop Fernandes wrote that he looks forward to strengthening his diocese’s relationship with Franciscan: “Many members of the faithful have benefited as students from the quality and faithful Catholic education offered at Franciscan University, and many of our youth have grown tremendously in their faith through the summer offerings there.”