Early 19th-century funeral records from Holy Cross Parish in Boston (New England Historic Genealogical Society)
by Peter Feuerherd
A priest from Thailand, a member of the Hmong community, visits Minnesota and North Carolina to minister to people of his community. He is a rarity, a priest who speaks the language and knows the culture.
Deacon Alex Jones of Detroit, who died recently, is a former Pentecostal pastor who brought along many of his former congregants when he and his wife converted to Catholicism. What's fascinating is the reaction of Catholics to his conversion, which Deacon Jones described in a memoir, No Price Too High.
A Cincinnati archdiocesan priest argues against taxing parishes.
Any news search about American parishes will find stories about mergers, closings and consolidations. The trend is happening all over the Northeast and the Midwest, a recognition of declining Mass attendance and numbers of priests. Here is just a recent sample:
- The cathedral and co-cathedral in Burlington, Vt., may be merged.
- Masses are being cut on Staten Island, N.Y., as part of a consolidation plan of the New York archdiocese.
- A gospel singer in Michigan buys a Catholic church.
- Catholic parishes consolidate in the diocese of Ogdensburg, N.Y., ditto in the diocese of Sioux City, Iowa. Similar happenings in the diocese of Erie, Pa.
Meanwhile, a new Catholic parish emerges in Virginia.
The Boston archdiocese is digitizing parish records, a boon for researchers.
The diocese of Springfield, Ill., announces a synod.
A Catholic parish helps bring a scattered Vietnamese community in South Florida together.
An Indiana man is remembered for his family carwash business and for bringing 24/7 perpetual adoration to his parish.
[Peter Feuerherd is a correspondent for NCR's Field Hospital series on parish life and a professor of journalism at St. John's University, New York.]
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