MARBLEHEAD, Ohio — On Sunday January 12, Bishop Milan Lach celebrated a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at St. Mary Parish in Marblehead, Ohio. During his homily, bishop Lach spoke about the importance of repentance and encouraged the faithful to live lives of prayer, especially for friends and family members who have left the church. Fr. Robert Kelly, pastor of St. Mary, concelebrated and presented Bishop Milan with an icon on behalf of the parish in honor of his pastoral visit. The visit concluded with a coffee and donut social, where Bishop Milan met with many of the parishioners.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Roman Catholic bishop Nelson J. Perez held the 61st Annual Address of the Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland at the January 9th lunch meeting. The bishop spoke candidly on a variety of topics as he updated the participants on current events within the Diocese of Cleveland. Among the invited guests was Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, along with staff of the Eparchial Chancery. Representative nuns from Christ the Bridegroom Monastery were present as well.

BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Bishop Milan Lach conferred the sacraments of initiation to Magdalene Jane Cizmar on the Feast of Theophany, January 6, the day Byzantine Catholics celebrate the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the river Jordan. Magdalene Jane Cizmar is a newly born daughter of Fr. Jan Cizmar and his wife Jane. Fr. Jan Cizmar is currently the administrator of St. Emilian Byzantine Catholic Church in Brunswick, Ohio.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — On January 5, Bishop Milan Lach SJ celebrated Great Vespers with the Great Blessing of Water at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Parma. After Great Vespers, Ruthenian Byzantine Catholics, like other churches of the Byzantine-Slavic tradition, maintained the same customs on the eve of Theophany as on the eve of the feast of the Nativity of the Lord and they gathered around a festal dinner for a second time. On January 6, the Feast of Theophany, Bishop Milan celebrated morning Matins and the Divine Liturgy at St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

CLEVELAND — In an effort to nurture vocations, the Eparchy of Parma began a new program for young men discerning the priesthood. As of Jan. 1, four young men will live in the cathedral rectory and share a life of common prayer and community. They will include David Bratnick, former videographer for Horizons Media, Guillermo Barillas of St. Michael Parish in Flushing, Michigan, and Benjamin Ancocik and David Rinik, both from Slovakia. READ MORE.

GUATEMALA CITY — A priest and three seminarian candidates from the Eparchy of Parma joined a delegation from St. John Chrysostom Parish in Houston on a mission trip to Guatemala over Thanksgiving week. The capital, Guatemala City, is divided into zones. Zone 18, on the outskirts of the city, is reputed for its high crime rate and extreme poverty. It is common here to see children raised by older siblings because economic hardship has driven parents to seek employment in other areas of the city or country. Another common reality is fatherless families. The violence that continues to plague Guatemala 24 years after the end of the civil war has taken many among the young male adult population. READ MORE.