News - August 2017 RSS Feed

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — The Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great celebrated their nine jubilarians during the order’s annual community day gathering at Mount St. Macrina July 19. Among them were eight diamond jubilarians and one 40th anniversary of religious life. Together, the jubilarians have offered a combined total of 565 years of faithful service throughout the metropolia. Father Michael Huszti, monastery chaplain, celebrated the Divine Liturgy of thanksgiving for the sisters. In addressing the jubilarians in his homily, Father Huszti spoke of the depth of their love for God, exemplified in their fidelity to their religious vows. Earlier in the week, the community gathered at the Manor to honor the jubilarians in residence: Sisters Maria Petruska, Rita Keshock, Paula Dzurisin and Mary Grace. The joyful gathering began with the singing of odes of the Akathist to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. A social followed the congratulations offered by the Basilian Provincial Sister Ruth Plante on behalf of all the sisters....READ MORE

SOUTH BEND, Ind. —  Three members of the chancery staff of the Eparchy of Parma attended the annual Catholic Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Notre Dame July 8-15.         Father John Kachuba, director of religious education, Claudine Grunenwald Kirschner, director of communications and of planning and operations, and John Popp, administrator of the Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center, joined 51 other church leaders from more than 20 countries for the annual program....READ MORE

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) —  Delegates at the four-day “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” have their work cut out for them but they are equipped to do it, said speakers at the final plenary session. At the July 1-4 convocation in Orlando, Florida, 3,500 church leaders, including more than 150 bishops, 300-plus clergy, religious and laypeople, gathered to set a new course for the U.S. Catholic Church.... READ MORE

CHICAGO — Bishop Milan Lach, the new apostolic administrator of the Eparchy of Parma, has announced that he will accompany the Horizons-sponsored pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal, Oct. 26-Nov. 2. Father Thomas J. Loya, pastor of Annunciation Parish in Homer Glen, Illinois, iconographer, international speaker and radio show host, will still lead the retreat, which will be held at the Byzantine Catholic Chapel of the Dormition in Fatima. In his desire to accompany and pray with the pilgrims, Bishop Lach will be present exclusively for the Fatima portion of the trip. He will also preside a number of the liturgies....READ MORE

PARMA, Ohio — The clergy and faithful of the Eparchy of Parma welcomed Bishop Milan Lach as their new apostolic administrator July 21. The 43-year-old Jesuit was serving as the auxiliary bishop of the Archeparchy of Presov, Slovakia, at the time of his appointment June 24. Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, read the Vatican decree of Bishop Lach’s appointment during the Divine Liturgy of welcome at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist....READ MORE

PARMA, Ohio — Beginning in August 2017, each parish will be required to submit an Eastern Christian Formation (ECF) Staff Information Form, listing all persons associated with its ECF program, so that the eparchy’s Safe Environment Office can confirm that all personnel are safe-environment compliant before the new school year begins. The Staff Information Form is available online on the “Safe Environment” page of the eparchy’s website, www.parma.org. No parish shall begin its ECF program until the eparchy’s Safe Environment Office sends notification that the parish is fully compliant. A certificate of compliance will be sent to parishes and shall be posted with other safe-environment materials in a suitable public place. Any questions regarding this new procedure should be directed to Deacon Bill Fredrick, the safe environment coordinator of the eparchy, at wfredrick@parma.org or (216) 469-1425. As published in Horizons, July 30, 2017.

PARMA, Ohio — Foreign bishops named to the U.S. church can help keep the missionary spirit alive, said the pope’s representative in the United States. In an interview with Horizons following the July 21 welcome liturgy for Bishop Milan Lach, a native of Slovakia, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, commented on the contribution European bishops can make to the U.S. church. “It’s always good to have people coming from a different experience. The diversity, and especially these people who are being sent, have been chosen for their capacity to (adapt) from one country to the other but also for their abilities,” said the French archbishop.

PARMA, Ohio — The Eparchy of Parma seemed to be at the center of the Byzantine Catholic Church July 21, when thousands of people logged onto the eparchy’s Facebook page to watch the live stream of the Divine Liturgy of welcome for Bishop Milan Lach. By day’s end, Facebook reported 19,000 views of the liturgy that inaugurated Bishop Lach’s appointment as apostolic administrator of Parma. Much of the online interest came from Bishop Lach’s native Slovakia, where he served as a Jesuit priest and then as auxiliary bishop of the Archeparchy of Presov....READ MORE