News - June 2019 RSS Feed

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — Jamee Nycole West received her high school’s highest award at convocation May 31. West, who was baptized at St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Parish in Merrillville, received the Bishop Andrew Grutka Award for Christian Service, conferred to the senior at Andrean High School who “best exemplifies a deep faith and commitment to serving others in little ways and in large ways, one who is motivated by their faith to serve others.” The award is named for the first bishop of the Diocese of Gary, who was deeply committed to Catholic education. READ MORE.

EUCLID, Ohio — St. Stephen Parish feted the 60th anniversary of its church on Pentecost, June 9. Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma celebrated a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and preached the homily (on page 2). Father Robert Jager, the assistant to the parish administrator, Father Bruce Riebe, concelebrated. About 150 people attended the Divine Liturgy, which was followed by mirovanije, a flag ceremony on the grounds in the front of the church, and a free luncheon in the parish hall, which included the screening of the Horizons Media documentary, “From Mariapoch to Mariapoch.” READ MORE.

WASHINGTON — Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma visited the headquarters of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops June 6, where he met with officials from Catholic Home Missions (CHM) and asked for additional financial support for the eparchy. Present at the meeting were Mary Mencarini Campbell, USCCB executive director of National Collections, Richard Coll, CHM director, and Ken Ong, grants specialist. Bishop Lach was accompanied by John F. Kurey, Esq., who serves as stewardship director for several Eastern Catholic eparchies. READ MORE.

PARMA, Ohio — Holy Spirit Parish celebrated its golden anniversary on Pentecost, the parish patronal feast day, June 9. Fifty years earlier, June 15, Father Lawrence J. Slavik and a group of parishioners from Holy Ghost Parish in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland celebrated the first Divine Liturgy in the new church building for Holy Spirit Parish at 5500 W 54th Street in Parma. The celebrant was the newly consecrated Bishop Emil Mihalik, the first bishop of the Eparchy of Parma. READ MORE.

We are celebrating Pentecost today. As we heard in the first reading (Acts 2:1-11), the room was filled with wind and tongues of fire appeared above each Apostle. They began to speak in different languages and they went out to Jerusalem to proclaim the Gospel. Jesus promised his Apostles the Holy Spirit. Who is this Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus, who gives life to everyone who is open to it. How do we receive the Holy Spirit? Through the holy sacraments in our life. READ MORE.

PARMA, Ohio — Fifteen teens from several parishes attended the annual ByzanTeen Lenten Day of Reflection at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Palm Sunday, led by the nuns of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery and Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma. Inspired by their pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2017, the nuns led the teens in an interactive “pilgrimage” to various prayer stations they set up in the cathedral and on the cathedral grounds that represented different sites in the Holy Land that are significant in Jesus’ journey to the cross, his death and resurrection. READ MORE.

BURTON, Ohio — The nuns of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery celebrated the 10th anniversary of their founding April 3, thanking God for providing the means to live out their call to prayer and hospitality within the Eparchy of Parma. The nuns commemorated the anniversary simply on their own at the monastery; they plan to celebrate with the wider community at their Bridegroom’s Banquet benefit dinner Oct. 19. In the 10 days leading up to the anniversary, the nuns posted previously unpublished photos from their first 10 years on their blog and social media accounts. READ MORE.

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — About 150 people attended the fourth annual Miracle of Mariapoch Gala, a fundraiser for the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch in Burton, Ohio. The May 11 event was held at the New Orleans Party Center of St. Joseph Parish. The pastor, Father Bruce Riebe, began the evening with prayer, and shrine director Deacon Bill Fredrick welcomed the guests. Attendees then wined and dined on an assortment of small plate offerings and desserts, including a doughnut bar, prepared by Bob Dirda and volunteers. READ MORE.

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — Former all-conference volleyball player Lindsay Shirilla has more on her resume than athletic prowess. The Notre Dame College graduate and St. Joseph parishioner works as a nurse at the Cleveland Clinic. This past Lent, she went on her first professional medical mission trip to Honduras. The purpose was to treat people by providing doctor visits, medication and dental work. Her main responsibility was triage. The team would see between 200 and 300 people per day, she said. READ MORE.

BUCHAREST, Romania (CNS) — In an increasingly globalized world where technological and economic developments have both benefited and excluded many, the Catholic and Orthodox churches must learn to listen to each other and walk together, Pope Francis said. Meeting with Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Daniel and the Permanent Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church May 31, the pope said both churches must “go out and engage” with their flocks who fall prey to the uprooting of “traditional values and weakening ethics and social life” that “leads to attitudes of rejection and hate.” READ MORE.

BLAJ, Romania (CNS) — The memory and witness of Romania’s martyred bishops are a reminder that Christians are called to stand firm against ideologies that seek to stifle and suppress their cultural and religious traditions, Pope Francis said. On the last leg of his visit to Romania, the pope June 2 celebrated a Divine Liturgy during which seven Eastern-rite Catholic bishops, who died during a fierce anti-religious campaign waged by the communist regime in Romania, were beatified. READ MORE.

We are beginning our pilgrimage in Rome in thanksgiving for the 50th anniversary of the Eparchy of Parma and also to pray for our eparchy and its faithful. We will be in blessed and sacred places in Rome that are connected with our faith and with our Byzantine Catholic Church, with our identity. You are certainly tired right now, but you can offer up this tiredness for our church. To be pilgrims is not easy. It’s not a trip, it’s a pilgrimage. READ MORE.