Until fairly recently, the Holy Face devotion had become somewhat obscure. Father Thiago DaSilva admitted that, originally, he wasn’t abundantly familiar with it. Thanks to the awareness raised by Ms. Lindgren and Franca Martin, two Annunciation Parish parishioners, a devotion prayer group is now held each Sunday at Annunciation Parish in Gardner.

Gail M. (Cousineau) Ryan, 81, died Sunday, Dec. 31, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, after a courageous battle with cancer.

2023 began on a somber note with the news of the death of Pope Benedict XVI on the last day of 2022. Bishop McManus reflected on the life and papacy of the Pope calling him “a man who is doing theology on his knees.”