The following was prepared to be offered by Fr. Reidy on behalf of Bishop McManus at the Mayor's Prayer Vigil on June 15: Almighty Father, As we gather tonight shocked, saddened and angered by the reprehensible and senseless killings in Orlando, we turn to you for strength, wisdom and courage. In the face of the hatred and violence that has caused such tragedy and generated such grief, may we remember who we are, what we stand for and upon whom we rely. To those whose lives on this earth have been so unjustly cut short, grant eternal life in your Kingdom. To those who have been wounded, grant healing and health. To those whose lives have been shattered by the loss of loved ones, grant hope and trust in your love and mercy. And to those here and everywhere where hatred darkens minds and hardens hearts, may your light, love and grace pierce those hearts, enlighten those minds and change those lives with the truth that every man, woman and child is created in your image and likeness, is beloved by you and endowed with an inalienable dignity that makes us all brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters who are called to love both friend and foe, to live in peace, to resolve disputes with reason, to respect one another in differences and to shun hatred and unjust violence. As we commend the souls of the slain to your loving care, may we commend ourselves anew to the mutual respect, love and care that Christ showed us with His life and to which the Holy Spirit empowers us with His grace. In your name we pray, Amen.

Given that the request for a waiver to demolish Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church was denied on June 9 by the Historical Commission, the parish will have to proceed with the “makesafe” plan developed by the structural engineers at Gorman Richardson Lewis Architects in the interest of public safety. Overall, this will involve fabricating and installing bands to secure the cupola along with completing the waterproofing of the exposed brick behind the façade. It will also involve securing the façade to the supporting wall at an estimated additional cost of $120,000. The diocese will assist with loans to get this done promptly. All Masses will continue to take place at Our Lady of Loreto Church.

The request for a waiver from the one year delay for demolition of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in order to avoid an undo economic hardship to the property owner was presented on June 9 to the Worcester Historical Commission. Click title for documentation

Partners in Charity has announced that as of its June 8 report it has raised 89% or $4,454,416 of its $5 million goal for this year. 15,435 donors have made pledges and gifts to date. Twenty-two parishes of the 98 parishes and missions have met or exceeded their goals for this year.

Fourteen priests get new assignments and three priests to retire June 3, 2016, WORCESTER, MA – Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, announced the following priests’ assignments which will take effect July 1, 2016 unless otherwise noted. (CLICK HEADLINE FOR RELEASE)

May 31, 2016, WORCESTER, MA – The Office for Vocations has announced that on Saturday, June 4 at 10:00 am Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester will ordain Diego Buritica and Wilmar Ramos to the Priesthood. The Liturgy of Ordination will take place at the Cathedral of St. Paul, corner of Chatham and High Streets, Worcester to which the public is invited. The Liturgy will be streamed LIVE on the internet and a link is available on the homepage of worcesterdiocese.org.

Partners in Charity has announced that as of the May 10 report it has raised 80% of goal or $4,010,385 of its $5million goal for this year. 13,182 donors have made pledges and gifts to date. CLICK HEADER FOR FULL RELEASE

May 3, 2016, WORCESTER, MA -- At all the weekend Masses on April 30 and May 1, Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Ann Parish announced that, due to safety concerns for people in the building and for those using Mulberry Street, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church would be closed immediately and alternative plans for possible use over the coming year would cease. Further, he announced that, due to the safety concerns raised by the structural engineers over the last few days, demolition of the building would be necessary soon in order to assure safety on the public roadway in front of the building. CLICK TITLE for full release

Last Friday, I met with Commissioner John Kelley, Director of Inspectional Services for the City of Worcester, along with his Deputy, David Horne, George O’Neill, senior project manager with Gorman, Richardson, Lewis, architects, and Rev. Richard F. Reidy, Vicar General of the Diocese. This meeting was preceded by several other meetings with Mr. O’Neil and his associate, Neil Rouleau, Jeffrey Berthiaume, Chair of our parish Finance Committee and Mark Morrow, project manager from Consigli Construction. These meetings concerned the very serious disrepair of the front of our church building. Gorman, Richardson, Lewis have informed us and the city that they cannot certify the structural integrity of our building and recommend that the building be taken down. If a catastrophic failure of the front wall occurred, there is a real and significant danger to those in the church, and to those walking or traveling by the church on Mulberry Street and Interstate 290. CLICK HEADLINE FOR COMPLETE ANNOUNCEMENT

“This is a sad day for the parishioners of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Ann and our hearts go out to them for the pain of this loss they are facing today,” said Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester. “However, the safety of those attending Mass and in the vicinity of the church building are of primary concern. I thank Msgr. Pedone, his committee members and all the parishioners who have been trying over recent years to find a solution to the building’s structural issues while seeking to build a more vibrant parish community. My prayers are with them as they must focus now on a transition plan to make this parish merger welcoming for both parish communities.”

April 19, 2016, WORCESTER, MA – The Diocese of Worcester, in conjunction with its parishes and missions throughout Worcester County, has launched an online survey to Catholics in the Diocese of Worcester. The online survey is available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/comm-strategy . All Catholics, whether they self-identify as active, occasional or lapsed in their church participation, are encouraged to take the survey, which is anonymous. It addresses people’s use of traditional media, social media and use on online tools in daily life. CLICK HEADLINE FOR FULL RELEASE.

ISSUED March 10, 2016, WORCESTER, MA – The Office of Development of the Diocese of Worcester has announced that, since the beginning of Lent, it has received 4,735 gifts and pledges totaling $1,515,939 toward this year’s Annual Partners in Charity Appeal. To date, 35 of the 97 parishes and 3 missions in the diocese conducted their initial public appeal, also known as “In-pew Sunday,” and an additional 15 will conduct their in-pew appeals over the next two weekends. The total raised to date represents 31 percent of the $5 million goal. The theme for this year’s campaign is “Called to be Merciful.” The campaign officially launched at an event at the Diocesan Chancery on February 11.

Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, Bishop of Worcester, announced today that he has granted faculties for limited pastoral ministry to Rev. Stephen M. Gemme, effective immediately. He will celebrate Mass and other sacraments at Crozier House and at other non-parish institutional settings. CLICK FOR MORE

February 12, 2015, Worcester, MA -- On Sunday, February 14 at 3:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Worcester, 251 candidates along with their sponsors and families will participate in various rites leading to completing their initiation into the Catholic Church. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adult (RCIA) is the sacramental process used worldwide in the Roman Catholic Church through which people prepare for initiation, or come into full communion, or complete their initiation into the Roman Catholic Church. (Click for complete release)

January 21, 2016, WORCESTER, MA -- Following a complete audit of its financial accounting, the Diocese of Worcester has issued online Financial Statements and online and printed editions of the Annual Report on Financial Activities for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2015. In his letter, Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, S.T.D., Bishop of Worcester, wrote that the Diocese was challenged on a number of fronts, including $840,001 in unrealized losses on investments. The Bishop referred to the unrealized losses as “primarily a reflection of the state of the market when our year ended on August 31.” The Statements of Activities showed an operating deficit of $1,192,704 after expenses totaling $25,178,740 for 2015 compared to a surplus of $1,276,057 the previous year, primarily from unrealized gains, on expenses totaling $25,271,377. (CLICK ON TITLE FOR FULL RELEASE)

March for Life TRIP to Washington, DC is CANCELLED. Due to the forecast of bad weather for the Mid-Atlantic states up to New England for Friday evening, the bus company has notified us of anticipated treacherous road conditions. Therefore the trip to Washington is cancelled. We will celebrate the Mass for Life as scheduled at the Cathedral of St. Paul on Thursday, January 21 at 7:30 pm. All are invited to attend and pray for an end to this assault on innocent life in the womb. (Concelebrating clergy should bring alb and RED stole for the Feast of St. Agnes)

Megan Joinville, a kindergarten teacher at St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary School in Worcester was honored as the WSRS, Unibank Teacher of the month.

The annual March for Life will be held on Friday, January 22, 2016 in Washington, D.C. All are invited to attend the Respect Life Mass at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 19 Chatham St., Worcester, on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. (CLICK TITLE FOR MORE)