News - October 2025 RSS Feed

(OSV News) – At the end of our earthly lives, our faith tells us there will be four last things: death, judgment, hell and heaven. Reflecting on such ominous topics in this autumn season can seem quite appropriate for both the pessimist and the optimist alike.

“It becomes, sometimes, a point of healing for people who come to Mass and rediscover the beauty of the faith and the love that God has for them,” he said. Active parishioners present set an example as faith-filled people.

Mr. DiLorenzo said he couldn’t put a percentage on how much the number of burials have decreased, but he believes it’s important for people to bury their dead in a cemetery. “It’s all part of our faith, right?” he said. “It gives you closure, it gives closure for the people who have passed away and it gives you a place to reflect, to visit.”

With the approach of the 12th annual Celebrate Priesthood! Taste of the Diocese Gala, to thank priests and raise money for their retirement needs, we offer this snapshot of the life of a newly “retired” priest. The gala will take place on October 30 at St. Paul Jr./Sr. High School in Worcester. Tickets can be purchased and donations made at worcesterdiocese.org/celebrate-priesthood. For more information call 508-929-4368.

In drafty, old churches and school buildings with inefficient heating systems, utility bills can be a problem. So Nathan Schroeder, director of the Facilities Office for the Worcester Diocese, is doing his best to help them save money.

The St. Thomas More Society of Worcester County will honor four individuals at its 67th annual Red Mass on Sunday, Oct. 26.

“My dad took me to see parts of the ceremony” for the 1950 consecration which took about three and a half hours, said Marc LePain, who was seven years old at the time.

UPTON – Jacqueline M. (Fleurant) LaBaire of Upton, died peacefully surrounded by family and friends Oct. 21. Her husband, Philip Michael LaBaire, of 56 years, died in 2017.

She pursued her health care ministry at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester where, over the course of thirty years, she served as associate director of the St. Vincent Hospital nursing school (1967), assistant director of nursing services/surgical division and instructor (1971). Other ministries included director of nursing at People’s Church Nursing Home in Worcester (1975), and assistant director of curriculum at the nursing school (1978).

Lisa Brenninkmeyer is talking about “Between Heartbreak & Hallelujah: There is Holiness in the Waiting” at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at St. Joseph Parish in Charlton.

According to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey, only 22% of white Catholics and 37% of Hispanic Catholics pray it “at least monthly.” So is it wishful thinking to expect the faithful will offer a calendar full of rosaries during October? And why should the rosary be a regular – or even daily – part of a believer’s prayer life?

Local Catholics gathered Monday to pray and crown a statue of Our Lady of Fatima for one of her home visits – on the anniversary of “the Miracle of the Sun.”

Despite the rain and gray skies, about 40,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square on the morning of Oct. 5 for Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Missionary World and the Jubilee of Migrants.

(OSV News) – In his first apostolic exhortation, Pope Leo XIV has taken up the call of Pope Francis for Christians to see in the poor the very face of Christ – and to be a church that “walks poor with the poor” in order to authentically live out the Gospel.

Dana now has an even more important connection to St. Kateri. She posed for a painting of St. Kateri for one of four 25-foot-high murals that were unveiled last month in the foyer of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

By offering such programs, the Mental Health Training Institute is going beyond what directly benefits Anna Maria, helping the community, as did the college’s founders, the Sisters of St. Anne, explained Professor Pratico.

“What do the Lithuanians have to do with the Vietnamese?” Bishop McManus asked at the Mass. “The commonality between these two great countries is the gift of faith,” for which many of their forebears suffered. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” the bishop said, and spoke of sharing faith with one’s family.

“We want our students to see themselves as people who can make a difference – even in small ways like prayer,” Sister Jeanne explained. “They’re learning that … they can be missionaries of hope.”

It is titled, “Evangelium Vitae: Celebrating the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Gospel of Life and its Enduring Legacy in Roman Catholic Moral Theology.”

“I thirst for the salvation of souls” (expanding on Jesus’ words from the cross), was the theme of the conference, held Saturday at St. Joseph School. About 370 participants came from Massachusetts and neighboring states for worship, talks, fellowship, and visiting of exhibitors’ tables, according to organizer Corinn Dahm.