His prayers were answered and he’ll never forget it. Conor, 18, said his faith is just as important to him as playing hockey and baseball. “God gave me the ability to play sports,” he said.

Noah Hajdu wants to feel closer to Jesus and he’s chosen a special way to do it. This Noah will build a cross, not an ark. Mr. Hajdu, 23, of Sterling, plans to carry a 12-foot high wooden cross up Wachusett Mountain to raise money for Campus Ministry in the Diocese of Worcester. He calls it “Operation Carry the Cross.”

Catholic schools scheduled a variety of types of service and people to serve for Catholic Schools Week last week, but winter weather changed or extended some plans.

A Massachusetts novena for peace and the canonization of a European ruler, with connections to the Worcester diocese, was held Sunday at St. Paul Cathedral. Bishop McManus celebrated Mass, the fifth in a novena of monthly Masses honoring Blessed Karl of Austria (also called Charles, of the Habsburg monarchy), Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary from 1916-1918 during World War I.

WORCESTER – Students at St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School got a lesson from the bishop and the campus minister at Catholic Schools Week Mass Jan. 29.

(OSV News) – Pope Leo XIV didn't just write his first message as pontiff for World Communications Day Jan. 24. He wrote a programmatic document on artificial intelligence in response to the challenges of the modern world, just like Pope Leo XIII faced the industrial revolution more than a century before.

Many open houses scheduled for the beginning of Catholic Schools Week were rescheduled due to the snowstorm Jan. 25-26 that brought more than 22 inches of snow to Worcester.

“I loved being surrounded by thousands of people who feel the same way I do supporting life, and you truly are not walking through it alone,” Mr. Audette continued. “Not only was the March remarkable but the bonds formed with fellow Assumption University members and others made this march even more memorable.”

“We are facing a lot of broken homes, negligence of duties,” Father Kyeremateng said. “In Africa, the man is supposed to take responsibilities … taking care of the children, the wife,” seeing that everyone lives at peace and is well fed.

The updated policy removes the requirement that religious workers in the United States on R-1 visas reside outside the U.S. for a year when the visa’s five-year maximum period is up.

(OSV News) – Three U.S. cardinals have issued a joint statement urging the creation of a “genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation,” as the U.S. faces “the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War.”

Ecumenism “should be promoted and revived,” said Msgr. Peter R. Beaulieu, director of mission integration and pastoral care at St. Vincent Hospital, where he met Greek Orthodox people who helped him bring together local Greek Orthodox and Catholic Christians. “It’s also the mind and heart of Christ that all be one.”

Alpha is a series of free interactive sessions that explore the basics of the Christian faith. Each session consists of dining together, watching a short video with a Gospel message from alphausa.org and then breaking into discussion groups.

WORCESTER – A milestone brought people “back to school,” where they enjoyed reunions, reminisced and expressed gratitude.

NORTHBOROUGH – St. Rose of Lima Parish kicked off its 140th anniversary year Sunday with a Mass that included a variety of celebrations.

The annual SEEK conference held by FOCUS inspires college students and those of college age who do not attend college, to pursue and deepen their relationship with God. The conference gets its name from John 1:38 in which Jesus asks his disciples, “What do you seek?”

The year 2025 was a significant anniversary year for the Diocese of Worcester as it celebrated 75 years since it was established by Pope Pius XII in 1950. The diocese celebrated its 75 years with a Mass and an awards banquet among other activities including a multicultural Marian procession. With the anniversary in mind, The Catholic Free Press recalled significant anniversaries throughout the year for parishes and other groups in the diocese and published a commemorative book about the diocese’s history.

Bishop McManus, joined by Archbishop Michael W. Banach, and several other clergymen, celebrated the closing Mass Sunday at St. Paul Cathedral.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The “confrontational” tone dominating both global and national politics is “deepening instability and unpredictability day by day,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for World Day of Peace, Jan. 1, 2026.

A few years later, on December 8, 1975, Pope St. Paul VI published On Evangelization in the Modern World. It was, and still is, an inspiration and a challenge to find more ways to bring Christ into our everyday lives. Here are ten individual challenges from Pope St. Paul VI’s document.