Category: News

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Mary C. Uhler, For the Catholic Herald

Bishop O’Connor travels to Rome for ad limina visits and to attend the Second Vatican Council

Eighth in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison

Bishop William P. O’Connor traveled to Rome several times after becoming the first bishop of the Diocese of Madison.

Ad limina visits

Bishop O’Connor made three ad limina visits to the Vatican. These visits are called ad limina apostolorum (“to the threshold of the Apostles”) because they are traditionally pilgrimages made by bishops to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. The bishops in the United States are required to make visits to Rome personally or through authorized delegates about every five years to present a report on the state of the diocese.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Stations of the Cross video produced in diocese

Stations video
A screenshot of the Stations of the Cross YouTube video produced by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison. The video is available during Lent. (YouTube image)

MADISON — During most seasons of Lent, it is a devotional tradition to pray the Stations of the Cross.

During typical years, parishes in the Diocese of Madison will host praying of the Stations at their churches where many gather to pray them together.

This year, with many people not entering church buildings due to health concerns and restrictions on the number of people allowed to be in a building at the same time, the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison has produced a YouTube video that gives everyone the opportunity to pray the Stations of the Cross from their own homes or elsewhere through the blessings of technology.

Video contents

It’s called the “Stations of the Cross presented by the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities-Diocese of Madison”.

The nearly 24-minute video begins with a reflection from Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison.

“As we pray the Stations of the Cross, we participate and share in Jesus’s suffering and death,” he says in part of the reflection.

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Catholic Herald Staff

St. Mary Parish in Portage announces capital campaign

PORTAGE — St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Portage recently announced plans for a capital fund drive to its members.

The effort will be entitled the “Our Church-Our Future” campaign.

Its aim is to raise the funds required to renovate and expand the church and parish facilities.

A minimum goal of $3,500,000 has been set for the effort which will enable the parish to break ground on the project.

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Mary C. Uhler, For the Catholic Herald

St. Raphael Cathedral renovated in early years of Diocese of Madison

Seventh in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison

When the Diocese of Madison was created in 1946, St. Raphael Church, the first Catholic church in the city of Madison, was chosen as the cathedral church of the new diocese.

Msgr. William Mahoney was the pastor at that time.

St. Raphael Parish has a history in Madison that dates back to before Wisconsin became a state.

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Patrick Gorman, For the Catholic Herald

Rite of Election on February 21

Rite of Election
A catechumen in 2019 signs the Book of the Elect during the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, Feb. 21, at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee with safety measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

WAUNAKEE — The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion will be held on Sunday, Feb. 21, at St. John the Baptist Church in Waunakee.

Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison will preside.

In this Church season of Lent, its primary purpose intensifies the time of preparation for those seeking Baptism.

Now that Lent has come upon us, it’s time to start this sacred work.

A call to join the Church

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (no. 64), which was promulgated during the Second Vatican Council, called for a revision of several of the rituals of our Church.

Part of this included the Baptismal rites for adults and children.

In 1988, an adult ritual was promulgated called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults which is commonly called RCIA.

Since that time, some or all of the RCIA has been used in parishes throughout the world.

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Carolyn Averill, For the Catholic Herald

An exciting start to the new year for St. Ambrose Academy

MADISON — The trials and challenges of a pandemic can’t stop the growth and joy of Catholic community, and spring 2021 is shaping up to be a season of exciting happenings at St. Ambrose Academy (SAA).

New home in the making

After dozens of property searches by a team of professionals and numerous conversations with potential partners, the Academy first shared in December 2020 at the interactive, virtual See the Joy Benefit Dinner news of great joy: A site for a permanent school home is being finalized.

The centrally located Fitchburg development will be an ideal home for the first Catholic school building project in the diocese in over 50 years.

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Angela Curio, Catholic Herald Staff

Fr. Donald Lange publishes book

PLATTEVILLE — “I think it was in the late 1970s that I submitted a few articles to the Catholic Herald,” said Fr. Donald Lange, speaking about how his column — “Seeing with Jesus’ Eyes” — got started. His new book Seeing with Jesus’ Eyes — A Seasonal Reader was just published in December of 2020. “At first, I wondered in the Catholic Herald would accept my articles, but gradually, they did.”

What began as an occasional guest column eventually became something more regularly published in the paper.

“After I retired, Pam Payne asked me if I would offer a name for the column,” he said, speaking of the Herald’s now retired associate editor. “That was about 14 years ago.”

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Mary C. Uhler, For the Catholic Herald

Diocese of Madison meets needs through a variety of ministries and services

Sixth in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison

Since the Diocese of Madison was established in 1946, it has strived to meet the needs of members of the Church as well as all those in society through a variety of ministries.

As times have changed, programs and services have been added, dropped, or adapted to make the best use of time, faith, and resources.

Charitable programs

One of the most important programs begun by the new Diocese of Madison in 1946 was its charitable efforts conducted by the Catholic Welfare Bureau, later known as Catholic Social Service and then as Catholic Charities.

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the Diocese of Madison Office of Stewardship and Development

Support your Church through the Annual Catholic Appeal

ACA artwork

In one way or another, every Catholic in the Diocese of Madison benefits from the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA).

From your Baptism into the Catholic faith, through childhood, adulthood, and beyond, many of the things that have helped form you were enhanced or made possible because of someone’s generosity to the ACA.

In this special edition of the Catholic Herald, we highlight some of the ways the ACA has impacted lives.

Please take a moment to read these stories.

Then make a gift to ensure that these ministries will continue throughout these uncertain times.

Enclosed in this issue is an envelope; we invite you to fill it out and make a gift.

If you prefer, you can go to www.MadisonDiocese.org/acagive and donate online.

We also invite you to follow @madisondiocese on Facebook and Twitter.

There you will see updates on the impact of your donation — who it is helping, and the good it is doing.

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Catholic Herald Staff

2021 MDCCW convention to be virtual

WAUNAKEE — Women of the diocese are asked to save the date of Saturday, June 12, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for an abbreviated virtual convention of the Madison Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW).

In announcing the shortened virtual event to replace the annual convention, the planning committee said, “The West Dane Vicariate is looking forward to welcoming you to our 2021 conference this summer. We missed seeing you last June, but promise to make 2021 a conference to remember as we celebrate 100 years (actually 101 by now), safe from COVID-19, and thanking God for who we are and what we do.”

Online event

The online event “is geared to be uplifting and encouraging while celebrating all that women have done in the Madison diocese to make our world a better place,” said Rosa Ropers, president of the West Dane Vicariate CCW (Council of Catholic Women), this year’s host.

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