The Validity of Virtual Mass Is Questioned

This year’s Holy Week celebrations resulted in a major spike of new viewers tuning in to watch Vatican liturgies — an increase from 1.5 million online viewers last year to 5.5 million this year — and a trend matched by ordinary parishes throughout the world forced to go virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Catholics Will Pause to Pray to Blessed Virgin Mary

Precisely at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time) Catholics all over the country will pause to pray to Mary and ask for her intercession in the COVID-19 pandemic. The Diocese of Brooklyn will be livestreaming the prayer on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BrooklynDiocese.

St. Michael’s Parishioners Overjoyed Sweeney Named Bishop

The news that Pope Francis has tapped Father Kevin Sweeney, pastor of Saint Michael’s, to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey is still sinking in at the church, where parishioners are overjoyed that their pastor is moving up.

The Diocese of Paterson

Bishop-elect Sweeney will be heading to a diverse diocese that includes both urban and suburban areas of New Jersey.