The Observer Catholic Newspaper

01/24/2025

HAPPY FEAST DAY TO OUR PATRON ... St. Francis de Dales
Feastday: January 24
Patron: of Catholic writers, the Catholic press, the deaf, journalists, adult education
Birth: August 21, 1567
Death: December 28, 1622
Beatified: January 8, 1661 by Pope Alexander VII
Canonized: April 19, 1665 by Pope Alexander VII

01/10/2025

Today brings the first Observer paper of the year!
In this issue, we cover the new Year of Jubilee 2025, which opened in the Diocese of Rockford on Dec. 29. Inside, see photos from the opening Mass; read Jubilee insights and reflections from Pope Francis, Bishop David Malloy, and OSV’s Jaymie Stuart Wolfe; and find Jubilee news from around the nation and world.
We also get you caught up on diocesan events and ministries, including St. Anthony College of Nursing’s winter graduation and the Walking with Moms program at St. John Neumann Parish in St. Charles.
Happy New Year to all of you!
Readers may subscribe at https://observer.rockforddiocese.org/subscribe

11/08/2024

Get tickets for this one-time event at https://www.fathomevents.com/events/radiating-joy-the-michelle-duppong-story/

(OSV News photo/courtesy FOCUS)
Parent Guide by Michael R. Heinlein, OSV News.

10/18/2024

There's a celebratory mood in several of this week's stories. Parishioners of St. James, Rockford, said "Wow!" upon returning to their "new" church Oct. 12 - it's repaired, renovated, and ready for Masses again after a fire from a lightning strike, two years ago.

The Diocese of Rockford community was recently awarded! Dr. Wayne Lenell, Former Director of Finance and Administration for the Diocese of Rockford, was honored for a lifetime of service. And the 2024 Annual Appeal video - highlighting people and places around the diocese - won an award for excellence.

Inside, you can also find a quieter celebration of a group that's rarely in the spotlight: Rockford's Poor Clare Colettine nuns. Retiring Abbess Mother Maria Dominica Stein, PCC, sheds light on the community's daily life and vocation.

Readers may subscribe at https://observer.rockforddiocese.org/subscribe

10/18/2024

Meet three more of our diocese's seminarians studying at St. Francis de Sales Seminary!

They're right at the start: Thomas Brown (0:09), Zachary Moore (0:18), and Jonathan Olesen (0:21).

Please pray for these men as God strengthens and guides them in their discernment!

Meet the seminarians in Discipleship I and II at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary.

10/18/2024

Recently we featured our diocese's seminarians in St. Paul, Minnesota. But several of our seminarians study a little closer to home, at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in St. Francis (near Milwaukee).

Meet Matthew Freedlund (1:07) and Konrad Salamon (1:44)!

Please pray for these men as God strengthens and guides them in their discernment!

Meet the men in the College Program and the Propaedeutic Stage at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary.

10/11/2024

In this issue's stories, Catholics around the Diocese of Rockford feed their faith at brunch and breakfast. At the Ecumenical Benefit Brunch, both Catholic and Christian women in Rockford heard about the impact of support, belief and prayer in the lives of those facing mental health crises. In Crystal Lake, the annual McHenry County Catholic Prayer Breakfast speakers presented on deepening personal faith and studying Scripture, and participants took their favorite takeaways home in books.

Coming up is another gala, and an opportunity to support a mission of love: the ImaBridge-Africa gala Nov. 9.

Readers may subscribe at https://observer.rockforddiocese.org/subscribe

10/11/2024

Please pray for our two seminarians studying in St. Paul, Maximilian Peterson and Joseph Johnson! Thank you, Bishop Malloy, for your visit and example — teaching these men to be “men in Christ, men of the Church, men for others.”

(From left: Maximilian Peterson, Bishop David Malloy, Joseph Johnson, and Father Jonathan Kelly, Rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary)

Welcome to SJV, Bishop Malloy! Always a gift for our bishops to come and spend time with their seminarians and our formation team 🙏

09/20/2024

New front steps at St. Michael Church in Galena will draw people to God's house, now that the church has reopened for Mass. Previously, the original steps of the church — designed by pioneer priest Father Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli — were falling apart after many years of use. Today, the entrance is both safe and elegant, making the church a "jewel on Bench Street," says Father Howard Barch, pastor.

As we walk toward October, designated as Respect Life Month, pro-life Catholics throughout the diocese take steps to remember the unborn whose lives have been lost to abortion and to promote respect for life. Find their stories — and how to join in — inside this issue.

Readers may subscribe at https://observer.rockforddiocese.org/subscribe

08/28/2024

Come be reinvigorated in your faith! St. Mary Parish, McHenry, invites all to a one-day retreat Sept. 7, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in the church, 1401 N. Richmond Rd. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Cost: $25.
The retreat leader will be Gus Lloyd, host of “Seize the Day” on The Catholic Channel on Sirius XM Radio. He will lead three sessions focused on conversion, evangelization and more, with time for discussion.
Attendees are welcome to stay for confession, 4 p.m. Mass and time in prayer around the parish grounds, whether outside at the Marian Grotto and Stations of the Cross or inside under the beautiful stained-glass windows.
For tickets and information, email Sandy Po***ck at [email protected]

08/23/2024

Looking back on the Silver and Gold Mass, The Observer congratulates couples in the Rockford Diocese who celebrated many years of marriage together! As Bishop David Malloy said in his homily: "Marriage is the model of God's love."

Inside this paper, stories highlight creative events and efforts to evangelize. Holy Family Parish in Rockford held its first "Heaven on Wheels" car show Aug. 16 - an invitation to people to check out not only the cars but also the parish community and church. In her column, Jaymie Stuart Wolfe writes about the Fête-Dieu du Mississippi Eucharistic procession in Louisiana. With a specially built 14-foot monstrance, a flotilla of boats, and two days of prayer and celebration, it's "about as awesome as it gets," she says. But beyond these mountaintop experiences, she says, we need to lean into everyday experiences of love where God invites us to give ourselves to Him.

And the Silver and Gold couples might know a little something about the impact of everyday experiences of love.

Readers may subscribe at https://observer.rockforddiocese.org/subscribe

08/16/2024

With back-to-school time coming any day now (perhaps some are already heading back), are you wanting a little "calm before the storm?"

In our Aug. 16 issue, two of our stories are about taking a moment away from the noise and listening to God in the quiet. A few dozen Catholics gathered Aug. 11 at Corpus Christi Monastery, home of the Poor Clare nuns, to celebrate their founder's feast day at a simple, peaceful Mass. Retreat directors in Minnesota describe how they create space for prayerful silence.

Readers may subscribe at https://observer.rockforddiocese.org/subscribe

08/14/2024

Tomorrow we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation.

Tomorrow is the The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. The Diocesan Administration Center will be closed in observance. Check your local parish for Mass times.

08/13/2024

Rest in Peace Deacon Jim Dombek.

James Joseph Dombek October 24, 1955 August 12, 2024 James Jim Joseph Dombek, 68, of Sycamore, passed away peacefully on August 12, 2024. He was born on October 24, 1955, in Yonkers, New York. Jim lived a life dedicated to family, friends and church. He was a volunteer for many