March 30, 2018 // Diocese

Around the Diocese: April 1, 2018

Todays Catholic

Ann Coakley, keynote speaker at Right to Life dinner

SOUTH BEND — St. Joseph County Right to Life will host the 11th annual Respect Life Prayer Dinner from 6:30-8:30 p.m. April 12 at the Kroc Corps Community Center Chapel, 900 W. Western Ave., South Bend.

St. Joseph County Right to Life hosts the dinner each spring to unite hundreds of faithful Christians for an evening of prayer and testimonies about life issues. This year’s keynote speaker will be Ann Coakley, whose husband, Paul, continued to live and die with a spirit of hopeful joy and immense faith after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2015.

Registration is limited. To make a reservation, visit www.prolifemichiana.org/prayerdinner or call 574-232-5433. Standard registration is $20 per person.

Three to be ordained Holy Cross priests

NOTRE DAME — The United States Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross announces the ordination of three new priests on Saturday, April 7, at 2 p.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The Most Reverend Daniel Robert Jenky, CSC, Bishop of Peoria, Illinois, will confer the sacrament of holy orders on Deacon Christopher William Brennan, CSC; Deacon Brendan Joseph McAleer, CSC; and Deacon Timothy Robert Weed, CSC. The ordination Mass will be streamed live on the internet as it happens at Ordination-live.holycrossvocations.org.

On Sept. 15, deacons Brennan, McAleer and Weed professed perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and committed themselves to the common life and apostolic work of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Deacon Brennan is the youngest of four sons of Michael and Dorothy Brennan of Granger. He entered formation with the congregation in 2008 as an Old Collegian and professed First Vows on Aug. 3, 2013.

Deacon McAleer is the fifth of 10 children of Michael and Patricia McAleer of Mount Prospect, Illinois. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Holy Cross College, Notre Dame, in 2011 and earned his M.Div. from the University of Notre Dame in 2017. He entered Holy Cross in 2009 as an Old Collegian, and made his First Profession of Vows on Aug. 3, 2013.

Deacon Weed is the eldest of three children of Robert Weed and the late Mary Weed, and stepmother DeAnna Pierce, of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2007, and his M.Div. from the University of Notre Dame in 2017. He entered Holy Cross in August 2011 as a postulant, after employment. He made his First Profession of Vows on Aug. 3, 2013.

Catholic health care providers invited to MedCon

INDIANAPOLIS — Current and future physicians, nurses and other health care workers are invited to attend MedCon 2018 at Marian University, Indianapolis, April 13-14.

Sponsored by the Indiana Catholic Medical Association and Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine, highlights of the conference will include a keynote presentation on addiction, genesis and treatment by Dr. Jeffrey Berger; student-focused presentations such as “How to Stay Catholic During Medical School and Training.” Other topics include physician-assisted suicide; sharing the faith at work; treating undocumented immigrants; Catholic healing for burnout; NFP, contraception and Plan B; and more.

Admission is $20 for students, $40 for health professionals and $60 for DOs and physicians. Limited housing is available for out-of-town students.

For information or to RSVP, visit medcon2018.splashthat.com.

Diocesan retreat for married couples

MISHAWAKA — Join Frederick and Lisa Everett for “An Encounter with the Beloved,” a diocesan retreat for married couples, on the weekend of April 28-29 at Lindenwood Retreat Center in Donaldson.

Amid the many demands of family life, work and community, married couples need to retreat from time to time in order to refocus on their primary relationships with their spouse and with the Lord. “An Encounter with the Beloved” will help them look at where they have been, where they are now and where the Lord is leading them to go.

The cost of the retreat is $195 per couple, and includes overnight accommodations and all meals. For more details or to register visit out “Retreats and Programs” at www.lindenwood.org, or contact Lisa Everett at [email protected].

The Science Olympiad team from Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne, participated in state finals competition on Saturday, March 17. Among the winners from Bishop Dwenger were seniors, from left, Nicole Gloudemans and Chino Eke, taking second place in the hovercraft event; freshman Eli Hilger and junior Matthias Post took second place in towers. — John Lamaster