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First blind seminarian at Mount Angel sees beyond external trappings

ST. BENEDICT — Tony Del Castillo cannot see. Yet he says a friend’s question years ago helped him perceive people with clarity, to look beyond an individual’s quirks, foibles and facades.
St. Vincent de Paul is about more than doing good; it’s a spiritual quest

John Moore, a longtime goods transport manager in Oregon, once thought homeless and low-income people just needed to go get jobs. After retiring in 2006 and joining the St. Vincent de Paul conference at St. Anthony Parish in Forest Grove, he reversed course.
Celebrating Conchita

ST. BENEDICT — The church celebrated the spiritual power of a faithful Catholic lay woman Sept. 14 at Mount Angel Abbey.
The life of St. Vincent de Paul

It was a poor peasant family in Pouy, France that brought St. Vincent de Paul into the world in 1581. The saint’s first formal education was given by Franciscans in Dax.
Retreat day to focus on Spirit

LAKE OSWEGO — Our Lady of the Lake Parish, 650 A Ave. here, offers a fall day of renewal led by Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith Saturday, Oct. 19, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Theme of the day is “Build Unity in the Power of the Holy Spirit.”
Relics of mystic will be in Portland Archdiocese

Relics of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina — better known as Padre Pio — will be at St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and The Grotto in Portland later this month.
Monk-deacons have a special calling

ST. BENEDICT — Benedictine Brothers Ephrem Martinez and Timothy Kalange were ordained as transitional deacons Aug. 17 at Mount Angel Abbey.
Blessed Frederic Ozanam, apostle of charity

At age 15, Frederic Ozanam seriously doubted his faith and considered leaving the Catholic Church. But when the founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Society died a quarter-century later, he would be remembered as an apostle of charity who devoted his life to those in need.
Why I'm Catholic: ‘I believe what happens at the altar’

ASHLAND — Like all Catholics, Alma Rosa Alvarez is dejected by clergy sex abuse and the cover-ups that followed. But this longtime English professor has remained staunchly Catholic for three main reasons: family tradition, the church’s openness to questions and, most of all, the Eucharist.
LIFE: Give drink to the thirsty

Jesus understood the importance of water: He asked for a drink because he was thirsty; he chose to be baptized in water. He also pointed out the need to quench one’s spiritual thirst through him, the living water. Much of the world thirsts for living water.
Marian devotion diverse in Latin America

The strong devotion to the Mother of God in Latin America is not limited to veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Though Mexicans have a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother, many Latin American people have their own devotions.
Bishop Smith's views were shaped by his parents’ longtime work with St. Vincent de Paul Society

Years ago growing up in South Africa, a young Peter Smith went with his dad on a St. Vincent de Paul home visit to assist a family dwelling in a shack.
Vocations directors from around world gather in Northwest

The Archdiocese of Portland helped host 260 vocations directors from around the globe last month.
Prayer for Servants of the Church is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. A day each month is set aside to pray for a priest — along with a deacon, woman religious, seminarian or brother — serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them, and all who serve the church, in your daily prayers.
Retreat for troubled marriages Oct. 11-13

Retrouvaille, a Catholic retreat program, provides a welcoming and loving space for couples who have been living with the misery of a failing marriage. The French word means “homecoming.”
Reparation Sisters' anniversary noted

The Sisters of Reparation and nearly 100 of their local Donnes of Reparation joined members of St. Anthony Parish and many friends to celebrate 60 years of God’s blessings upon the community.
Young adults hear from faith-filled entrepreneur

More than 60 young adults gathered Aug. 6 at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in downtown Portland for the latest event hosted by the Portland chapter of Young Catholic Professionals. Speaker for the evening was Greg Sherwood, who helped found Quest Investment Management as well as a real estate company.
Religious abuse: It’s easy to get taken in

First in a series of four

There is nothing weird, weak or sinister about Donna. To meet her is to know that anyone can be snared by religious abuse.
Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women sponsor a day of recollection

The Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women will sponsor a day of recollection Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Our Lady of Peace Retreat in Beaverton. The session is titled “Take Five and Pray.” Father Andrew Thomas will build the conferences around the advice.
Holy Cross brother who worked at chapel professes vows

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Congregation of Holy Cross celebrated the perpetual profession of vows of five men Aug. 31, including Brother Joe DeAgostino, who served for two years at St. André Bessette Parish in downtown Portland before leaving this summer. He is now at André House of Hospitality in Phoenix.
Healing Mass, discussion set

A Mass for Healing is scheduled at Rose Hall Reparation and Prayer Center in Southeast Portland Sunday, Sept. 22, at 3 p.m.
LIFE: Clothe the naked

The Corporal Works of Mercy are found in the teachings of Jesus and give us a model for how we should treat others: as if they were Christ in disguise. When we “clothe the naked,” we are clothing Christ. Or as St. Vincent de Paul wrote, “Service we owe our neighbor, who is the image of God.”
Science and religion at Mount Angel

Mount Angel Abbey’s 2019 fall lecture series, “Interfacing Science and Religion,” set for Saturday, Sept. 14, in the Mount Angel Abbey Library, is the first of four presentations on the topic. Benedictine Brother Louis de Montfort Nguyen will speak on the exploration of the relationship between religion and science.
Day devoted to Guadalupe

The Knights of Columbus will sponsor the Guadalupe Encounter, Saturday, Sept. 14, at The Grotto in Northeast Portland.
Found a dollar?

Have you ever stumbled upon a quarter lying on the ground? What about a dollar? What about $500? One can’t help but feel a sense of good fortune when discovering this money, but the reality is that the money didn’t just appear. It came from another person. So the question is: is it right to pick it up and take it?
St. Benedict celebrated with hospitality

ST. BENEDICT — Feast. Pray. Meet the monks. That was the guiding theme for the fifth annual St. Benedict Festival at Mount Angel Abbey July 13.
Watching that movie, reading that book: Is it bad for your salvation?

John Mulderig spends a lot of time watching movies. As film reviewer for Catholic News Service, he provides valuable insight to Catholics deciding which movies they want to see or show to their children. His reviews can be witty but also informative. He is responsible for keeping an eye out for offenses against Catholic teaching.
Celebration marks 40 years since Adorers of the Holy Cross sisters arrived

A special Mass and huge reception July 20 helped celebrate 40 years for the Adorers of the Holy Cross Sisters in Portland. The religious community has become an important part of life in local Catholicism.
WATCH: Filipino youths called to help the world encounter God

A Filipino celebration held at The Grotto in Northeast Portland July 28 began with a rosary led by children. In a tour de force of Filipino American Catholic youths, teens then walked in a procession to start Mass, offered the readings, sang the psalm and delivered a post-Mass reflection.
Ignite Your Torch conference brings together youths, religious

Sitting in the shade outside Christ the Teacher Chapel at the University of Portland, Capuchin Brother Nikolas Barth watched from the sidelines as youths and religious played a pickup match of Ultimate Frisbee.
Reparation Sisters mark 60 years

The Sisters of Reparation in Portland will celebrate 60 years since their founding. The sisters invite the public to join them at St. Anthony Church, 3700 SE 79th Ave. in Portland, on Sunday, Aug. 25. Celebrant for the Mass is Archbishop Alexander Sample.
Rosary Bowl set for Oct. 5

“Somebody who says his rosary alone only gains the merit of one rosary, but if he says it together with 30 other people he gains the merit of 30 rosaries,” wrote St. Louis de Montfort, an 18th century French priest. “This is the law of public prayer. How profitable, how advantageous this is!”
A radical compassion: Jesuit Fr. Gary Smith has spent his life encountering Christ among the poor

He quotes Kierkegaard, T.S. Eliot and Dorothy Day and does not eschew a well-placed swear word. But on this early summer afternoon the lanky 82-year-old priest is mostly quiet as he walks briskly along Northwest Davis Street in downtown Portland. He’s en route to an appointment and wants to squeeze in a visit with someone first.
LIFE: Counsel the Doubtful

Imagine how beautiful the world would be if, burning in every soul was a desire to be merciful like the Father. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; the gospel of life demands us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Her mother gave an example of faith and service

As a girl growing up 12 blocks from St. Philip Neri Church in Southeast Portland, Judy Pompili dwelt in a penumbra of faith. Her family embraced the parish as its house of prayer, its grade school and its social hub.
Oregon Knights’ new leader seeks growth

TIGARD — Ron Boyce was introduced to the Knights of Columbus almost 30 years ago when he was a student at what is now Southern Oregon University in Ashland.
Young men discern God’s call at Quo Vadis Days

From June 24-27, about 70 young men from across the Archdiocese of Portland gathered at Camp Howard for Quo Vadis Days, an annual camp for those discerning the priesthood.
Prayer for Servants of the Church

Prayer for Servants of the Church is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. A day each month is set aside to pray for each priest — along with a deacon, woman religious, seminarian or brother — serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them, and all who serve the church, in your daily prayers.
WATCH: Grotto to host pilgrimage day

On the first Saturday of each month, The Grotto hosts a healing Mass and a memorial of St. Peregrine, a 14th-century Servite who is the patron of those who have cancer. As many as 700 people attend and are blessed with a relic of the saint.
WATCH: Servite friar: ‘I have the most exciting job’

Servite Father Don Siple throws back his head and his laughter echoes off The Grotto’s soaring stone cliffs
Archbishop’s public schedule

Here’s Archbishop Alexander Sample’s schedule through July 30.
St. Mary of Oregon sisters mark milestones

BEAVERTON — The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon will pay tribute to three religious sisters who are celebrating significant anniversaries of vowed religious life.
Benedictine sister serves community

MOUNT ANGEL — Benedictine Sister Julia McGanty celebrated her 70th jubilee by renewing her monastic promises during Mass Feb. 10, the feast of St. Scholastica.
25 years a priest: Fr. Liem Nguyen

ST. BENEDICT — Benedictine Father Liem Nguyen of Mount Angel Abbey celebrated 25 years of priestly ordination June 16 with a Mass in the abbey church. Father Liem made his first vows at Mount Angel in September 1989 and was ordained on June 11, 1994.
Business expenses

Even those of us who are not accountants have the opportunity to steal from our employers. Expense forms pose one of the most frequent ethical tests in daily life.
Providence sister sure of calling

Members of the Sisters of Providence, Mother Joseph Province, serve Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, California, El Salvador and the Philippines. This year, one sister with Oregon connections celebrates her 25th jubilee.
Fr. Luan Tran celebrates 25 years in priesthood

Born in Saigon during the Vietnam War, Father Luan Tran was raised Buddhist. But as a 19-year-old in the United States, he made the bold decision to convert to Catholicism.

That choice emerged from a deep love of God — a love that has flourished in the priest during his quarter-century of ministry.
Marian retreat day July 13
Newsletter for ministers

This month marks the first year for Source and Summit, an Archdiocese of Portland quarterly newsletter for extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Those are the 6,000 or so western Oregon Catholics once known as eucharistic ministers; the current name, put forward by the Vatican, provides greater precision about the role and its holy importance.
Holy Names sisters honor three golden jubilarians

MARYLHURST — This summer, the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary are celebrating the 50-year anniversary of three women in Oregon.
Msgr. Dennis O’Donovan — He said yes

He had his heart set on being a parish priest for the rest of his life. But when the call came, Msgr. Dennis O’Donovan said yes, and he would help steer the ship during the stormiest period in Archdiocese of Portland history.
Fr. Bob Barricks: A joyful presence

Father Bob Barricks remembers the amazement that gripped him in 1993, after the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Mary Cathedral. He was a transitional deacon there, walking down the center aisle in the darkened sanctuary, locking up.
O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests and servants of the church especially (two names here). Keep them close to your heart and bless them abundantly in time and eternity. Amen.
LIFE: Bear patiently those who do us ill

God is patient with us. Let us pray to St. Elizabeth to intercede on our behalf for the grace to bear the same level of patience with others.