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DIOCESAN SCHOOLS TO OBSERVE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK Catholic schools in the Fall River Diocese will celebrate Catholic Schools Week beginning this Sunday, January 29, with open houses, special Masses, academic and artistic showcases, athletic events and a variety of other activities and programs. The week is observed annually across the nation beginning on the last Sunday in January to highlight the value of a Catholic education and to build a greater awareness of what Catholic schools have to offer. As part of the observance most schools open registration for the following year. Parents who are interested in enrolling a child in a Catholic school in the Diocese should contact the school of interest for details on open houses and registration. find out more...

JASON BRILHANTE TO BE ORDAINED A DEACON Fall River Diocesan seminarian Jason Brilhante will be ordained a transitional deacon by Bishop George W. Coleman at an 11 a.m. Mass on Saturday, January 21, in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Fall River. Brilhante, who is 28, is in his final year of theological studies at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass. find out more...

DIOCESAN VOCATIONS OFFICE LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE Considering a vocation to the priesthood? Want to encourage priestly vocations in your home or parish? Visit this new website launched by the Diocesan Vocations Office. It offers a growing list of resources and links plus a calendar of upcoming discernment opportunities and vocational-related events. find out more...

WHY DID THEY BECOME PRIESTS? Watch these brief video testimonies as Bishop George W. Coleman and 10 priests from the Fall River Diocese reflect on their own vocational call to the priesthood and their ministry in the years that have followed. find out more...

HOLY TRINITY SCHOOL, WEST HARWICH, TO CLOSE IN JUNE Following years of declining enrollment and annual budget deficits, Holy Trinity Regional School in West Harwich will close in June at the end of the current academic year. The decision to close the pre-kindergarten through grade five school was announced to faculty, staff and parents of students in meetings yesterday, January 12, by officials from the Catholic Schools Office of the Fall River Diocese. find out more...

THE MEANING OF CHRIST'S BIRTH TODAY A Christmas Message from Bishop Coleman Dear friends in Christ, This holy Season provides me the opportunity once again to share with each and every one of you the Good News that God has become man and is born among us. Of course, Our Lord's Nativity is an event that happened long ago. The basic story is surely familiar to all of you: the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God, in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. Christ entered the world not as a conquering king at the head of an army in a mighty show of power, but as a defenseless child, born in poverty. The first Christmas can seem like an occurrence from a long time ago that once took place in a faraway land. Yet, it is an event which happens even today and which can speak to all of us again. find out more...

CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES GIFT OF GIVING HELPS BRIGHTEN CHRISTMAS FOR THOSE IN NEED With Christmas just days away, the Gift of Giving program sponsored by Catholic Social Services (CSS) is in its final phase as staff and volunteers distribute toys and clothing to thousands of children throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. In photo, Gift of Giving workers at CSS headquarters organize some of the estimated 15,000 items donated to the program this year. find out more...

THE NEW ROMAN MISSAL: NEW WORDS, SAME MASS The new Roman Missal will be implemented in the United States on November 27, the First Sunday of Advent. Pope John Paul II announced a revised version during the Jubilee Year 2000. Among other things, the new edition contains prayers for the observances of recently canonized saints, additional prayers and Masses for Various Needs and Occasions, and some revised rubrics or instructions for the celebration of the Mass. The English translation of the Roman Missal will also include updated translations of existing prayers, including some of the well-known responses and acclamations of the people. find out more...

WATCH THE TV MASS ONLINE The Television Mass airing each Sunday at 11 a.m. on WLNE-TV, channel 6, is now available online! For nearly 50 years, the Fall River Diocese has sponsored the Mass for those unable to attend a parish Mass because of age or infirmity. find out more...

CONSIDERING A VOCATION? WANT TO SUPPORT ONE? find out more...

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PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF LIFE: Learn more about the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) -and what you can do to stop it- through this PowerPoint presentation prepared by the Diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate. find out more...

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