Edition of Monday, October 26

Missionaries and young people from the SMA collected more than 400 kg of olives from the garden at the SMA house in Quarto. The group intends to process the harvest into olive oil.

The SMA community has scheduled several activities for the 2026–2027 year. These include meditation on Sunday, November 29, at 9:30 a.m. and meditation on Sunday, February 14, at 9:30 a.m. The community will also hold monthly “Parola di Vita” meetings on the second Wednesday of each month at 21:00, alongside Eucharistic Adoration on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

Bishop Mark Edwards, OMI, ordained Saxon Onions to the priesthood on Saturday, October 24.

The Diocese of Wagga Wagga reported the ordination took place as part of the Sacred Order of the Priesthood. Father Onions will now begin his priestly ministry.

The Filipino community at St Edmund’s Church in Bury St Edmunds gathered on Sunday, September 27, to celebrate the feast of their patron, St Lorenzo Ruiz. Fr Peter Ho celebrated the Mass, which included hymns sung by community members.

The celebration included a procession of a statue of St Lorenzo Ruiz into the church. After the Mass, parishioners gathered in the crypt to eat Filipino dishes and learn about Filipino culture. This annual tradition began in 2016 at the suggestion of Fr Mark Hackeson.

St Lorenzo Ruiz was a Filipino man who joined Dominican missionaries traveling to Japan. He was martyred in Nagasaki in 1637 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1987. He is the first Filipino saint and serves as the patron saint of overseas Filipino workers.

Archbishop James Golka joined the Denver African Catholic Society to celebrate the group's 12th anniversary at Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora.

Members of the society marked the anniversary through prayer, music, and traditional attire. The event included fellowship among the community members and clergy. Lawrencia Owusu-Ansah serves as the president of the African Catholic Society. Father Felix P. Medina-Algaba is the pastor of Queen of Peace Parish.

Bishop César Huerta Ramírez presided over a Confirmation Mass for young people at the Immaculate Conception Parish in the Diocese of Sicuani. The group consisted primarily of students from the secondary school catechesis program.

During the liturgy, Bishop Huerta Ramírez and parish priest Father Lucio González Yana accompanied the candidates and their families. The bishop instructed godparents to take an active role in the spiritual formation of their godchildren by teaching Christian values and virtues.

Dr. Philippa Martyr addressed the risks of Catholic celebrity culture and parasocial relationships in a column for The Catholic Weekly. She noted that a bishop in the United States recently instructed a priest serving as an exorcist to withdraw from public engagements for one year.

Martyr expressed concern that online fame and media cycles can negatively affect clergy and their followers. She observed that some supporters focus on spreading news about specific Catholic personalities rather than the Gospel. This tendency toward personality cults can distract from a person's primary relationship with God.

The bishop, priests, and deacons of the Diocese of Neuquén are participating in their annual spiritual retreat from October 26 to October 30.

Archbishop Hebda congratulated auxiliary bishop Kevin Kenney on the second anniversary of his ordination to the episcopacy.

Bishop Kenney serves as the pastor of Saint Olaf and as the archdiocesan vicar for Latino ministry. The archbishop noted that the bishop has maintained his ministry despite an unexpected diagnosis of lung cancer.

The archbishop requested that the faithful pray for Bishop Kenney, the medical professionals treating him, and all people who are suffering or struggling.

Dr. Philippa Martyr questioned the utility of the findings in the report Absent from the Table, noting that the survey participants do not accurately represent the Australian Catholic population.

The study surveyed just under 2,000 people who do not attend Mass. Martyr noted several demographic discrepancies between the participants and the broader Church. While 30 percent of Australian Catholics live in Victoria, only 10 percent of the study participants were from that state. Additionally, 69 percent of participants were female, compared to 53 percent of the Catholic population according to the 2021 Census.

The report's participants also differed in education and occupation. Martyr stated that 71 percent of those surveyed held university degrees, whereas approximately 25 percent of Australian Catholics do. Furthermore, 48 percent of participants worked in professional occupations, compared to 37 percent of the general Catholic population. Martyr concluded that the study primarily reflects the opinions of white, middle-class, highly educated women aged 40 to 60.

Father Joseph Long Nguyen, the first pastor of Our Lady of La Vang Catholic Church, has died at age 62. The Vietnamese-born priest helped establish the parish as a permanent spiritual center for the South Florida community, according to the Archdiocese of Miami.