Here is a list of news stories I wrote in 2017 for The Monitor, the newspaper of the Diocese of Trenton.
11/2/2017 Point Pleasant pastor makes positive impact in Alaska
When Father Dave Swantek, pastor of St. Martha Parish, Point Pleasant, heard about the “frontier priests” of Alaska as a child, he could only dream that he would one day have the same mission. Now, every August, he flies to “The Last Frontier” to bring the Gospel and Sacraments to Catholics in the small tourist town of Skagway....
11/2/2017 Good Counsel Homes banquet raises funds for families
A mission of compassion started by a humble Franciscan Friar of the Renewal priest, Father Benedict Groeschel, continues through the work of Good Counsel Homes-South Jersey, thanks in part to its 11th annual fundraising banquet, which was held Oct. 26 in the Merion, Cinnaminson....
10/5/2017 Hundreds make pilgrimage to Blue Army Shrine
A group of 200 pilgrims traveled to the Blue Army Shrine in Asbury on the Feast of the Archangels Sept. 29 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the miracles at Fatima, and answer the Blessed Mother’s request to pray the Rosary more often....
9/21/2017 Diocese's priests draw insight from Pope's Colombia trip
Fathers Jorge Bedoya and Walter Quiceno may have set out on their separate pilgrimages to Colombia to witness Pope Francis’ simple, yet profound and personal message of forgiveness and healing, but they returned with insight into themselves, too.
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9/7/2017 12:40 PM Young teens spend night in cardboard boxes during lesson on homelessness
Using cardboard boxes donated by parishioners, 18 youngsters constructed their own makeshift homes outside St. Anselm Church, Wayside, to sleep in on the mid-summer evening of Aug. 25 as part of an effort to learn more about homelessness....
5/22/2017 Motorcycle crew brings gritty Gospel to Allentown
When he came to St. John the Baptist Parish, Allentown, to speak at Call to the Wall, a morning conference for men May 13 during which local and nationally known speakers shared their professional testimonies and challenged participants to delve deeper in their faith, speaker Bear Woznick focused on the meaning of masculine spirituality and how it can be misunderstood....
5/2/2017 Priests, seminarian discuss priesthood as they lead Diocese's teens on tour of seminary life
As young men in their parishes, the 12 teens who visited the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary are already followers of Jesus.
How they continue on their faith journey was the lesson at hand as the young men from around the Diocese of Trenton visited the Wynnewood, Pa., seminary April 30.
“If I do become a priest, this would be a good place to start,” Luke Denn, 13, of St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford, said as he toured the seminary located just outside Philadelphia.
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4/21/2017 Volunteers complete pastoral care training program
Those volunteers who completed the diocesan pastoral care training program in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, April 8, all agreed that their lives will never be the same....
4/14/2017 11:32 PM Bishop commemorates Passion of Our Lord with Allentown community
It was a Good Friday that captured every aspect of reverence and sorrow called for on such a day, in St. John the Baptist Parish, Allentown where Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., joined Father Brian Woodrow, pastor, to commemorate the Passion of Our Lord.
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3/13/2017 5:29 PM Faith, superheroes come together at annual Scouting retreat
During a recent trip to the Pine Barrens, a group of about two dozen sixth- through 12th-graders discovered that sometimes reality is more amazing than fiction....
3/9/2017 Diocese's Encuentro team takes Hispanic ministry lessons to parishes
As Catholics throughout the United States have been preparing for the next Hispanic outreach summit known as Encuentro, the Diocese has been doing its part by preparing its own team as well as taking its training to the parish level....
2/26/2017 Catholic Men for Jesus empowered to go 'into the breach' Most of the hundreds of men who attended the Catholic Men for Jesus Christ rally Feb. 25 in St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, have gone into the breach before....
1/31/2017 Meeting Christ in Prison -- Potential volunteers learn about ministry to the incarcerated
If Christ’s words in Matthew 25, “I was in prison and you visited me” tug at your heart, then you may want to learn more about the Diocese’s prison ministry that visits inmates throughout the four counties of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean. The diocesan Department of Pastoral Care hosted an information session Jan. 28 for those interested in sharing the Gospel with the incarcerated....