News - March 2023 RSS Feed

PROVIDENCE — On Tuesday, March 21, the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee met to discuss SB0617, known as the Solitary Confinement Reform Act. Proposed in the Senate on March 7, the bill is sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Acosta, District 16 (Central Falls). The bill seeks to reform some of the practices surrounding the use of solitary confinement among prisoners, to prevent abuse and inordinate punishment.

The Director of the Holy See Press Office says Pope Francis is scheduled to be released from hospital on Saturday, and is expected to be present at the Palm Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square. On Friday afternoon he visited some of the little patients at the Hospital and baptized a baby.

Did you know that 18 years ago today, on March 31, 2005, Bishop Tobin was named the eighth Bishop of Providence by Pope John Paul II?!

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Officials of the Nashville Diocese called news of a morning mass shooting and loss of life at a private Christian school in the city heartbreaking and “deeply sad and shocking.”

ROME (CNS) -- After spending the night in the hospital, Pope Francis is "steadily improving" from a respiratory infection and continuing his planned course of treatment, the Vatican press office said. After he "rested well overnight," the Vatican said March 30, he "read some newspapers after eating breakfast and has resumed working."

From the diocesan office of Priests' Personnel.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin invites us to pray for the Holy Father at this time...

SMITHFIELD — On Saturday, March 18, the Diocese of Providence’s Office of Faith Formation held its annual Faith Formation Convocation at Bryant University, with the theme “This Is My Body Given For You,” and centering on the role of the Eucharist in the life of the believer.

PROVIDENCE — The House Judiciary Committee met on Thursday, March 16, to discuss R.I. House Bill No. 5510, sponsored by State Representative Carol Hagan McEntee (District 33-Narragansett, South Kingstown), which proposes to eliminate the statute of limitations in cases pertaining to those who were sexually abused as minors to bring a civil lawsuit. This bill would eliminate any statute of limitations and apply it retroactively in such cases.

Recently, in the mornings, I’ve taken to listening to music instead of watching the news on TV. I’ve found that some soft and gentle music is a much more peaceful way to start the day than hearing the accounts of murder and mayhem, corruption and crime.

The New England CYO Basketball Championships will be held in Providence beginning on Friday, March 31 and continuing Saturday, April 1 and Sunday, April 2. This event rotates among the participating Dioceses in New England and was last held in Rhode Island in 2014. The following Dioceses are expected to participate in the 2023 Championships: Manchester, Fall River, Burlington, Norwich, Hartford, Bridgeport and Boston. Over 50 teams comprised of male and female student athletes from ages 8 to 18 are scheduled to participate. For more, visit calsportsri.org.

As we journey with Jesus towards Holy Week, remember all those in our world today who carry heavy crosses of poverty, homelessness, and hunger. Click for more.

Your Lent Questions, Answered with Rev. Msgr. Anthony Mancini, Rector of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Providence. More for your Lenten Journey at dioceseofprovidence.org/lent.

The Feast of the Annunciation is one of the most important in the Church calendar. It celebrates the actual Incarnation of Our Savior the Word made flesh in the womb of His mother, Mary.

Father Charles P. Quinn, 82, Pastor Emeritus of St. Eugene Parish, Chepachet, died on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Visitation will be in St. Eugene Church, 1251 Putnam Pike, Chepachet, on Monday, March 27, from 4 – 7 p.m. A Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial for the repose of Father’s soul will be offered on Tuesday, March 28, at 10 a.m., at St. Eugene Church. Burial will be in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston.

Lenten events, activities, revivals and more!

Bishop Richard G. Henning celebrated Mass with the school community of Saint Raphael Academy, Pawtucket.

Pope Francis has invited Catholics to annually renew an act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25.

PROVIDENCE — For years, Alfred Carpionato would marvel at the grandeur of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul as he faithfully attended Sunday Mass each week, along with his wife, Sheryl. Whenever Carpionato, an extremely successful developer on both the local and national fronts, saw something amiss, such as the dulling of the brass candlesticks arrayed around the altar or the tabernacle losing its luster with age, he would approach Msgr. Anthony Mancini, the cathedral’s rector, and ask what he could do to help restore their beauty.

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