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Over the years and in a variety of circumstances, I have had the opportunity to provide pastoral care to police officers. As a result, I have seen the enormous pressures that the job places on officers and their families.

Just as it began one year ago, St. Paul School’s 100th anniversary year concluded with a celebration of Holy Mass on Sunday, Sept. 17, in the Cranston parish. (PHOTO: COURTNEY AMARAL)

It was a day filled with blessings as Bishop Richard G. Henning visited Monsignor Clarke School....

On August 28, 2023, over 50 attendees gathered at Agawam Hunt Club in Rumford, RI for Saint John’s Seminary’s 21st Annual Summer Classic Golf Tournament. It was a most enjoyable and successful day filled with family, friends, and fun! (PHOTO: LAURA KILGUS)

At this time of year, it is common to celebrate Masses of the Holy Spirit. The best known of these are the “Red Masses” celebrated near the opening of the Supreme Court session. Called “red” due to the red vestments worn by the clergy at such Masses, they take place across the United States offering those who work in the law an opportunity to seek divine wisdom and blessing.

Maybe it’s the summer weather, maybe it’s the habit learned over our years of schooling, but summer always seems to promise time for rest, recreation and some much-needed lazy days. I hope that you have found such moments and maybe even days and weeks to relax with friends and loved ones...

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all! I hope that you have time with family and enjoy the beautiful weather... 

The Diocese of Providence offers prayers for an end to the humanitarian crisis afflicting Armenian Christians in Nagorno-Karabakh...

At the borders of Rhode Island, there is usually a blue sign that states “Discover Beautiful Rhode Island.” I have been taking that invitation very seriously — using my first months in the Ocean State to get to know the communities and people of the Diocese of Providence and the State of Rhode Island. During the warmer months, I have had a number of opportunities to march in parades, join in processions and feasts, and participate in blessings and civic occasions. You have already heard about some of these occasions in this column...

"We have been so blessed by this man’s faithful priestly witness of 50 years, his 31 years of episcopal shepherding, and his lifetime of Christian discipleship." - from Bishop Henning's latest column - - about Bishop Tobin

On this day in 2018, he received the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders in St. Agnes Cathedral at the hands of Bishop John Barres after having been appointed by Pope Francis as an auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre—his hometown—all before Pope Francis would send him here to Rhode Island a little more than four years later. Ad multos annos, Bishop Henning! (Photo: SUE GRIECO/LI HERALD)

"That more human scale also means that all of us can make a difference by advocating for those values and beliefs closest to our hearts. I encourage the Catholics of Rhode Island to pray for our leaders and to thank them for their public service (1 Tim 2:1-2). I also encourage us to make certain that we vote, and that we express our most deeply held convictions by our vote and our communications. In a state on such a human scale, faithful citizenship makes a difference!" - Bishop Henning

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The signatories to the Declaration of Independence may have had different creeds, but they understood that human dignity is not conferred by leaders or legislation — it is first and foremost the gift of a loving Creator. They also understood this vision is too often imperfectly lived in a sinful world...

By Jennifer Barton, Rhode Island Catholic Correspondent & By Rick Snizek, Executive Editor PROVIDENCE — The rain falling upon the roof of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul on June 24 could not dampen the joyful spirit of those within as more than 50 priests, deacons and seminarians, followed by three bishops, processed into the nearly 135-year-old cathedral ahead of soon-to-be Father Patrick Ryan while strains of “O God Beyond All Praising” rose to the lofty rafters. (Photo: Laura Kilgus)

Last week, I spoke of my gratitude to, and admiration for, our priests. I also invited all of us to pray for our priests by invoking the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This week, I would like to make that appeal personal by expressing my gratitude to God for two particular priests: Father James Ruggieri and Father Joseph Brice.

Two weeks ago, I offered some thoughts on the importance of the Church of the home and the crucial role of good mothers and fathers in the spiritual care of their children. That sacred calling is certainly on my mind again as we prepare to celebrate our fathers this Sunday. The need for good fathers grows ever more intense as too many young people lack that foundational and formational blessing in their lives. I hope that we all thank and support fathers who embrace that sacred calling and I wish all of you and your families a joyful celebration.

You may have noticed that most parish churches use beautiful and sometimes ornate gold or silver chalices for the celebration of Holy Mass. How would you feel if you happened to see your parish priest drinking his morning coffee from one of those beautiful chalices? I presume that you would be scandalized, and rightly so! It is not a bad thing to drink coffee in the morning. And yet we know instinctively that it would be wrong to use a chalice in this way. The chalice is meant for the celebration of Mass and that alone...

Prezados irmãos e irmãs em Cristo, Em nome da Diocese de Providence, desejo expressar a minha profunda gratidão à comunidade luso-americana aqui em Rhode Island pelas suas imensuráveis contribuições para a vida deste estado e das suas muitas comunidades.

Here in the Diocese of Providence, the spring confirmation season has just concluded. Bishop Tobin, Bishop Evans and I have been traveling across the diocese since April for the conferral of this beautiful sacrament. It has given me the opportunity to join some 25 communities and see how each in their own way celebrates and rejoices. I always strive to express my own joy for the confirmed and my gratitude to their parents and families. At this time of the year, when we also honor mothers and fathers, I have been thinking of and praying for “the domestic church.”

Shared with the Diocese of Providence by Bishop Richard G. Henning: A Pastoral Letter from the Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop of Rockville Centre (St. Filippo Neri in Ecstasy by Guido Reni (1575-1642). Work and photo reproduction is in public domain. Source Wikimedia Commons)