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Deacon Richard Rhinehart Ordination invitation
All are invited at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 24, to the Cathedral of Christ the King, Superior, to celebrate the Ordination of Deacon Richard Rhinehart to the Priesthood.

New seminarian announced
Fr. Thomas Thompson, director of vocations and seminarians, has announced a new seminarian for the Diocese of Superior. Isaiah Schick has been accepted in the Pre-Theology 2 program for the Fall 2018 semester at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary, St. Francis. Please keep Isaiah and all our seminarians in your prayers.

St. Andrew Dinner to be held in New Richmond
From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Richmond. Intended as a relaxed atmosphere for discussions on priestly vocations, those invited to attend include: any late middle school, high school, college student or young adult and their parents. The evening will offer talks for both discerner and their parents, a time for socializing, dinner and prayer. Bishop James P. Powers will be in attendance as well as other priests and parents of priests. Contact Fr. John Anderson for information at or 715-246-4652, ext. 226.

New Marian feast and clarification regarding memorials
(CNA/EWTN News, Catholicdos.org) The occasion of the newest obligatory Memorial: The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, has brought up the possible need for a clarification. It will be celebrated every year on the Monday after Pentecost, this year on May 21. The decree was published in a letter from Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

As Sarah explained, Pope Francis added the memorial to the Roman Calendar after carefully considering how the promotion of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under this particular title might encourage growth in “the maternal sense of the Church” and in “genuine Marian piety.”

“This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and the Mother of the Redeemed,” Sarah wrote.

Memorials are broken down into two types: obligatory and optional. As the name implies, a priest must recognize an obligatory memorial at Masses celebrated that day and in the recitation of the hours, while an optional memorial may be skipped.
In the case of an obligatory Memorial, the faithful are not obligated to participate in Mass that day, but if Mass is celebrated, the proper texts and readings for that particular Memorial are used.

On holy days of obligation, Catholics are obliged to participate in Mass. Every Sunday is a holy day of obligation, as are these other days throughout the year in the United States:

Jan. 1: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God; Aug. 15: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Nov. 1: All Saints; Dec. 8: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Dec. 25: The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas).

In the Diocese of Superior, the celebration of Ascension has been moved to the Seventh Sunday of Easter.

New religious sisters coming to the Diocese of Duluth

(Dioceseduluth.org) — Fr. Ryan Moravitz announced at Holy Family Church the weekend of May 5-6 that the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus are coming to the Diocese of Duluth and will take up residence at the former Holy Family rectory.
The Handmaids come with the blessing and invitation of Duluth Bishop Paul D. Sirba. “With thanks to Almighty God, I am delighted to welcome the Handmaids to the Diocese of Duluth,” Bishop Sirba said and asked the diocese to “join me in welcoming the Sisters to the Diocese of Duluth.” Fr. Moravitz said in a live Facebook video May 7 that to start with there will be four sisters moving to the diocese, and their official move-in day is Aug. 17. In the video, some of the sisters can be seen working alongside parishioners in preparing the site. It will be made to accommodate up to six sisters. The charism of the Handmaids is “to live in imitation of Mary as Handmaids, virgin, bride, and mother in the diocesan life of the Church, carrying out the New Evangelization in parishes.” They are known for their work in parishes. For more information about the Handmaids, visit www.Handmaidsoftheheartofjesus.com.