Cumberland-area parishes consider uniting into one faith community April 7, 2011By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate Cumberland-area parishes currently have two funerals for every baptism. One third of registered parishioners are age 60 or older. The city’s population has declined from 30,000 in 1979 to 20,859 today, while the number of priests serving the five parishes has plummeted from 13 to four – the result of a clergy shortage.
Baltimore priest who served in Iraq ready to become a bishop September 2, 2010By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: 9/11, Local News, News, Western Vicariate On one of the bloodiest days of the Iraq War – April 9, 2004 – Father F. Richard Spencer became the link between this world and the next for many of the mortally wounded.
Father O’Malley brought people together in Emmitsburg August 19, 2010By George P. Matysek Jr. Filed Under: Local News, News, Uncategorized, Western Vicariate Father O’Malley arrived in Emmitsburg at a time when St. Joseph was suffering significant divisions.
Two Emmitsburg parishioners die in accident August 12, 2010By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate Vincentian Father Vincent J. O’Malley had just preached on Sunday’s Gospel reading, warning that no one knows the hour when the Son of Man will come. Moments later, as the priest greeted people outside St. Joseph in Emmitsburg following the 10:15 a.m. liturgy, an automobile struck and killed two Mass-goers and seriously injured a third.
Hancock parish turns 175 April 10, 2010By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate The past and the future came together in a big way at St. Peter in Hancock April 25 when more than 300 parishioners crowded into the tiny brick church to celebrate their parish’s 175th anniversary.
Generosity overflows at St. Louis, Clarksville July 9, 2009By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate “There’s a wonderful spirit of cooperation and a great sense of ownership at St. Louis,” Monsignor Luca said. “We’ve been very blessed, and our parishioners have been a blessing to others.”
‘Healthy’ spirit keeps Westernport parish going April 9, 2009By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Uncategorized, Western Vicariate “Healthy” is the word Father James Hannon uses to describe the spirit at St. Peter in Westernport.
Taneytown parish embraces Catholic legacy March 26, 2009By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Saints, Western Vicariate When Maryland Catholics faced religious persecution in the early 1700s, Taneytown was an area where many found refuge.
Cultivating religious vocations among altar servers June 19, 2008By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Uncategorized, Vocations, Western Vicariate Designed by Father Leo Patalinghug, a former associate pastor of St. John who now serves as director of pastoral field education at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, the MC program is meant to help boys grow in faith and leadership. It is geared in a special way to encourage religious vocations.
St. Peter’s whips up 5,200 apple dumplings for fall festival September 20, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate In an assembly line that would make Henry Ford proud, dozens of volunteers from St. Peter in Hancock transformed their parish hall into an apple dumpling factory Sept. 12-14 – filling the air with the delightfully dense aroma of sweet cinnamon and fresh-baked apples that attracted visitors from near and far.
Outsider is force for change: Cumberland Mayor Fiedler honored by archdiocese June 21, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, News, Western Vicariate In a small Western Maryland town whose residents pride homegrown leadership, Mayor Lee Fiedler knows he is probably one of the unlikeliest persons to hold Cumberland’s top job at City Hall.
Former speaker laments ‘divisive’ political climate: Casper Taylor reflects on hard decisions May 31, 2007By George P. Matysek Jr. Catholic Review Filed Under: Local News, Maryland General Assembly, News, Western Vicariate Nearly five years after Casper R. Taylor Jr. lost his seat in the House of Delegates and stepped down as Maryland’s longest- serving Speaker of the House of Delegates, the well-known Western Maryland native hasn’t backed away from public policy.
