Knoxville Catholic High School is accepting applications for the 2014-15 school year and registering students for the placement test. Visit www.knoxvillecatholic.com/admissions/apply to access the online application. All applications and supporting documents are due by Friday, Feb. 14. To register for the placement test, contact Nichole Pfohl, dean of admissions, at 865-560-0502 or npfohl@knoxvillecatholic.com. The placement test is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Jan. 25.
The St. Luke’s Guild is sponsoring two days of reflection to focus on the universal call to holiness as outlined by the Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium. The first day of reflection is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at St. Mary Church in Johnson City and will be facilitated by Gail Ratti Curran and Father Bill Gahagan. The theme of the day will be “Personal Prayer as a Loving Response to God’s Invitation to Holiness.” Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, will present “The Sacraments: Striving for Holiness Helped by God’s Gift of Grace” from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at All Saints Church in Knoxville. Each day of reflection will include the presentations, Mass, the opportunity for confession, quiet time for prayer, and lunch. The cost for each day is $10. For more information, contact Emily Jacobssen at 865-584-3307 or ejacobssen@dioknox.org.
Deacon Arthur Torres Barona will be ordained to the priesthood at St. Anne Church in Cali, Colombia, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. Bishop Stika will preside at the ordination Mass.
Cardinal Justin Rigali will lead the “Rosary for Life” in front of the Planned Parenthood located at 710 N. Cherry St. at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11. All are invited to pray the rosary for the unborn and their families. For more information, contact Paul Simoneau, director of the diocesan Office of Justice and Peace, at 865-862-5753 or psimoneau@dioknox.org.
Sister Mary Timothea Elliott, RSM, director of the diocesan Office of Christian Formation, will present three conferences for RCIA participants in the Diocese of Knoxville. The first will be at St. Mary Church in Athens on Saturday, Jan. 11. The second conference will take place at Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville on Saturday, Jan. 25, and the third will be at Holy Trinity Church in Jefferson City on Saturday, Feb. 8. All of the conferences will meet from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, contact Sister Timothea at 865-584-3307 or srmarytimothea@dioknox.org.
Several Search weekends for high school juniors and seniors are scheduled in the diocese during winter 2014. Search is a retreat program intended to assist young people with developing their faith lives and to discern how they can use their gifts to build the Church. The first Search is planned for the weekend of Feb. 7-9 at Knoxville Catholic High School. For more information, contact Deacon Dan Hosford at 865-603-9682. The second is scheduled for Feb. 14-16 at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport. Contact Deacon Jim Fage at 423-748-2836 for more information. The third Search will take place the weekend of Feb. 21-23 at All Saints Academy next door to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga. Contact Donna Jones for more information at 423-718-4387. The cost to attend any of the Search weekends is $55 per person.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Chattanooga is hosting a program presented by Family Honor Inc. for seventh- and eighth-grade students and their families on God’s gift of sexuality and chastity from 7 to 9:15 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8. The program is free of charge, but donations will be accepted. Register online at familyhonor.org. For more information, contact Marian Christiana at 423-892-2310 or mchristiana@dioknox.org.
Catholic Day on the Hill is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18. Meet with state representatives to discuss and lobby issues important to Catholic voters. For more information, call Kathleen Murphy at 615-828-4713.
The next Engaged Encounter weekend will take place Feb. 21-23 at the Holiday Inn Express in Lenoir City. The cost of the weekend is $239 per couple. To register, contact Jason and Carmen Jeansonne at 865-377-3077 or ceeknoxville@yahoo.com. For other information, contact Jerry or Mary Dougherty at 865-458-4117 or ceeknoxville@gmail.com. For information on other weekends, visit www.engagedencounter.org.
The next Picture of Love engaged-couples retreat will take place the weekend of Feb. 28-March 1 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Chattanooga. The retreat will meet from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and continue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The program is designed to help couples gain a better understanding of the joys and challenges of being married in their day-to-day lives. The cost is $135 per couple, which includes a certificate good for a $60 discount on a marriage license. Couples must attend the entire retreat to receive the certificate. For more information, contact Marian Christiana, director of the Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment, at 423-892-2310 or mchristiana@dioknox.org.
Catholic Charities of East Tennessee has announced the dates of three of its annual fundraisers for 2014. The Emerald O’ccasion is scheduled for March 13 at the Knoxville Marriott; the Kids Helping Kids Fun Walk will take place on May 4 at Knoxville Catholic High School; and the Common Good Golf Classic is planned for June 9. Visit www.ccetn.org for details.
Father Charlie Burton and Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano will be the spiritual directors of a pilgrimage to Italy from March 16-28, 2014. The group will visit Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, Sicily, and many other places during the trip. The all-inclusive cost is $4,199. For more details, call Proximo Travel at 855-842-8001 or visit www.proximotravel.com.
Father John Dowling will be the spiritual director for a 10-day pilgrimage to France June 30–July 9, 2014. The group will visit several shrines and holy sites around France, including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and Sainte-Chapelle, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, the tomb of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Chartres Cathedral, the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Paray-le-Monial, and the basilica in Ars that houses the incorrupt body of St. John Vianney. The final day will feature a drive through the French Alps. Mass will be celebrated daily. The price for the pilgrimage including airfare from either Nashville or Knoxville is $3,945, which includes U.S. government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges up to $665; economy-class round-trip airfare, three- and four-star hotel accommodations (based on double occupancy), eight breakfasts and dinners, a professional tour manager, local English-speaking guides, all scheduled sightseeing and entrance fees, a modern motor coach, and group tips. Interested pilgrims can also arrange their own airfare and pay $2,849 (if 30 pilgrims register). Register early and receive a $50 discount. For more information, contact Father Dowling at 931-484-3628 or frjohndowling@gmail.com.
Mass in the extraordinary form (“traditional Latin”) is celebrated at 1:30 p.m. each Sunday at Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville; at 3 p.m. on first and third Sundays at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland; at 3 p.m. on second and fourth Sundays at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Madisonville; at 11 a.m. on most Sundays at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Townsend; and at 3 p.m. on second and fourth Sundays at St. Mary Church in Johnson City.
The traditional Latin Mass of Christmas will be offered at Holy Ghost Church at 1:30 p.m. on Christmas Day. Beginning at 1 p.m. preceding the Mass, the Knoxville Latin Mass Schola will present a program of traditional Christmas music. The Mass itself will include the liturgy of Christmas in Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony, with the ordinary parts of the Mass sung in a polyphonic setting (“Byrd’s Mass for Three Voices”) composed by the English renaissance composer William Byrd. Visit www.knoxlatinmass.net for updated information.
The St. Thomas the Apostle Ukrainian Catholic Mission celebrates Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. Sundays in the lower level of Holy Cross Anglican Church, 515 Herron Road, Knoxville, TN 37934. Note the time change. All services are in English. Call Father Richard Armstrong at 865-584-3307 or visit www.saintthomas-knoxville.org for details.
Holy Resurrection Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Mission has Divine Liturgy celebrations at 9:30 a.m. Sundays at the old Holy Ghost Church, 1031 N. Central St. in Knoxville. For times of holy-day services or for more information, visit www.knoxbyz.org or call Father Thomas O’Connell at 865-256-4880.
