Good Shepherd, St. Therese, and St. Joseph among parishes getting new pastors By Bill Brewer Bishop Richard F. Stika has announced new assignments for several priests serving in the Diocese of Knoxville, including three who were ordained to the priesthood in early June. Bishop Stika announced the assignments publicly on …
Thankful for Divine Mercy
Vietnamese Catholic community marks feast day with parish celebration By Bill Brewer The Vietnamese Catholic community in Knoxville marked April 16 in a way befitting its namesake church. It held a parish-wide celebration in honor of Divine Mercy Sunday. Bishop Richard F. Stika joined Father Dominic Nguyen and scores of …
Cathedral marks 5th year since dedication
By Bill Brewer It seems like just yesterday when a standing-room-only congregation gathered at 711 S. Northshore Drive in Knoxville to finally see the result from decades of prayer, thought, and planning: the new Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In a ceremony 30 years in the making, …
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Welcome to the Church in East Tennessee
Bishop Stika greets catechumens, candidates during Rite of Election ceremonies By Bill Brewer Bishop Richard F. Stika welcomed more than 200 catechumens and candidates into the Catholic Church during Rite of Election services Feb. 25-26 at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was a robust congregation …
KCHS tennis player follows in mom’s footsteps
Gigi Sompayrac is bound for college in the sport her mother, Cathy, also played for the Lady Irish By Bill Brewer The circle is now complete. May the circle be unbroken. Knoxville Catholic High School senior Gigi Sompayrac put the finishing touches on that 360-degree journey on Feb. 1 when …
Faith, family, and football
Vols athletics icon Gus Manning remembered as someone filled with all three blessings By Bill Brewer The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was steeped in orange Feb. 20 for the funeral Mass of longtime University of Tennessee Athletics Department icon Charles A. “Gus” Manning, who died Feb. …
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Luisa Piccarreta lives at the heart of the Benedictine family
Servant of God’s life and Divine Will writings are a source of inspiration for the faithful By Bill Brewer In much of the world, Luisa Piccarreta is a saint in waiting whose prolific writings were divinely inspired and merit careful study. To much of East Tennessee, the Servant of God …
Catholic Charities marks anniversary of devastating fire
Work continues to renovate agency’s offices near downtown Knoxville By Bill Brewer More than a year after an arsonist broke into Catholic Charities of East Tennessee’s offices near downtown Knoxville and set a fire that destroyed much of the building, the social services agency is looking forward to moving back …
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Bishop welcomes Benedictines
Two religious orders are relocating to East Tennessee from Italy By Bill Brewer The Diocese of Knoxville welcomed two new religious communities to East Tennessee on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the Benedictines of Divine Will and the Benedictine Daughters of Divine Will formally announced they are …
East Tennessee volunteers
Bishop Stika, diocese recognize those who make the mobile medical clinic go By Bill Brewer By all accounts, volunteers are the lifeblood of the Diocese of Knoxville’s mobile medical ministry. They get the clinic to where it needs to be each day. They set up and take down the doctor’s …
Funeral Mass celebrated for Father Christopher Riehl
By Bill Brewer Father Christopher Riehl, a priest of the Diocese of Knoxville who had served in the Diocese of Charlotte for several years, died Nov. 10 from complications related to diabetes. He was 45. A solemn requiem Mass for Father Riehl, who passed away a week shy of his …
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Bishop Stika presides at funeral Mass for Deacon Ken Conklin
By Bill Brewer and Gabrielle Nolan Deacon Ken Conklin, whose story of courage and perseverance in the face of life-threatening illness inspired many within and outside the Diocese of Knoxville, lost his battle with cancer on Nov. 18, a year and two months after Bishop Richard F. Stika advanced his …