Special needs community celebrates with day of faith and fun

Diocese of Knoxville hosts inaugural ‘Bishop’s Very Special Day on the Sacred Heart Cathedral campus By Gabrielle Nolan Members of the special needs community from around the Diocese of Knoxville enjoyed a day of fellowship, frivolity, and faith-based activities for the recent “Bishop’s Very Special Day.” The first-time event, which …

Bishop Stika dedicates St. Mary-Gatlinburg’s new parish life center

Recently completed project fulfills 5-year plan By Dan McWilliams Bishop Richard F. Stika dedicated the new parish life center at St. Mary Church in Gatlinburg on Aug. 22, blessing a building that will give the growing parish space for CCD classes, offices, and more. The dedication followed the 11 a.m. …

Diocese to celebrate families and children with special needs

‘Bishop’s Very Special Day’ will be held Sept. 25 on the Sacred Heart Cathedral campus; Mass to follow             By Gabrielle Nolan The Diocese of Knoxville will host a day for families, adults, and children with special needs at the parish hall and pavilion of the Cathedral of the Most …

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Chosen for the order of the priesthood

Fr. Matthew Donahue becomes the 56th priest ordained for the Diocese of Knoxville By Dan McWilliams To hear Lydia Donahue tell it, it’s no wonder her son Matthew became a priest, with all of the Catholic vocation examples he has had in his life. “First is Father David Mary Engo, …

St. Joseph the Worker honored by St. Joseph the Worker

In a year dedicated to the father of Jesus, Bishop Stika confirms youth of namesake parish By Bill Brewer For 16 confirmands at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Madisonville, and scores of others at churches throughout the Diocese of Knoxville during this confirmation season, being compared to the Apostles …

Diocese of Knoxville’s V Encuentro plan complete

Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry ready to be implemented after five-year effort to develop it By Bill Brewer The Diocese of Knoxville’s Latino community on June 26 marked the successful compilation of a new pastoral plan for Hispanic Ministry that has been in the works for five years as part …

Bishop Stika leaves Latin Masses in place pending diocesan review

By Bill Brewer Diocese of Knoxville priests who celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite can still do so, and those Latin Mass communities in the diocese can continue to worship in diocesan churches, at least for the time being, according to guidance from Bishop Richard F. …

The language of love

Regional accents can highlight distinctions, but communicating with affection brings everyone together            By Bill Brewer Older confirmands were again front and center in the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Pentecost Sunday after a year hiatus due to COVID-19 as Bishop Richard F. Stika welcomed the …

Church building on horizon at St. Alphonsus

Crossville parish gets go-ahead to proceed with plans By Dan McWilliams Parishioners of St. Alphonsus have been gathering for Mass for nearly 18 years in a building dedicated as a parish life center in 2003, but after a February meeting with Bishop Richard F. Stika, representatives of the Crossville Catholic …

‘He is risen’

Saving us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit By Bill Brewer Easter Masses were again teeming with people two years after pews were last full for the holiest of liturgical celebrations. And the Catholic Church in East Tennessee welcomed nearly 200 new members who joined …

Bishop Stika celebrates 35th anniversary of priestly ordination

‘The priesthood of Jesus Christ: it’s not only carrying the cross, it’s carrying the Eucharist. And that is a beautiful thing’ By Bill Brewer Bishop Richard F. Stika marked the 35th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on Dec. 14, a date that is forever ingrained in his memory, …

Bishop Stika’s decision on Communion upheld by Pope Francis

Holy See supports restriction, now lifted, for receiving Eucharist on the tongue due to COVID-19 By Jim Wogan The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has supported Bishop Richard F. Stika’s decision last year, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, to suspend the distribution of …