(Shortly after the funeral Mass for Pope Francis held in St. Peter's Square on April 26, 2025, Archbishop Richard G. Henning spoke to The Pilot from the Pontifical North American College in Rome to share his reflections on the experience. The interview has been edited for length, content and clarity.)
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WEST ROXBURY -- On the evening of April 23, Maureen Noyse went to her home parish of St. Theresa of Avila in West Roxbury to pray for "the best we ever had." She was referring to Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88.
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BRAINTREE -- For his first Easter Triduum as Archbishop of Boston, Archbishop Richard G. Henning decided to join in celebrations of this holiest time in the Christian calendar at various locations throughout the archdiocese.
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CAMBRIDGE -- The night of Mass, adoration, and eucharistic procession at St. Paul Parish in Harvard Square on April 21 was meant to be a joyful kickoff to the Archdiocese of Boston's Eucharistic Congress, taking place through the Octave of Easter.
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This is the fifth article in a series profiling the six men who will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on May 17, 2025. BRIGHTON -- Deacon Peter Dong Huy Pham grew up surrounded by faith.
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BRAINTREE -- Archbishop Richard G. Henning has announced that three Masses will be celebrated in the coming week, where clergy, religious, and laity can pray for Pope Francis and mourn his death. The three Masses were announced on April 21, the same day that the Vatican confirmed the 88-year-old pope's death in Rome. The cause of death was reported to be stroke and heart attack.
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BRAINTREE -- Archbishop Richard G. Henning celebrated the annual Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on April 15. At the Mass, traditionally held in the Archdiocese of Boston on the Tuesday of Holy Week, the sacramental oils are consecrated that will be used to administer sacraments in parishes and shrines throughout the archdiocese in the coming year: the oil of the catechumens, used during baptism; the oil of the infirm, used to anoint the sick; and the sacred chrism, used for baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, and the dedication of churches and altars.
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LAWRENCE -- Flanked on one side of the altar of St. Patrick Parish, Lawrence, stood the imposing image of Our Lady of Altagracia, the patroness of the Dominican Republic. By its side, the blue, red, and white flag of the Caribbean nation.
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BOSTON -- Jesuit Father John Predmore likes to run because "you have to look into people's eyes." "There's no competitors," he said. "There's only really companions on the journey. And so, when we're running, we're running really as a team."
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PEABODY -- It's going to be hard for Shelley Schmeck to say goodbye this May. Schmeck is the advisor of the DECA Club at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody. The club was founded during the 2021-22 school year, and the last of its founding members will graduate in the spring.
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This is the fourth article in a series profiling the six men who will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on May 17, 2025. WESTON -- Deacon Brian Delaney is already used to being called "Father Brian."
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TYNGSBOROUGH -- Jim Robson has always loved collecting. As a child, he collected coins, antique bottles, and photographs. For the past 25 years, he has collected relics of over 100 saints, and artifacts of Christ's life and passion.
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BOSTON -- John Connaughton, co-managing partner at Bain Capital for 37 years, is used to getting "the famous call." The call comes regularly from Peter Lynch, the legendary philanthropist who dedicated the last several decades to supporting the Archdiocese of Boston's Catholic schools. Lynch is renowned for calling his wealthy friends to encourage them to donate to the Catholic Schools Foundation, which provides financial aid to low-income students in Greater Boston.
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BRAINTREE -- The Archdiocese of Boston will host a weeklong Eucharistic Congress from Easter Monday, April 21, to Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, in celebration of the Jubilee Year of 2025, the Octave of Easter and the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis.
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BRAINTREE -- St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Cambridge will celebrate the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis on April 27, Divine Mercy Sunday, as the finale of a weeklong Eucharistic Congress hosted by the Archdiocese of Boston.
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This is the third article in a series profiling the six men who will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on May 17, 2025. BRIGHTON -- Deacon Joseph Thuy Van Nguyen knows that priests are role models of the faith.
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BOSTON -- Agatha Tong has always called herself a "rice Catholic." As a young girl in Hong Kong, missionaries at her local parish provided noodles and other staples to the surrounding community. Her eldest sister attended Catholic school and would tell her family about what she learned. Tong's mother allowed her to attend religious education, and she was baptized at age 10 or 11. She doesn't recall if it was her priest or godmother who gave her the baptismal name of Agatha.
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BRAINTREE -- Catholic theologians and authors Scott Hahn and John Bergsma hosted a daylong retreat at St. Mary Parish in Waltham on April 5. Both men are professors at the Franciscan University of Steubenville and were former Protestant ministers before entering the Catholic Church.
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Archbishop Richard G. Henning and Pope Francis are pledging prayers for the people of the Dominican Republic following the tragic roof collapse at a prominent nightclub that has left over 200 people confirmed killed and hundreds injured.
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BOSTON -- Quinn Cunningham often thinks to himself: "Wouldn't it have been awesome to be an apostle?" "Yeah, it would have been," Cunningham, a 25-year-old graduate student of history at Boston College, told The Pilot. "But also, if Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, just as he was present to the apostles and was friends with them and led them, he still does that today, through encountering him in the Eucharist."
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LAWRENCE -- "Like setting off an atomic bomb." That's how John Capriole described the reaction to the suggestion that there would be no crispelli at this year's feast of the Three Saints in Lawrence. The fried dough pockets with a savory filling have been a staple in northwestern Sicily for millennia.
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FRAMINGHAM -- Joan Bruce doesn't remember the name of every student in her 37 years of teaching at St. Bridget School in Framingham, but she remembers many. During a recent lunch break, Bruce and a new teacher discussed a teacher's aide whose son or grandson Bruce had taught in third grade.
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DORCHESTER -- Jesuit Father Andrea Vicini, chair of the Boston College Theology Department, describes the crisis of climate change in a way that may be familiar to the Boston area. He calls it "a wicked problem."
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This is the second article in a series profiling the six men who will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on May 17, 2025. CHESTNUT HILL -- Deacon Vincenzo Caruso was once a very cynical young man.
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HAVERHILL -- Elaine Barker has always considered herself "a very positive person." She's not the kind of person who lets things faze her, but this time was different. One of her family members "was just not nice at all," and she didn't know who to turn to. After Mass at All Saints Parish in Haverhill, she approached the pastor, Father Christopher Wallace, and asked for his advice. He told her to get in touch with the parish's recently formed Stephen Ministry.
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