St. Peter Claver
...to Mother Katharine Drexel to inform her that he had secured a priest to minister to the Black Catholics in Philadelphia.[1] There had been a growing need for a dedicated ministry for some time. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Black Catholics did not have a church of their own
Jubilees and Holy Years
...t exactly is a Jubilee? The first Jubilee was instituted by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. Initially occurring every 100 years, the tradition was shortened to every 25 years, starting with the Jubilee of 1450. The last ordinary jubilee was the Great Jubilee of 2000, which also happened to celebrate
Saint John Neumann and the Forty Hours Devotion
...in the tomb. Not long after, the practice spread to Rome by way of Saint Philip Neri and was celebrated on the first Sunday of every month. Subsequent popes expanded the practice to all churches in Rome and Saint Ignatius Loyola and the Society of Jesus spread the practice around
Monsignor Francis X. Meehan
..., to name a few. Monsignor Meehan would remain here until 2007, when he retired. During his time at Simon and Jude, Meehan was named Honorary Prelate of His Holiness Pope John Paul II on March 24, 2003. Monsignor Meehan passed away on July 2, 2011. Aside from being a