Father Gregory Galvin, Director of Priestly Vocations Each year we celebrate the start of November with the feast of All Saints, followed by the feast of All Souls Day. This month also marks the celebration of Thanksgiving, while the end of the month closes the calendar year of the Church with the Feast of Christ the King. These occasions are opportunities for us to deepen our spiritual lives. November also gives us an opportunity to renew the gift of silence in our own lives, particularly in prayer and reflection. Silence assists in opening the soul to God. As we bec...

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Vocations, Norwich, Catholic

By Ryan Blessing Photos by Jackson Morrison They respond to fires, accidents and medical emergencies and put their own lives on the line at times while doing so. That selfless dedication shown by firefighters and EMS personnel, at all hours of the day and in all kinds of conditions, received praise and thanks at the 27th annual Diocesan Mass in their honor, held Saturday, October 19 at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich. Firefighters and ambulance crews love a parade, and the procession before the Mass from Chelsea Parade to the Cathedral included trucks from...

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Norwich, Mass, Catholic

    "The pleas of gravely ill persons who sometimes ask for death are not to be understood as implying a true desire for euthanasia; in fact it is almost always a case of an anguished plea for help and love. What a sick person needs, besides medical care, is love, the human and supernatural warmth with which the sick person can and ought to be surrounded by those close to him or her, parents and children, doctors and nurses."[283]     The sick person who feels surrounded by a loving human and Christian presence does not give way to...

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FCC News Desk Here's a recap of some of the developments that took place this week at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. To read more, click on the link under the text.   New USCCB President, Vice-president Elected Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) during the Fall General Assembly in Baltimore. Archbishop Gomez has served as vice president of the Conference since 2016. Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit was elected as USCCB vice president. Both th...

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Bishop, Conference, Catholic

FCC News Desk On November 3rd the St. Andrew Parish family worked together to pack 21,600 meals to send to the Philippines. It was a wonderful intergenerational service day with the pastor, Father Marek Masnicki, parochial vicar, Father Richard Breton, and Deacon, Michael Puscas, all working alongside parishioners from small children to the elderly.  Parishioners were also joined by Father Brian Maxwell. Under the direction of Harvest Pack, this took only about one hour from start to finish. There were parishioners from nearly all ministries and all grade...

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Norwich, Catholic

  Dear Faithful Readers . . .  Once a year we appeal to your generosity to help defray the production costs of our print, online, and email newsletter editions of the Four County Catholic.  Thank you in advance for responding to our annual appeal. We are grateful for your generous support, prayers, and encouragement. Your help makes it possible for us to continue bringing the good news from around the diocese to you. In the past year, we have expanded our online presence on the NorwichDiocese.org website with the addition of Photo and Video G...

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, Communications

By Liza Roach Christmas is right around the corner. Do you feel like I do – behind already?  You have to make sure the house is decorated, the crèche is out for all to see, the Christmas tree is up in all its glory, the wreath on the door looks festive and inviting, and let’s not forget buying presents for everyone you know in the world!  Overwhelmed enough yet?  We can’t forget to take the perfect family picture for the all-important Christmas Card!  If yours looks like mine, the dog is licking my face as I am reaching down to pick ...

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advent, FaithSparks

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a common religious experience involving children and adults in which the religious values of childhood, primarily those values of contemplation and enjoyment of God, are predominant. This experience is shared in a place particularly prepared for the religious life of children called the Atrium. Join us on Saturday, December 7 St. Patrick Church, Mystic 9 am-12 pm Come learn new “hands on” methods and techniques to help children come to know God personally. Come listen to catechists speak about the techniques ...

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Bishop Cote, (on the right of the photo) along with other New England Bishops, met with Pope Francis in the papal library. The two-hour meeting took place on November 7th as part of the “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to pray at the tombs of the apostles and report on the status of their dioceses.  By Cindy Wooden Catholic Herald Bishops from New England have shared with Pope Francis some of the joys, challenges and sufferings of the church in the Northeast and, really, throughout the United States, bishops said. Nearing the end of their “...

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Norwich, Catholic, Pope

FCC News Desk St. Joseph School in North Grosvenordale recently held its inaugural Holiday Shopping Event in conjunction with a morning breakfast on Sunday, November 3. Altogether, there were 24 local vendors that attracted numerous breakfast patrons for a head start on the holiday shopping season.  Vendors had their merchandise for sale from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., while the breakfast was held in the school cafeteria from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Net proceeds from the Breakfast/Holiday Shopping Event totaled $3,829. “As with other fun...

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Norwich, Catholic