Most Reverend John Jeremiah McRaith, Bishop of the Diocese of Owensboro from 1982 to 2009, died the morning of Sunday, March 19, 2017 at the age of 82. John was born in Hutchinson, Minnesota on December 6, 1934 to Arthur Luke McRaith and Marie Hanley McRaith. He grew up with three siblings; James, Jane and…

The Diocese of Owensboro is pleased to announce the hiring of Joseph (Joe) Bland as Director of the Office of Evangelization, effective March 15, 2017. The Office of Evangelization was conceived through the 2016-2018 Pastoral Plan for the diocese. One of the strategies within the goal of “Foster a sense of discipleship among Catholics of…

The Diocese of Owensboro will be host to the traveling replica of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima on Monday, April 24 through Wednesday, April 26. This comes to the diocese through the Fatima Tour for Peace, led by the World Apostolate of Fatima U.S.A. This event is in celebration of 100 years since Our…

Mensaje del obispo en español. My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, In recent months, but most especially in recent days, our nation’s attention has been focused on the reality of our more than 11.1 million undocumented immigrants. Our new president asserts that following his election, our country is expecting intensified enforcement of immigration laws.…

At least ten congregations, representing at least six Christian denominations, will come together for an Ecumenical Celebration of the Word of God on Thursday, January 19, 2017. The service, which will be held as part of the area’s observance of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, will take place at St. Stephen Cathedral, 610 Locust Street beginning…

St. Joseph in Bowling Green, KY December 11: Procession at 4 p.m., Dances at 5 p.m., Mass at 8 p.m. and “Mañanitas” (Marian Hymns) at 11 p.m. December 12: Solemn Mass at 7 a.m.  Sts. Joseph and Paul in Owensboro, KY December 12: “Mañanitas” at 4 a.m., Solemn Mass at 7 p.m., followed by community…

The Catholic Men’s Conference of Western Kentucky will host their sixth annual conference at the RiverPark Center in downtown Owensboro on February 11, 2017.   The keynote speaker will be His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York.

Andy Day will address ‘missionary discipleship’ as living vocation By Elizabeth Wong Barnstead, The Western Kentucky Catholic Andy Day “seriously considered” a call to the priesthood in his early twenties. Though he later discerned that this he was called instead to the lay vocation, Day says that no matter where God calls us, “living as…

‘Admonishing the sinner’ done in light of God’s love By Elizabeth Wong Barnstead, The Western Kentucky Catholic It’s no secret that “admonish the sinner” – a spiritual work of mercy ranked with the 14 other corporal and spiritual works of mercy – is one of the tougher works to correctly grasp. Nevertheless, Msgr. Bernard Powers,…

Open to All High School Students in Diocese Brescia University, the only Catholic university in the Diocese of Owensboro, is pleased to bring a youth theology institute for high school students to the diocese. This institute, “Living and Leading with Love” (L3), is made possible through a grant from the Lilly Endowment.

Governor Matt Bevin announced today the creation of the Criminal Justice Policy Assessment Council, a 23-member panel, which includes Bishop William F. Medley.

The Diocese of Owensboro is pleased to announce it has received a matching gift donation for VOCARE 2016. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has agreed to donate $50,000 if the Diocese of Owensboro raises $50,000 in support of VOCARE 2016, the event of the year for the Diocese. This means any donation made…

Two weeks after her high school graduation, Mary Margaret Drury began a career with the Diocese of Owensboro, Ky., that has spanned 50 years and counting.  As the oldest of 12 children from West Louisville, Ky., Drury attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy and graduated on May 27, 1966.  The moments leading up to her gaining…

Fresh, ‘responsive design’ will better serve unique needs of western Kentucky faithful The Diocese of Owensboro recently launched a new website and smartphone app to better serve the Catholics of western Kentucky and reach out to those who wish to renew their faith or have an interest in the Catholic Church.

“Everything is going to be OK,” is exactly what you do not say to a friend or loved one undergoing a divorce, says Rose Sweet, a Catholic author and speaker who has been through the pain of divorce herself.

This column originally ran in the March 2016 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic under ‘A Word from Bishop Medley.’  My dear people of God, I am often asked the question, “Why do you remain a Roman Catholic?” You may pause to think that someone would ask this question of a bishop. But the context…