LENTEN ABSTINENCE FROM MEAT. In accordance with Canon Law, the Lenten Friday abstinence from meat is dispensed on this Friday, March 25, 2022, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (canon 1251: Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.)

The people of war-torn Ukraine will be remembered by the faithful in the Diocese of Trenton March 31 when Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrates a livestreamed Mass for Peace in Ukraine at 7 p.m. in St. Joseph Church, part of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Keyport. The Mass will be livestreamed at youtube.com/trentondiocese. St. Joseph Church is located at 376 Maple Place, Keyport. For reporting on these events and ongoing coverage of the war against Ukraine, visit TrentonMonitor.com/Ukrainian-crisis

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will celebrate the 12:10 p.m. Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton -- the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord -- Friday, March 25, at which time he will unite in prayer with the Holy Father as he consecrates Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  All are welcome to attend.  The Mass will be live-streamed on youtube.com/trentondiocese.

I remember with great fondness my visit to Ukraine during my tenure as president of The Catholic University of America and my tour of the Catholic University you served so well there.  I remain grateful to you for that cherished memory which has created a special bond in my heart with Ukraine and its people in these difficult days.

Hundreds of thousands of Catholics will gather in churches across the four counties of the Diocese of Trenton March 2 to commemorate Ash Wednesday, receive their ashes and begin the 40-day penitential season of Lent. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will celebrate Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, beginning at 12:10 p.m.  Ashes will be distributed to the congregants. All are welcome.

After a multi-year preparation effort and an 18-month intensive evaluation process, 31 elementary and secondary Catholic schools in the Diocese of Trenton have been re-accredited through Cognia, an international firm that evaluates and issues findings on all manner of education outlets.

A memo from the Diocese’s Catholic schools superintendent, Dr. Vincent de Paul Schmidt, was sent Feb. 10 to all Catholic school administrators in the Diocese of Trenton. 

The Catholic Bishops of New Jersey join to express our profound disappointment and deep concern about the passage of S49/A6260 - - the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, which codifies into state law an individual’s right to an abortion, including late-term abortions. This law departs from the fundamental Catholic teaching that all life is sacred from conception to natural death. Even more distressing is that the legal and ethical calculus that underlies this new legislation absolutely and forthrightly extinguishes the human and moral identity of the unborn child. Perhaps the legislators who rushed through this Act in the waning moments of their terms did not want citizens to understand fully its inhuman and lethal consequences.

The Catholic Bishops of New Jersey have promulgated a letter to all Catholics and people of good will concerning legislation currently before the State Senate and Assembly for a vote that would be a direct assault on the sanctity of life.

The New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC) is calling on Catholics and all people of good will to urge their state elected officials to vote “no” on S49/A6260, legislation which effectively serves as a replacement to the Reproductive Freedom Act (RFA). The RFA was a controversial bill introduced in October 2020 that would have expanded abortion services in New Jersey to include late-term abortions, state-funding for abortions, mandating health insurance coverage for abortion services, and allowing for non-physician medical providers to perform abortions, all of which the NJCC vigorously opposed.

On Dec. 14, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., conveyed an appeal from leaders in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as relief work begins in Kentucky and other states that suffered an incalculable toll from the recent outbreak of tornadoes. 

Catholics of the Diocese of Trenton will be called to Catholics of the Diocese of Trenton will be called join their brothers and sisters across the globe in praying for and supporting the missionary work of the Church as part of the annual observance of World Mission Sunday Oct. 24. 

The New Jersey Catholic Bishops issued a provincial statement today recognizing September as “National Recovery Month.” In the statement, the bishops celebrate those who have achieved recovery and announce the release of new resources to help parishes and other Catholic organizations that seek to serve those who continue to suffer from various forms of addiction.

Returning once again to its annual commissioning of catechists for ministry to the community, the Church will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on Sept. 19 with the theme of “Say the Word and My Soul Shall Be Healed.”

Catholic Relief Services recently expressed gratitude to the Diocese for its generous support of the 2021 Rice Bowl Program in a Sept. 7 letter to Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.

Remembrance of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, has drawn communities together in prayer throughout the Diocese of Trenton for nearly two decades. This year as the nation marks 20 years since 9/11, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., invites the faithful and all people of good will to join in an online prayer service on the diocesan YouTube channel.

Remembrance of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, has drawn communities together in prayer throughout the Diocese of Trenton for nearly two decades. This year as the nation marks 20 years since 9/11, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., invites the faithful and all people of good will to join in an online prayer service on the diocesan YouTube channel.

Seven parishes and agencies which serve the people of the Diocese of Trenton in diverse ways were awarded a total of $10,000 in grants from the 2021 Bishop George W. Ahr Endowment Fund. The fund, named for the seventh bishop of the Diocese, presents annual grants for projects which provide services for the poor and vulnerable population in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.