Archives for February 2020

February 25, 2020 by Peter Garcia

Jennifer Schack
Director of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Office | 513.263.6618
Cell | 859.512.5626
[email protected]

Release Date: Feb. 25, 2020

The Ultimate Guide to Lent / Ash Wednesday

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati, along with Catholics around the world, will observe Ash Wednesday, on February 26, 2020. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent in the Catholic Church in preparation for Easter (that will fall on April 12 this year). Ash Wednesday is an obligatory day of fasting (one full meal and two smaller meals that together do not add up to the one full meal) and abstinence from meat for Catholics.

This year the Archdiocese has launched a new digital initiative to assist the faithful in their Lenten observance. We are inviting local Catholics to download The Ultimate Guide to Lent – an inspirational and helpful digital guide to having a life-changing Lent. The Guide was produced by The Catholic Telegraph, the media arm of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It includes information on traditional Lenten observances, local Lenten traditions, details about Holy Week, ways to observe Lent as a family, vegetarian recipes and even a recommended movie guide for Lent.

The Guide is part of the Archdiocese’s larger strategy to put a greater emphasis on digital communication. People who sign up for the Ultimate Guide to Lent will also have an option of subscribing to two new digital offers from The Catholic Telegraph: The Daily Divina and The Ember. The Daily Divina is a daily Scripture meditation that is emailed each day and reflective of part of the daily Mass readings. The Ember is a weekly source of news and inspiration that local Catholics will find relatable and timely. These two products were launched in January and have seen great growth in subscription over the last several weeks.

Dominick Albano, oversees the new initiatives. was hired in 2019 at the Archdiocese of Cincinnati as the Director of Digital Engagement. “The Ultimate Guide to Lent is something totally new from the Catholic Telegraph. We designed it to be beautiful, inspirational, and helpful. It’s got everything you need to have a truly life-changing Lent,” said Albano. “The Archdiocese is trying to do something different by offering these digital products in order to reach more people where they are, inspire them and help them in their daily faith lives.”

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 44th largest Catholic diocese in the country, with more than 450,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 211 parishes and 111 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

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February 18, 2020 by Peter Garcia

Jennifer Schack
Director of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Office | 513.263.6618
Cell | 859.512.5626
[email protected]

Release Date: February 18, 2020

New Director of Cemeteries

Thomas Jordan has been hired as the new Director of Cemeteries at Gate of Heaven and Calvary Cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Mr. Jordan is a member of the Catholic Cemetery Conference (CCC) and arrives at the Archdiocese of Cincinnati after more than ten years managing Our Lady Queen of Peace Cemetery in the Diocese of Palm Beach. Jordan began employment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in January, 2020.

The previous Director of Cemeteries, Debra Crane, retired last month. Crane had been the Director since 2011. During her years of service, Gate of Heaven Cemetery underwent several renovations and expansions, including the cemetery’s first indoor columbarium, featuring glass-front niches, providing families a new way to personalize and celebrate their loved one’s memory while reflecting the Catholic Church’s desire for the prayerful reverence of cremated remains. The Archdiocese is grateful for her years of service and leadership.

Jordan is a Pennsylvania native, but has lived in Florida since 1987. He moved to Ohio with his wife, Bridget, one of his three daughters, and his father-in-law. “It is a great blessing to join this dedicated team in serving the Archdiocese of Cincinnati community. We are committed to continuing to provide the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and to always striving to enrich our ministry and our relevance in the lives of those whom we serve,” said Jordan.

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February 15, 2020 by Peter Garcia

by Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr

Eight students at Wright State University came into the Catholic Church this past Easter with the help of Campus Ministry. Six men and six women ministered to by our archdiocesan Prison Ministry also came into the Catholic Church last spring. On Dec. 26, I myself had the joy of conferring the rites of baptism and confirmation at the Lebanon Correctional Facility in Warren County.

In 2019, nine seminarians were ordained to preach and administer the sacraments as priests of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the largest ordination class for the local Church in four decades.

Catholic Charities Southwest Ohio and Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley served more than 5 million meals to people who otherwise might have gone hungry. And Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley continues to lead efforts in disaster recovery in the wake of tornadoes that ripped through Dayton.

What all this otherwise-unrelated good news of 2019 has in common is that each achievement was made possible in part by generous contributors to the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) – and that is only part of what the ministries funded by the CMA do.

CMA-supported ministries help the most vulnerable among us every day, including expectant mothers, the elderly, those with mental health challenges, refugees, the sick and families. In addition to Catholic Charities and Catholic Social Services; Campus, Hospital and Prison Ministries; and the Seminary and Vocations, those ministries include St. Rita School for the Deaf; Retired Archdiocesan Priests and Senior Clergy; and New Evangelization programming to share our love of the faith and proclaim the Gospel message.

The CMA ministries together help to meet not only the material needs of God’s people, but the spiritual and educational ones as well. That kind of charity has been part of the Christian mission since apostolic days. St. Paul collected funds for the poor and for the Church of Jerusalem during his missionary journeys. While that may seem unremarkable today, it was unique in the ancient world. Until then, it was unheard of for individuals to help others they did not personally know. St. Paul and his collaborators in mission did so because they saw Christ in those in need.

The episcopal motto I chose when I became a bishop is “Seek the Face of the Lord,” from which the title of this column is drawn. Christians have always practiced acts of charity – notably the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy – because they see the face of Christ in others.

The theme for this year’s Catholic Ministries Appeal, Together for the Faith of the Gospel, reflects the reality that together we can do so much more for others in spiritual and material need than we can do as individuals acting alone. Nor could any of the ministries of the local Church survive without our combined contributions of time, talent and treasure.

The local Church is the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, with its 450,000 members. However, we join together as a worshipping community in our parishes. For that reason, the CMA collection is parish-based. Parishes that raise more than their goal each year receive back half of the excess to support their own ministries. In 2019, for example, 90 parishes met or exceeded their goal, causing a total of $330,000 to be remitted to them.

More than 24,000 families participated in the CMA last year. I am deeply grateful for their generosity. But consider how much more good work the ministries involved could do if even 2,000 or 4,000 more families contributed!

With that in mind, I invite you to donate to the CMA this year, especially if you have not done so in the past. No gift is too small. Through the CMA, we can make a big difference in the lives of others Together for the Faith of the Gospel.

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February 12, 2020 by Peter Garcia

Jennifer Schack
Director of Media Relations
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Office | 513.263.6618
Cell | 859.512.5626
[email protected]

Release Date: Feb. 12, 2020

Director of Music Retiring after Decades of Service

Anthony DiCello has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2020, as director of music at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

DiCello has served the archdiocese for nearly 40 years. Since 1994, DiCello has been the director of music at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. Since 2016, he has also served as Archdiocesan Director of Music. From 1984 through 2016, DiCello was a professor of music and the director of music at the Athenaeum of Ohio/Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary of the West. Prior to his ministry in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, DiCello served in similar roles for the Dioceses of Dallas and the Diocese of Youngstown.

DiCello’s contributions to the Catholic Church in Southwest Ohio, as well as the musical arts community of Cincinnati are numerous, and he will be greatly missed. In addition to directing a highly-esteemed cathedral music program, DiCello has also led efforts in forming and training other music ministers in the archdiocese. In 2008, DiCello was named Pastoral Musician of the Year by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.

“Under Tony’s direction, liturgical music at the Cathedral and across our archdiocese has powerfully enhanced the beauty and dignity of the Church’s worship. I thank him for his years of service to our archdiocese and for sharing his talents with the Lord and His Church,” said Archbishop Dennis Schnurr.

“I have known Tony since I was a seminary student, when he was my teacher. For the last several years I have had the privilege of ministering with him at our cathedral. He will be greatly missed and I wish him well in his retirement. He has set a high bar and leaves a lasting legacy,” said Fr. Jan Schmidt, rector of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral.

Reflecting on his career, DiCello says, “Serving in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati over the last four decades has been incredibly rewarding, the best years of my professional life.” DiCello will continue working full-time in his current roles until his retirement. The search for his replacement will begin immediately.

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