SAN BERNARDINO—The Ministry to Family and Friends with Gay and Lesbian Catholics hosted its second annual Advent Mass and potluck on Dec. 9 at the Diocesan Pastoral Center.

By Natalie Romano

 More than a month after their brush with death, a Riverside couple that survived the Las Vegas tragedy is now leaning on their Catholic faith to help them cope. Greg Speer, who serves as president of the Pastoral Council at St. Andrew’s Newman Center, took a bullet to the back during America’s deadliest mass shooting. His wife of 30 years was unharmed.

BOSTON, MA—Bishop Gerald Barnes was one of 12 bishops from around the world invited to participate in a two-day reflection and discussion of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”) at Boston College.

The Diocese holds its first ever Care for Creation Day to highlight Pope Francis’ call to environmental stewardship

By John Andrews
Editor

BIG BEAR—Under clear blue skies, majestic evergreens and with periodic appearances of various winged and four-legged creatures, it wasn’t hard for this group of church ministers and Catholic school students to stop and consider the beauty and importance of God’s creation.

By Malie Hudson

 Every fall marks a special time of the year when Catholics and people of all faiths are invited to a series of special Masses – Red, Blue and White – to pray and bless those serving in the legal community, public safety and healthcare professions, respectively. 

On Oct. 22, Our Lady of Solitude Catholic Church in Palm Springs held a four-day celebration of the visit of Our Lady of Saint John of the Lakes, concluding with a special Mass for which Bishop Gerald Barnes was the principal celebrant. The statue is second only to Our Lady of Guadalupe among the most popular images of the Virgin Mary in Mexico.