Historic Guadalupe pilgrimage cancelled over COVID (AP) Mexico’s Roman Catholic Church announced the cancellation Monday of what’s considered the world’s largest Catholic pilgrimage, for the Virgin of Guadalupe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mexico’s Episcopal Conference said in a statement that the basilica will be closed from December 10-13. The Virgin is celebrated on Dec. 12 and for weeks in advance, pilgrims travel from across Mexico to gather by the millions in Mexico City…

They welcomed dozens for Thanksgiving. Now what? (The New York Times) Ever since the sons were in elementary school, [the Sanders] have hosted Thanksgiving in their cozy two-story house on a cul-de-sac in this suburb of South Bend. The guest list has included almost every lonely Black freshman enrolled at Notre Dame, a school where only about 3 percent of the 8,600 or so undergraduates are African-American. More than 60 people packed into the house last year to share nearly 50 dishes, each of which [is] documented in a handwritten list. But this year, the house will be mostly empty, save for the immediate family…

Seminarians serve others amid pandemic (CNS) A century ago, seminarians from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood helped bury Philadelphia’s dead in the global Spanish influenza pandemic. This year, the young men of St. Charles are helping to keep hungry people alive during the current COVID-19 pandemic…

Maryknoll lay missioner continues work of martyred women of El Salvador (CNS) Putting the words of the Gospel into action was always an important part of Melissa Altman’s Catholic family in Pennsylvania. Some of her childhood experiences of that family cornerstone came from a great uncle, a Maryknoll priest, who ignited the kindling of a spiritual fire that led her down the road to learn more about the life and experiences of missioners…

Mental health council praises Bishop Conley’s candor (CNA) When Catholic bishops and leaders share their experiences with mental illness, it encourages other Catholics to seek help and to know that recovery is possible, a national Catholic group has said. In a statement issued Monday, the National Catholic Partnership on Disability’s Council on Mental Illness applauded Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska “on his complete candor regarding his recent experience of coping with mental illness…”

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