News - August 2025 RSS Feed

THE CHANCERY OFFICES IN LAWRENCEVILLE will be closed Friday, August 29, until Tuesday, September 2, in observance of Labor Day.

The Diocese of Trenton will join with dioceses across the nation to take up a collection for The Catholic University of America in Washington, the only institution of higher education founded and operated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at all Masses Sept. 6-7. The university, established in 1870, is a national research institution with more than 5,700 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in more than 250 academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels across 12 colleges and 32 research facilities. It is a research institution devoted to the service of the national and global Church.

As Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton and a life-long Catholic educator, I call upon all clergy and faithful of the Diocese to unite in prayer for the victims, families, and entire community of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, who now face the unimaginable in the wake of yet another school shooting.

AS BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF TRENTON AND A LIFE-LONG CATHOLIC EDUCATOR, I call upon all clergy and faithful of the Diocese to unite in prayer for the victims, families, and entire community of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, who now face the unimaginable in the wake of yet another school shooting.

AS BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF TRENTON AND A LIFE-LONG CATHOLIC EDUCATOR, I call upon all clergy and faithful of the Diocese to unite in prayer for the victims, families, and entire community of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, who now face the unimaginable in the wake of yet another school shooting.

Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics throughout the world to join him in a day of prayer and fasting for peace tomorrow, August 22, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Established as a Marian feast to follow the Solemn Feast of the Assumption by Pope Pius XII in 1954, Pope Leo explained...

Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics throughout the world to join him in a day of prayer and fasting for peace tomorrow, August 22, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. Established as a Marian feast to follow the Solemn Feast of the Assumption by Pope Pius XII in 1954, Pope Leo explained...

The canonization of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Blessed Carlo Acutis, the Church’s first Millennial saint, will be celebrated in the Diocese with a Mass on Sept. 7 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Dominic Church in Brick, home of the Diocesan Shrine of Carlo Acutis.

Entitled "Pilgrimage of Hope for Creation," the day will include a "Hope For Creation Prayer Walk" at 3 p.m. in which attendees will pray as they walk around the parish grounds. At 4:30 p.m., Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will celebrate a Mass for Creation in St. Anselm Church.

Our Church mourns the terrible suffering of Christians and other innocent victims of violence in Gaza and surrounding areas who are struggling to survive, protect their children, and live with dignity in dire conditions. The Holy Father continues to call for a cease fire and for aid to enter the territory, noting with great sorrow that “Gaza is starving.”

Our Church mourns the terrible suffering of Christians and other innocent victims of violence in Gaza and surrounding areas who are struggling to survive, protect their children, and live with dignity in dire conditions. The Holy Father continues to call for a cease fire and for aid to enter the territory, noting with great sorrow that “Gaza is starving.”

Concerns recently surfaced about possible financial improprieties committed against the parish. A preliminary investigation conducted by the parish and officials of the Diocese of Trenton confirmed a basis for these concerns, and the parish and Diocese took immediate steps to address them. These allegations were reported to both local and state law enforcement and civil remedies are being explored in connection with all misappropriated funds. The parish and Diocese are continuing to investigate this matter and have committed full cooperation with law enforcement efforts. As this is a subject of a law enforcement investigation and civil litigation, we are not able to comment further at this time.

Concerns recently surfaced about possible financial improprieties committed against the parish. A preliminary investigation conducted by the parish and officials of the Diocese of Trenton confirmed a basis for these concerns, and the parish and Diocese took immediate steps to address them. These allegations were reported to both local and state law enforcement and civil remedies are being explored in connection with all misappropriated funds. The parish and Diocese are continuing to investigate this matter and have committed full cooperation with law enforcement efforts. As this is a subject of a law enforcement investigation and civil litigation, we are not able to comment further at this time.

From St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to a food pantry in Trenton, young Catholics are living examples of the hope that can only come through faith in Christ. This month, The Monitor recounts the recent Jubilee of Youth as some one million young people gathered in Rome to celebrate with Pope Leo XIV.

In the Diocese of Trenton, Mary Queen of the Assumption is our diocesan patroness and the name of our Cathedral. Permit me, please, to share some reflections about this solemn feast with you.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven falls on Friday this year and remains a pre-eminent Marian feast day that should be honored and remembered. In the Diocese of Trenton, Mary Queen of the Assumption is our diocesan patroness and the name of our Cathedral. Permit me, please, to share some reflections about this solemn feast with you.

History was made recently when Planned Parenthood and other big abortion businesses were banned from receiving federal Medicaid dollars for a period of one year. However, Planned Parenthood sued, and a preliminary injunction was granted by the court that requires taxpayer funding to continue.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is inviting Catholics to join a focused effort of daily prayer through October 1 to stop taxpayer funding of the abortion industry, invoking the intercession of Saint Joseph, Defender of Life.