Your Stories

From the processional to the final blessing, Matthew Gregory says every step of his ordination to the transitional diaconate was “awesome.”

Ashley Pezanowski loves to figure skate, is an avid Disney fan, and is studying to be an electrical engineer

“Yellow and green make brown.” Six-year-old Kara is a budding artist. “I love painting. I like making stuff,” she says.

“I have never doubted this is where God was calling me, never doubted.” Beatrice Caron says she is confident that she is following the path that God laid out for her.

“I’ve never been happier.  I have never been happier!” Father Steven Cartwright says it’s hard to put into words what he was experiencing when Bishop Robert Deeley laid hands on him and prayed the prayer of ordination

When Father William Campbell, S.J., was discerning his vocation to the priesthood as a college student in the late 1980s, he says there was only one path that felt right for him.

 “The only words we’re going to use are: ‘Be still and know that I am God.’” Sister Aline Plante, P.M., leads a contemplative retreat for women at the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center in Biddeford.

The T-shirts they wear say it all:  “Churches united in love.”  For 21 years, volunteers from faith communities throughout the Fairfield and Benton area have been coming together to provide food for those who are struggling.

It’s never too late to realize your dreams. That’s the idea behind the Maine Health Care Association’s Live Your Dream Awards, presented to residents living in long-term care facilities across the state.

At a friend’s urging, Sister Aurelie Michaud, D.W., responded to God’s call and entered the Daughters of Wisdom upon finishing high school in Saint Agatha.  

“Hi, have you been here before?” When Naomi Reeh spots an unfamiliar face in the Newman Center at the University of Maine at Orono, she doesn’t hesitate to go over and say hello.

“I bless heaven for the success of this wonderful Catholic school.”– Bishop James Healy, second Bishop of Portland, 1888.

“What can we do to help each other?” That question posed by one principal to another has led to a budding partnership between the diocese’s two York County Catholic schools.

Who is considered to be the first martyr of the Church? Which pope started the Second Vatican Council?

“It’s only been six months, but it’s been incredible.” When Rachel Huber was offered the second-grade teaching position at All Saints Catholic School in Bangor, she didn’t hesitate.

When Pat Lissandrello and Terry Oliver first got together, they both admit to feeling a bit uneasy.

At one point in her life, Christine Savage says she didn’t take her faith seriously at all. But inspired by her father and moved by the Holy Spirit, she says God came rushing back in.

Two-year-old Liliana couldn’t seem to decide what she wanted to do first –cradle a doll, prepare for tea, or guide a wooden train through a tiny tunnel.

 “We commit ourselves to exercise the spiritual and corporal works of Mercy, revealed to us through the life of Jesus.”  – Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

Through the grace of God, even the tiniest among us can have an immeasurable impact on those around them.

With studies, sports, and social activities, high school students’ schedules are often packed full.  Joan Fasulo, who recently graduated second in her class from Catherine McAule

Ten Lessons for Pastoral Leaders from St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis

“She’s amazing! I can’t imagine my life without her.” Debbie Guiggey says ever since her daughter Kayla was a baby, she has had a way of brightening the darkest day.

With classes, commitments, cell phones, and social media, where does faith fit into a high school student’s life?

Sister Anne Fitzpatrick, RSM, receives warm greetings as she moves along the corridors of the Saint Joseph’s Rehabilitation & Residence in Portland.

On Sunday April 27, Pope Francis proclaimed two popes saints in the presence of another pope, Benedict XVI—two historic firsts. 

Madawaska is a town of approximately 3000 residents.  Nearby Van Buren has a population of just under 2000.   But this August, streets, inns, and spare bedrooms will be packed with visitors...

May 30 was a day Kyle Doustou has eagerly anticipated since he was a boy of eight or nine.   On that day, at the Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul in Lewiston, he became the first priest to be ordained by Bishop Robert P. Deeley.

A few weeks before Pope Francis’s election as the new pope I had completed a book I had been researching on St. Francis of Assisi and the New Evangelization.

Those are familiar words to students at Saint Dominic Academy’s elementary school campus.

Welcome to Maine! Congratulations!  Those were the greetings repeated from Kittery to Fort Kent as parishioners extended a hand, shared a laugh or took a photograph with Bishop Robert P. Deeley as he began visits to parishes across the state.

The saint most beloved besides the Blessed Virgin Mary herself  is no doubt Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Revered by Catholics and by many who have no religious faith...

Bishop Robert Peter Deeley, J.C.D., says it is with “great joy” that he begins his service as the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Portland.

They were words, spoken by Bishop Richard Malone, that Catholics throughout the Diocese of Portland had waited 19 months to hear. 

The saint most beloved besides the Blessed Virgin Mary herself  is no doubt Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Revered by Catholics and by many who have no religious faith, his sparkling, joyous personality has made religious faith seem attractive and important.

The saint most beloved besides the Blessed Virgin Mary herself  is no doubt Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Revered by Catholics and by many who have no religious faith

When Dr. Kevin Birch sits down at the keyboard of Hook Opus #288 pipe organ at St. John Church in Bangor, it is most often to lead the Sunday congregation in prayer and song.

For the past 81 years, Leo Desjardins has attended St. Louis Church in Auburn. It is why he did not want to miss the final Mass.

“It feels good to me, like home.” Stephanie, age 34, has been living at the McAuley Residence in Portland for the past few months.

At age 87, Colleen Martin makes sure she keeps her mind active. She reads a book each day, gets the daily newspaper, subscribes to TIME magazine, and loves to engage in political debate.

With each of the folding chairs in the main hall at the American Legion occupied by parishioners, a handful of people were happy to stand against walls and even in the adjoining kitchen as a special Mass began in the town of Jackman on Sunday, July 7.

“It’s so exciting that this is actually happening,” says Jeff Tiner, chief operating officer for Catholic Charities Maine...

“They’re amazing.” Shelly Carpenter, the director of faith formation at 
St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Sanford, is effusive in her praise of two teenagers she has had the pleasure of getting to know through their involvement in youth ministry.

The Neuhaus family has been waiting for a phone call for nearly a year. Their van sits ready, fully packed. As the seasons change, so does the clothing, from T-shirts to sweaters and then back to T-shirts again.