Pope Francis unveils plan for Vatican to go solar

Vatican City, Oct 25, 2017 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For one member of “the Pope’s Choir,” the Catholic Church, while appreciating sacred music, has in some respects lost the art of singing it in her parishes, prompting the need for a revival of traditional style across the world.

“Coming from the UK, I’m used to a choral tradition, it’s a great Anglican tradition,” Mark Spyropoulos told CNA, noting that much of the sacred music they sing is written for great Catholic choirs, but “generally, across Europe at least, we’ve lost touch with that.”

“The cathedrals are mostly silent,” he said, and while the Vatican is an exception, “from a personal stance, as a choral singer, I would like to see that tradition revived” in Catholic choirs “because it’s absolutely wonderful.”

Originally from London, Spyropoulos has been a member of the Sistine Chapel Choir for two and a half years, and is the first person from Britain to join the choir, which just returned from a tour in the United States, the first in 30 years, which included stops in Washington D.C., New York and Detroit.

“I would like to see our touring also promote something of a revival of great Catholic choirs,” he said.
 
He was present for the Oct. 24 presentation of the choir’s annual CD, which this year is titled “Veni Domine: Advent and Christmas at the Sistine Chapel.”

When it comes to sacred music, Spyropoulos said he believes it has “a huge place” in the Church, and has much to offer, even outside of an ecclesial context.

Sacred music, he said, “puts young singers in touch with their history, their culture, and it’s an inspirational thing to do, not just to be part of it, but to hear it.”

Whenever the choir sings, “our intention is that it should inspire people, that people would listen to it and be transported away from the mundane and the banal, and that their minds would be directed to something that is spiritual, beautiful and transcendent,” he said.

The singer shared that in his experience, there isn’t just a need for sacred music, but also a desire for it, because “when we sing, people seem to be amazed.”

Simply being “the Pope’s choir” is enough to attract people, Spyropoulos said, while adding that there also seems to be “more than that” fueling peoples’ interest.

“This music has such a deep power to it,” he said. Using the image of a fresco as an example, he said that when people look at one, “it’s incredibly beautiful, but when you sing this music it’s not like looking at a fresco, it’s like being in a fresco, it’s like being painted in it – you have to create it, and people listen to that.”

Recalling the choir’s recent tour of the United States, the singer said each of their venues were packed, and that highlights from the trip for him were singing in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, where they got “a standing ovation from thousands of people, that was wonderful.”

He also reflected on singing Evensong in the Anglican parish of St. Thomas on First Avenue, which he said was “a very special moment” given his own background and formation in the Anglican choral tradition.

The people they met in each city, he said, “were so kind and so generous to us all the way through… we were really welcomed so warmly. We had a great time.”

While no official plans have been made, Spyropoulos said there are rumors the choir will return to the U.S., perhaps traveling along the West Coast.

[…]

Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Latin Rite archbishop of Lviv, Ukraine. / Aid to the Church in Need.

Rome Newsroom, Feb 23, 2022 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
A Catholic archbishop has emphasized God’s power over Ukraine’s worsening crisis with Russia, ur… […]

Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb 15, 2021 / 04:47 pm (CNA).- Four Catholic elementary schools will merge to form two schools for the school year beginning in fall 2021, the Diocese of Pittsburgh has said, as the local bishop stressed their continued importance.
 
“Catholic schools are vital to the future of both our Church and our world,” Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh said Feb. 12. “They educate minds, hearts, and spirits, teaching the value of service as they prepare young people to become productive citizens and future leaders.”
 
“Each day I thank God for all who faithfully support our Catholic schools,” said Zubik. “They serve our students, our diocese, and Jesus himself.”
 
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary school in Pleasant Hills will merge with Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin in Whitehall. The Saint Gabriel campus will serve as the main site of the merged school.
 
Saint Phillip school in Crafton will merge with Saint Margaret of Scotland school in Green Tree, whose campus will serve the merged school.
 
Father David Poecking, president of South Regional Catholic Elementary Schools, said the decision follows “more than a year’s deliberation and many, many hours of study.”
 
“While change can be difficult, we can bring together the best of the past to support a strong future for the newly merged schools,” Poecking said.
 
The mergers were recommended after study of financial and demographic data, enrollment trends, and consultation with the parish and school communities.
 
Zubik approved the merger on the recommendations of the South Regional Catholic Elementary Schools, which became the new regional governing board in July 2020. It had previously served as an advisory board since its creation in 2017.
 
The Pittsburgh diocese credited the board with stabilizing enrollment and finances. It sees progress in regional organization of some schools.
 
“With regional governance, all of the parishes in a geographic region support Catholic school education and all have a voice in forwarding the mission of those schools,” the diocese said.
 
Michelle Peduto, Director of Catholic Schools, said the diocese’s school system will continue to work “to provide families with spiritually vibrant, academically excellent and financially sustainable Catholic schools for generations to come.”
 
The diocese is continuing a strategic planning initiative begun in 2015 in part as a response to declining Mass attendance, the financial struggles of some parishes, and fewer priests.
 
The diocese’s “On Mission for The Church Alive” initiative has been working to merge what were 188 parishes into what ultimately will be fewer than 60 parish groupings.
 
In November 2020, the diocese announced that it would begin a third round of parish mergers. This stage of the parish merging plan aims to reduce 107 parishes to 81.
 
The diocese faced controversy after the 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report, which detailed sexual abuse allegations in six of Pennsylvania’s eight Latin-rite dioceses, including Pittsburgh. In 2020 CBS Pittsburgh reported that since the report’s release, Mass attendance had dropped 9% and offertory donations declined 11%.
 
Several hundred sexual abuse claims have also posed significant financial difficulties for the diocese.
 
Even in 2018, regular Sunday Mass attendees numbered only 120,000, a 30% decline from 10 years before. There are about 628,000 Catholics in the diocese’s territory, according to the diocese’s website.

[…]