By Ryley McGinnis Lester Gianna De Rosa did not expect to go into ministry. Hailing from Fredericksburg, Virginia, she grew up a faithful Catholic who attended Mass each week and cared about her faith. When she enrolled at Liberty University in 2020, she quickly sought out the Catholic community on campus. What she found in…
By Ron Arena from Arena Partners How one Eucharistic encounter led Father Matt Kelly to the priesthood. A blanket draped across a chair stands out in Fr. Matt Kelly’s office, its woven words bearing a simple Latin phrase: Omnia enim propter vos. Those words, from 2 Corinthians 4:15, translate to “Everything is indeed for you.” …
By Ryley McGinnis Lester It often begins with a phone call. A working mother-to-be is suddenly placed on bed rest. A day laborer loses weeks of income after winter storms. An elderly resident on a fixed income watches rent and utility bills climb beyond what their monthly check can cover. Sometimes, it can be as…
By D. Hunter Reardon with The Catholic Virginian On a cold winter morning just before Christmas, a small building adjacent to the sanctuary of St. Mary, Richlands, bustled with more than a dozen volunteers. Each Thursday morning at 9 a.m., the group packs meals for 170 kids, enough so that each child receives meals for…
By Ryley McGinnis Lester Father Chris Hess and parishioners at St. Theresa Parish in Farmville consider themselves very blessed. Blessed with a family-oriented place to worship and a growing parish community—one that grew so large that a few years back, they called on the Catholic Community Foundation to support them in expanding their parish hall. …
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Last year, I was blessed to see how the Diocese truly lived the Jubilee Year of Hope. I saw thousands offaithful clergy, religious, and laypeople come together at Catholic Fest in October, and shortly after, I had the joy of meeting our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, for the first time…