Welcome to The New Messenger, your weekly archdiocesan newsletter featuring messages from Archbishop Gustavo, news briefs, event previews, and updated information. The Archdiocese of San Antonio's weekly newsletter is published every Friday morning.

Assuming that the Annunciation and the Incarnation took place around the time of the vernal equinox, Mary left Nazareth at the end of March and went over the mountains to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, to wait upon her cousin Elizabeth. Because Mary's presence, and even more the presence of the Divine Child in her womb, according to the will of God, was to be the source of very great graces to the Blessed John, Christ's Forerunner. (Lk1:39-57).

Pope Francis sat down for a global exclusive interview with CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell from the Vatican. In a wide-ranging conversation, Francis spoke about the wars across the world, immigration, climate change, his vision for the Catholic Church and his legacy. Ahead of the Church’s first World Children’s Day, the pontiff talked about children as hope for the future.

Celebrate 5 p.m. Mass with Archbishop Gustavo at San Fernando Cathedral (115 Main Plaza, SA, TX 78205 - directions) followed by a Eucharistic procession. Give witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist! All clergy, religious, and laity are invited to join as the visible Body of Christ in the joyous archdiocesan-wide Feast of Corpus Christi procession following the liturgy and proceeding through downtown, led by the archbishop.

This three-day course to be held at Oblate School of Theology (285 Oblate Drive, SA, TX 78216 – directions) is open to all who want to lead fruitful synodal processes–clergy, religious men and women, and active parishioners. Main topics include: The value of listening; Proven methods in group dynamics; Challenges in communion; and Discernment 101: Decision-making processes. We want to explore and experience best practices in synodality as a way of being Church today. Promoted by the Evangelii Gaudium Center – Sophia University Institute, in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Synod. Cost: $65 (includes registration fee and lunch). Email registrations to Lisa Feighery, lfeighery@ost.edu, or Jennifer Nutzman, jennynutzman@gmail.com.

Attention parents or caregivers of special needs children, and anyone who is interested in volunteering: St. Peter the Apostle in Boerne is starting a Special Needs Ministry. Join us for details about the ministry from 3-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 8 in room 148 in the St. Peter the Apostle Family Life Center (202 W. Kronkosky Street, Boerne, TX 78006 – directions). You will have the opportunity to share how we can help make St. Peter’s inclusive for you and your children! If you have any questions, contact Colette Kerns at (254) 383-6982 or Colette.Kerns@outlook.com.

In collaboration with the archdiocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry, the Institute for Lay Ecclesial Ministry and Service is hosting a five-week Parish Ministry Formation designed for those serving in ministries with middle school and high school youth. It will be hosted at the Mexican American Catholic College (3115 W. Ashby Pl., SA, TX 78228 – directions) and registration is open. 

Leading up to the Assembly on October 26 and in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the diocese, Today’s Catholic Newspaper would like to hear your story! Do you have a story to share about the archdiocese, it's history, or what the local Church means to you? Submit your story using this form.

SELLING FAST! The directory includes: Parish information and Mass schedules; updated clergy assignments and a listing of religious orders and organizations; sections dedicated to archdiocesan, educational and health services; and information about priests, deacons, brothers and women religious. Pick up your order at the Pastoral Ministry Center or have it shipped to you. Click here to order yours today. Need more information visit our website or contact Mandy Franco at mandy.franco@archsa.org or 210-734-1610.

Hundreds of Catholics joined the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas on May 22. (photo: Peter Pinedo/CNA/EWTN)

There’s hot and then there’s south Texas hot. MacKenzie Warrens, a National Eucharistic Revival “perpetual pilgrim,” told CNA that the heat in the Texas Rio Grande Valley is unlike anything she has ever experienced. A doctoral student at Rice University in Houston, Warrens is no stranger to heat. But the weather in the valley, which instantly makes one feel as if he or she is swimming in a pool of heat and humidity, is something entirely different. 

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It was probably “passum,” a sweet dessert wine made from dried grapes that was popular across the Eastern Mediterranean in antiquity.

Philip Kosloski - published on 05/28/24

The celebration of Corpus Christi can be traced to a vision that a 13th-century Belgian nun named Juliana had of the liturgical year.

Several years ago, former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, the nation’s leading policy advocate on mental illness and addiction, broke through taboo and shared the story of his personal and family challenges with these issues in his bestselling memoir, A Common Struggle. Now, he and his A Common Struggle coauthor, award-winning healthcare journalist Stephen Fried, have created Profiles in Mental Health Courage (Dutton, April 30, 2024), a powerful new book based on dozens of exclusive interviews, sharing the untold stories of a special group of individuals who bravely agreed to talk openly about their illnesses, treatments, and struggles for the first time. When Kennedy’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, published his classic book Profiles in Courage, he hoped to inspire “political courage” by telling the stories of brave U.S. senators who changed America. In Profiles in Mental Health Courage, Kennedy adapts his uncle’s idea to showcase the acts of “mental health courage” that happen in private: what it takes for those living with mental illness and addiction to find care and treat their illnesses, and the risk they take telling their stories in a country without adequate mental health understanding, infrastructure, and care. The United States has an undeniable mental health crisis in our families, our workplaces, our jails, and on our streets and the only way to address it is to face this reality by listening closely and learning from the experiences of those around us. Profiles in Mental Health Courage takes an unflinching look at the experience of mental illness and addiction, introducing readers to people of many ages, backgrounds, and futures, across politics and government, Hollywood and the arts, tech and business, sports and science — some recovering, some relapsing, some just barely holding on. 

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A naturalization ceremony in honor of World Refugee Day featured the swearing in of new citizens by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery on May 24 at the U.S. Federal Courthouse. Mayor Ron Nirenberg spoke on the hospitality of the San Antonio community in embracing diversity and welcoming the newcomer and J. Antonio Fernández, president/CEO of Catholic Charities, discussed welcoming newcomers and how the agency provides essential services as they strive for self-sufficiency. In advance of World Refugee Day on June 20, the ceremony marked an important time for immigrants and refugees who prepare for citizenship by attending classes and filing applications to become legal citizens of the United States. It is often a critical component of reaching self-sufficiency by owning a home, having a job, attending school, starting a business, and other facets to contribute to society in a productive, peaceful manner.  

To find more archdiocesan events and activities visit our website, https://archsa.org/events.

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