Regional V Encuentro gathering draws 250 local clergy, religious and lay leaders to Visalia

By Petra Alexander and Lynne De La Torre

VISALIA—You couldn’t miss those green shirts.

 Father Javier Gonzalez has long heard the call to bring the love of God to the wayward, the marginalized and the young.  His ministry has taken him to barrios, city parks, schools and seminaries.

 Now it will take him half way around the world, to Rome, where he will spend three years in study, with the hope of taking his local missionary work to the next level.

SAN BERNARDINO—Father Howard Lincoln and Father Tom Burdick, two longtime pastors who have also been active in diocesan leadership, were conferred by Pope Francis with the Pontifical Honor of Chaplain to His Holiness, earning them the title of “Monsignor.”

By Ken F. Sawa
Executive Director, Catholic Charities 

 In the California Bishops’ recently released pastoral letter, “Hope and Healing,” on the care of those who struggle with mental illness, they state: “For them, our communities and parishes should be places of refuge and healing, not places of rejection or judgement.” 

By Anna Hamilton

 We know that every person has a story to share. Some stories are adventures, others a romance, some stories do not always have a happy ending but if you listen carefully, you find strength and meaning behind them.

 On Sunday, May 13th, Mother’s Day, I joined Bishop Gerald Barnes and his emcees on a visit to the California Institution for Women (CIW) for a special Mother’s Day Liturgy for the incarcerated ladies in our Diocese. 

SAN BERNARDINO—When she began her career, Patricia Vesely never envisioned herself leading the Catholic schools system for one of the nation’s largest dioceses. In fact, she never even saw herself as a school principal.

 But Vesely was called, literally, to a career in Catholic school administration that uncovered gifts and talents that enriched the lives students, families, teachers and fellow administrators.