Full of joy and buzzing with energy, the Dallas Catholic Middle School Conference kicked off its inaugural event bright and early on Oct. 18 at John Paul II High School in Plano. The first of its kind hosted by the Diocese of Dallas, the conference invited hundreds of middle schoolers across the diocese to gather for a day of formation, praise, and community. About 650 people from 26 parishes participated.
Ministry
Hundreds of parish ministry leaders from communities across the Diocese of Dallas gathered Oct. 11 at Bishop Lynch High School for the 2025 Parish Leadership Conference, a daylong event aimed at renewing and equipping the faithful for the Church’s mission.
Senior adults are a huge and growing portion of the Church in the United States. They are often the Mass greeters, the lectors, the altar society members in their parishes — a sort of backbone in the Body of Christ; but many senior groups and ministries in the local Church have diminished or disappeared over the years, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hours before dozens of residents and guests gather at The Tradition Prestonwood for a Sunday celebration of Mass, Father Michael T. Barry moves about the room, quietly transitioning it from a community theater to a place of worship. It is a ritual the retired priest from the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois has done since arriving at the north Dallas senior living facility.