OFFICE OF THE POST OFFICE BOX 1064 PROVINCIAL SUPERIOR NOTRE DAME, INDIANA 46556-1064 PHONE: 574.631.6196 WWW.HOLYCROSSUSA.ORG

Monday, February 11, 2013

U.S. Province Prays for Pope Benedict XVI

Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, C.S.C., Provincial Superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers, extends his prayers and support for the Holy Father after Pope Benedict XVI announced today he will resign at the end of February.

“The Congregation of Holy Cross is grateful for the Holy Father’s dedicated leadership as the shepherd of Christ’s Church these past eight years. We all have been blessed by his faithful service, guidance, love and inspiring zeal for evangelization. We pray for him in these last days of his Papacy,” said Fr. O’Hara.

In April 2006, the Pope’s promulgation of an authorized miracle attributed to the intercession of Fr. Basil Moreau, C.S.C., founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, led to his beatification. Four years later in October 2010, Pope Benedict canonized St. André Bessette, a Holy Cross brother whose humble yet powerful ministry at St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal, Canada, touched the lives of countless people.

“We in Holy Cross remember with great fondness that it was Pope Benedict who canonized our first saint. The entire Congregation worldwide celebrated with our Holy Father on that joyous day. St. André’s canonization will remain an indelible memory in our Congregation’s history,” recalled Fr. O’Hara.

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The United States Province is based in Notre Dame, Ind. The priests and brothers serve as educators in the faith at the Province’s four colleges and universities: the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind., 1842), University of Portland (Portland, Ore., 1901), King’s College (Wilkes-Barre, Pa, 1946.), and Stonehill College (Easton, Mass., 1948).

The Province has 13 parishes in the United States from Vermont to Texas to Oregon to Florida, as well as two in Mexico.

Apostolates include André House, in Phoenix; Saint André Bessette Catholic Church, in Portland, Ore.; Ave Maria Press in Notre Dame, Ind.; Holy Cross Family Ministries in North Easton, Mass., which encompasses Family Theater Productions, Family Rosary, and Father Peyton Family Institute. The Province’s international mission work reaches into Districts of Chile, East Africa, and Perú, as well as the region of México. Globally, the U.S. Province’s Holy Cross Mission Center supports the international mission work of the worldwide efforts of the Congregation of Holy Cross, spanning 16 countries on five continents.

For more information, please visit www.holycrossusa.org.

Corporate Title: Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province, Inc. Shipping address: 54515 State Road 933 North Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 Fax: 574.631.5655