Celebrating the faith in Chassell!  Bishop John Doerfler celebrated Mass and blessed St. Anne's new faith formation addition on April 6, 2025. The new space will house faith formation programs on the lower level while the upper level will be home to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. The addition is dedicated to Sister Ellen Enright, IVBM, who served the Diocese of Marquette for many years from 1968 until retirement in 2017.

The Diocesan Communicator is delivered through Flocknote.  You are now able to read the information right in your email message!

If you have any thoughts or suggestions to share, please email Sara at sshusta@dioceseofmarquette.org and John at jfee@dioceseofmarquette.org.

The current Communicator, as well as past issues, are available on the Diocesan website at https://dioceseofmarquette.org/communicator.

April 15, 2025     Deadline to Notify Michigan Catholic Conference of July 1, 2025 Benefit Changes 

May 10, 2025      St. Joseph Association/Good Shepherd Sunday Collection (Stewardship & Development)

May 11, 2025      St. Joseph Association/Good Shepherd Sunday Collection (Stewardship & Development)

April 30, 2025     Diocesan Catholic Schools Collection Remittance Deadline (Stewardship & Development)

The Fellowship of Catholic Scholars has made available to clergy a website features periodic newsletter, free of charge.  Each monthly installment of Teaching the Faith makes use of the scriptural readings for a given Sunday in order to provide clergy with assistance in preparing homilies on doctrinal topics, difficult and perhaps controversial subjects of current importance, and themes in Catholic prayer and spirituality. The website may be found at:  https://catholicscholars.org/

Please continue to input your weekly weekend Mass attendance counts (for all Vigil and Sunday Masses combined) each week.  The weekly Mass Attendance counts will give us a baseline for our Mass attendance as we work together to increase Mass attendance through evangelization efforts discussed in Bishop John’s Pastoral Letter on Evangelization, entitled: “Transforming Fire: A New Pentecost to form Spirit-Filled Evangelizers.”  If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Bishop at (906) 227-9115.   Weekly Weekend Mass Attendance Counts Form Link. https://www.jotform.com/71073842124147

FACULTIES TO CONFIRM
Fr. Dan Moll has provided information regarding the specific faculties priests have in regards to Confirmation and the situations requiring the permission of the bishop to confirm.  If you have any questions regarding the information provided in the document, please contact Fr. Dan at: dmoll@dioceseofmarquette.org or call (906) 227-9154.  Addendum - Faculties to Confirm.

The registration form for May Confirmation Masses is online at:Diocesan Confirmation - Diocese of Marquette - Marquette, MI.  The registration deadline has passed for the May 3 and May 4 Confirmations so please register ASAP.  Registration deadline for the May 18 Confirmation is April 17.  High school candidates’ letters to Bishop John should be mailed directly to him at: 1004 Harbor Hills Dr., Marquette, MI 49855 at least two weeks before the Confirmation Mass.  The formation for that letter is also on the Diocesan Confirmation webpage.

We’re organizing a young adult (18-30s) pilgrimage to Green Bay for the Walk to Mary, a 22-mile walk from St. Joseph Shrine in DePere to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, the only church-approved Marian apparition in the United States: Walk to Mary - Yooper Catholic - Diocese of Marquette - Marquette, MI.  Please pass the word to young adults!  This is a first effort to provide opportunities for young adult Yooper Catholics to get together, do something adventurous, build relationships, and celebrate the Catholic faith.

The upcoming April principals meeting is Wednesday, April 23, from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET at St. Christopher’s in Marquette in the parish hall.

The annual Catholic Schools Religion Bee will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025 at Holy Name Catholic High School in Escanaba, Mich.  

SCHOOL COUNCIL MINUTES
 All schools are reminded they are to submit all agenda and minutes from school council meetings and supporting committee meetings to our office after each meeting.  Minutes and agendas can be sent to Sara Shusta, sshusta@dioceseofmarquette.org.

The Communications team is looking to update the Eucharistic Adoration page on the diocesan website with current times. Visit: Eucharistic Adoration - Diocese of Marquette - Marquette, MI  to see the currently listed times. If your parish has dedicated adoration times that have not been added to this page, or if your parish’s adoration time needs updating, please email the dates and times of Eucharistic adoration to news@dioceseofmarquette.org.

If your parish receives a bill concerning renewals or listings of the diocesan website or your own parish website, it’s almost certainly a scam or waste of money. If you receive a bill concerning your own parish’s domain name from a company you didn’t originally register with, or “your website’s listing,” it’s also very likely a scam. If you are not sure, please either forward the email or scan/photograph the paper bill and send it to John Fee, jfee@dioceseofmarquette.org and I will be happy to check it out for you. A parish recently contacted us about one of these “bills” and would have wasted nearly $200 if they had paid it. These scammers do an excellent job of making these look legitimate. Please don’t hesitate to contact us about these!

Please remember to contact the Diocesan Communications Staff at news@dioceseofmarquette.org if your parish/school is celebrating any major milestones, events, missions or outreach in 2025.

Please send photos of First Communion, Confirmation and OCIA (RCIA) groups for publication in The U.P. Catholic’s annual Sacraments and OCIA (RCIA) issue. Be sure to list names (left to right) front row, second row, third row, back row, etc. Photos may be sent by email to news@dioceseofmarquette.org or mailed to The U.P. Catholic, 1004 Harbor Hills Dr., Marquette, MI 49855.

As a reminder, MCC advises parishes to use the 24/7 hotline to file losses and claims at (833) MCC-LOSS (833) 622-5677. This hotline can be used to file claims for workers’ compensation, property damage, auto injury, general liability, cyber liability, student accidents, and some boiler/machinery damage, and is the quickest and most effective way to receive assistance with these incidents. Please call the hotline number to file claims with Gallagher Bassett. For more information, please visit micatholic.org/risk-management/file-a-claim/ or see Addendum #1 for a summary page with these resources.

Parishes and schools are encouraged to contact the Administration & Finance department for hiring assistance. The diocese uses Stang Decision Systems to help find the right individuals for open positions. The primary cost of the services are paid by the diocese. Parishes/schools would pay for advertising (beyond free sites) and candidate testing. Stang Decision Systems is a world leader in customized hiring and development processes and helps employers select for targeted skills, aptitude, and cultural fit. Those interested in hiring assistance should contact Tim Thomas at tthomas@dioceseofmarquette.org or (906) 227-9114.

Following recent changes to Michigan Law, the Diocese will be releasing updated Standardized Personnel Policies to be adopted by all parishes and schools in the coming months. The policy documents promulgated by Bishop Doerfler on Feb. 11, 2025 should be disregarded, as these will be replaced by revised documents reflecting changes to Michigan Law. While these documents are being revised, we are advising parish and school entities to wait for further information from the diocesan office before adopting updated Standardized Personnel Policies. More information, including editable copies of the updated Standardized Personnel Policies, will be provided to pastors and bookkeepers as soon as possible. If you have any questions following the release of the updated personnel policies, please contact Terry Bailey or Tim Thomas for further assistance. 

The Internal Revenue Service regularly publishes information for employers and consumers to protect themselves and their businesses from potential threats. Please see more details on scams used in 2024 and 2025 in Addendum #2. 

2026 COLLECTION SCHEDULE

Please see the Diocesan Collection Schedule for 2026 here: dioceseofmarquette.org/administration-finance. If you have any questions about the 2026 Collection Schedule, please contact Megan O’Connor at (906) 379-5057 or moconnor@dioceseofmarquette.org.

MARQUETTE DIOCESAN PRIEST RETIREMENT (GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY) COLLECTION

Make plans now to promote the annual Good Shepherd Collection, which will be taken up in all parishes on May 11. This collection supports the retired priests of the Diocese of Marquette. An envelope has been provided for registered parishioners to participate in this year’s collection. You can also make a donation online at osvhub.com/dioceseofmarquette/giving/funds. We thank you in advance for your generous support of the retired priests of the Diocese of Marquette!

WORLD CHURCH COMBINED COLLECTION

All parishes in the Diocese of Marquette will be taking up the World Church Collection on June 8. The World Church Collection supports the following outreach ministries: the Catholic Relief Services Overseas Fund, the Holy Land & National Communications collection, and the Peter’s Pence collection. Parish bookkeepers are advised to divide unspecified World Church fund donations evenly between the three individual collections using the Collection Counting Sheet. Bookkeepers may then complete their Combined Collection Transmittal forms to include with their payment to the Diocese. These collection resources can be found at dioceseofmarquette.org/administration-finance.

Collection Remittance Deadlines

Several diocesan collections are held in the early part of the new year. Please be sure to mark collection remittance deadlines on your calendar to ensure parishioner donations are transferred to individual organizations promptly for maximum impact. Please contact Megan O’Connor at (906) 379-5057 or moconnor@dioceseofmarquette.org with questions regarding parish remittance deadlines.  

The Marquette Diocesan Catholic Schools Collection 2025 was held on March 5 (Ash Wednesday) or March 9 (the first Sunday of Lent). Please remit funds to the Diocese by April 30, 2025. 

Check out the latest issue of the Stewardship E-News here. Don’t forget to invite your parishioners to subscribe using this link: Stewardship E-News Subscription. We respect your privacy and will not share subscriber emails outside our organization.

The Baraga Educational Center and Museum (615 S. Fourth Street, Marquette, MI) is now open Monday-Friday noon to 5 p.m. for tours.  Evening and weekend times are available by appointment.

The Bishop Baraga Association is looking for a life-size Blessed Mother statue for the Prayer Garden at the Baraga Educational Center and Museum.  The statue needs to be concrete or marble, specifically designed for outdoors.  It will be permanently placed in the Prayer Garden and must be able to withstand the winter and high winds. Please contact Len McKeen at the BBA (906) 227-9117 for additional information. 

Developed in the spirit of Legacy of Faith to preserve and foster the Catholic faith in the Upper Peninsula, the Catholic Service Award annually recognizes lifetime dedication and service to the Church. Learn more about the prestigious award and nominate someone that you feel deserves this honor and recognition at upcatholicfoundation.org/catholic-service-awards.

Nominations due annually by May 1.

The Baraga Educational Center and Museum (615 S. Fourth Street, Marquette, MI) is now open Monday-Friday noon to 5 p.m. for tours.  Evening and weekend times are available by appointment.