It shouldn’t take a hard week in Florida

June 16, 2016

by Bishop Felipe J. Estévez One can have no doubt that this has been a hard week for Florida, particularly for my neighbors to the south in Orlando. First the senseless shooting death of singer-songwriter Christina Grimmie of the TV show The Voice on Saturday, then Sunday morning’s horrific mass shooting at the PULSE gay bar, and finally the painful news of a toddler dragged into the water by an alligator at a vacation resort, June 14. Taken together, these stories are a drumbeat of heartbreak and human tragedy. And in their wake, we see the usual messy flurry of human generosity, policy debates, and overall struggle for meaning. Read More

The Catholic response to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history

June 14, 2016

A headline in the local paper read, “Make It Stop.” That phrase sums up the feeling of helplessness that Americans feel at the latest terror rampage that took place in Orlando on June 12. In the early morning hours of June 12, a gunman entered a nightclub in Orlando and opened fire, killing 49 people as of this writing, and injuring more than 50. Read More

St. John Paul II Mission Church Opens New Parish Center

June 10, 2016

Bishop Felipe J. Estévez of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine will officially bless a new parish center for St. John Paul II Mission on Thursday, June 23, at 127 Stonemason Way, Jacksonville (located near Valley Ridge Blvd., west of the Kelly Pointe subdivision in Nocatee). Read More

Bishop Estévez Celebrates Jubilee Year Mass for Priests on feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 6, 2016

by Brandon Duncan Despite the end of day hustle on a busy evening in Jacksonville, the faithful arrived in solemn procession for the Jubilee Year Mass for Priests at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, June 3. Read More