April 5: Diocesan Youth Day – Immaculata High School. Check in 10:30am. April 15: Chrism Mass – The Holy Week Mass where priests recommit to the promises made at their Ordination and our bishop blesses the Holy Oils for use in the next year at The Cathedral of St. Francis 4:00 p.m. April 20: Easter Sunday. This year celebrated on the same Sunday in both Eastern and Western churches (Gregorian and Julian Calendars). May 24: 10th anniversary of Papal Encyclical Laudato Sί. August 22: Feast of the Queenship of Mary – Patroness of the diocese. Prayer for Mary's intercession. September 13: Mass with Bishop Checchio at the Blue Army Shrine – Asbury, NJ 10:00am-4:00pm More details follow. September 20: Diocese of Metuchen Jubilee Pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. More details to follow. October 11: Feminine Genius Brunch – St. John Neumann Pastoral Center 9:30am-12:30pm. October 29: Annual Diocesan Blue Mass: 10:30 a.m. at Cathedral of St. Francis. November 19: 44th Anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Metuchen. December 28: Mass with the Rite of the Closing of the Jubilee Year in the Diocese of Metuchen –St. Francis Cathedral. More details to follow. https://diometuchen.org/jubilee-2025

Pilgrims of Hope: Journeying Together in Faith, Hope and Charity In announcing the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis instructed that it be celebrated, “with deep faith, lively hope and active charity.” It is a reminder that we are called to discover hope in current times and to be the instruments of hope for others. One tangible way to accomplish this is by giving to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Through our shared support of our pastoral, educational and charitable ministries, we are assisting those most in need and spreading the message of hope in the Lord! Your gift will support Deep Faith: Seminarian Formation We are blessed to have 19 men currently studying for the priesthood in the Diocese of Metuchen. Through your ongoing prayers and generous financial support, you play a significant role in nurturing the vocation of these individuals and so many others who came to the priesthood before them. Your gift to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal will provide tuition for their education, healthcare, insurance and so much more. With your help, these future priests will be well prepared to shepherd the faithful in our parishes and other special ministries. Lively Hope: Campus Ministry With their enthusiasm and energy, our youth and young adults are the embodiment of hope! However, they need our attention and care. At the Catholic Center at Rutgers University, students and young adults find a safe haven where they are able to grow in the knowledge and practice of the faith, experience a meaningful sense of service to the community, and come to a deeper understanding of their call to discipleship. Your gift to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal is an investment in the future of our Church and civic communities. Active Charity: Catholic Charities Especially during this Holy Year, we are called to be “tangible signs of hope” for our brothers and sisters experiencing hardships of any kind. Every day we meet people who are poor or impoverished, struggling with addictions or facing homelessness. Your gift to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal helps to provide the basic necessities of life and critical counseling services for the most vulnerable.

"Peace be with all of you!" - the first words of Pope Leo XIV. The Conclave has elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Bishop of Rome. The new pope was announced to the waiting crowds by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti. Pope Leo XIV is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Pope Leo XIV[a] (born Robert Francis Prevost,[b][c] September 14, 1955) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the first to hold American and Peruvian citizenships, the first born after World War II, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas after his predecessor Pope Francis. Prevost was born in Chicago and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton, Illinois. He became a friar of the Order of Saint Augustine in 1977 and was ordained as a priest in 1982. He earned a Doctor of Canon Law (JCD) degree in 1987, from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. His service includes extensive missionary work in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s, where he worked as a parish pastor, diocesan official, seminary teacher, and administrator. Elected prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, he was based in Rome from 2001 to 2013, and extensively traveled to the order's provinces around the world. He then returned to Peru as Bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Made a cardinal by Pope Francis, Prevost emphasized synodality, missionary dialogue, and engagement with social and technological challenges. He also engaged with issues such as climate change, global migration, church governance, and human rights, and expressed alignment with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Prevost's election in the 2025 conclave was unexpected by observers; he was a dark horse candidate, with Vatican insiders believing the prospect of a pope from the United States to be unrealistic so long as the country has the status of a superpower.[8][9] He took his papal name in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who developed modern Catholic social teaching amid the Second Industrial Revolution, and has been interpreted as a response to the challenges of a new industrial revolution and artificial intelligence.