While the Advent Season is traditionally one of joy and gratitude, Father Steven Pautler has even more reason to be thankful. On Dec. 1, the first Sunday of Advent, he became pastor of St. Mary Parish in Centralia and St. Lawrence Parish in Sandoval.

Parishioners of Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, Chester, participated in a rare experience in their parish on Sunday, Nov. 24. The dedication of a new altar. The dedication comes after the parish completely restored the interior (and some of the exterior) of their church, a project which took seven months.
Parishioners were all smiles (with the exception of a few tears of joy) on Sunday as their new altar was dedicated by Bishop Edward K. Braxton.

The early history of the Jesuits in the United States is entwined with the institution of slavery. Records show that in about 1670, French Jesuit missionary Father Jacques Marquette received the gift of an American Indian slave from the Illinois tribe he ministered to. Years later, at the Kaskaskia settlement Father Marquette helped found on the Mississippi River in southern Illinois, both Indian and African people were held in bondage.