Your Stories

When the pandemic hit in spring 2020 and schools switched to remote learning, Emma Garrity of Gorham, like many parents, worried about the impact it was having on her daughter Paige.

Milka Alay watched with joy as Father Michael Sevigny, OFM Cap., gently poured holy water on her daughter Sylkia’s head.

Blaine Guido, age 26, says he has always believed there is a reason why things happen.

“You can never learn too much about God.”

Over the past 10 and a half years, Julie Abbott has heard hundreds of people share stories of struggle.

Erin McConnell, an elementary education major at the University of Maine in Orono, carries a full course load, while also working 30 hours a week.

Opening doors to Christ on a college campus

The Diocese of Portland is pleased to welcome a third priest from the Diocese of Kumbo in Cameroon.

Father, protector, worker, patron – they all describe St. Joseph, a quiet man who put his trust in God and played a key role in salvation history.

You’re helping people first and foremost by caring for the family and trying to compassionately guide them.

“It’s like being on a long, bad retreat.” That is how Father Louis Phillips, sums up this past pandemic year.

The importance of music to liturgy should not be underestimated. The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes ‘The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art,’ quoting Pope Paul VI’s Sacrosanctum Concilium.

November 28, 2020, was a historic day for the Catholic Church in America. On that day, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., was created a cardinal by Pope Francis making him the first African American bishop to attain that rank.

For Dancile Nshimirimana, being a member of the Catholic Church has always been like being part of a family.

“The Lord said, ‘Go.’ And I said, ‘Who? Me?’ And He said, ‘Yes, you.”

Father, protector, worker, patron – they all describe St. Joseph, a quiet man who put his trust in God and played a key role in salvation history.

“Let’s see. There’s Fran, JoAnne, Diane, Turk, and Roy.” Father Philip Clement, administator of St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Machias, has no problem naming the regulars who attend Mass at St. Timothy Church in Welshpool.

Cecile Beaulieu has been going to school for 41 years, and that’s not counting her time studying in the classroom.

Choose life. It’s a message that three men have been working to bring to others for decades.

“A little metal crucifix as plain as it can be, but only God in heaven knows how dear it is to me.” So begins a poem penned by a soldier more than 75 years ago

You know that soon you will likely be among those on the front lines of a global health crisis. There are questions and concerns and not a lot of experience from which to draw since the infectious assailant is one no one has confronted before.

Father Alexander Boucher searches for the right words to describe what it’s like to be serving as a priest of the Diocese of Portland.

Emily Morris of Yarmouth describes herself as a “rookie Catholic,” one who had to wait a little while to officially join the team.

At age 19, Peter Cusack’s resume is already stacked with awards and accomplishments.

“I’m always trying to look and see how God is acting in my life.” Brendan Fedrizzi, an 18-year-old from Waterboro, says he tries to let faith be his guide in all aspects of his life.

A leader who “strives to defend the faith” and brings others along with her on her journey.

Lucy Frenette, a senior at Saint Dominic Academy in Auburn, proudly points out the variety of crops growing in a new garden that has taken over a corner of the school’s campus.

One by one, vehicles pull into the parking lot of St. Anne Church in Gorham on a Saturday in June. They line up in neat rows guided by orange cones and cheerful volunteers.

From drawings on driveways to posters in doorways, students from St. Brigid School in Portland used their creativity to express thanks to those who serve on the frontlines and continue to perform essential jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alycia Walsh and Luke Cote of Minot were looking forward to celebrating a September wedding at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Scarborough.

Dixie Shaw, the director of Hunger and Relief Services for Catholic Charities Maine, has been working to feed the people of Aroostook County for nearly two decades.

Deacon Rick Huot of Biddeford always begins his workdays the same way, by asking the Lord for His help.

“When there are obstacles, it is not those who give up who succeed but those who are able to pick themselves up and push forward.”

Dr. Claire Morissette Girardin grew up caring for pets. “We had ducks, guinea pigs. I had a rat at one point, turtles,” she says. “We had cats when I was little.”

“It’s just learning their stories, what brings them here.” Mary Hazzard is a Catholic lay chaplain at Maine Medical Center (MMC) in Portland. 

Many gathered to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Sister Aurelie Michaud’s profession to the Daughters of Wisdom.

“It’s a feeling of loss, of wondering what is going to transpire.” Lee and Millie Noddin of Lewiston know the pain of having a loved one behind bars.

It’s ten o’clock in the morning, and customers are alread

Positive. Confident. Motivated. Helpful. Surrounded by splashes of color, those are among the words that greet you as you enter Holy Cross School in South Portland.

With her kindergarten class gathered on the floor around her, Kathleen Curry shares the Gospel story of the feeding of the 5,000.

“You build a stack of special blocks, and then, you have to push them into a circle. If it’s the same color, you get more points.”

 “I know in my heart that this is where God wants me.” That is how Deacon Donald Clavette sees his vocation as a permanent deacon

“The coats that we ordered are for kids in grades 2 through 8.” Bob Frederick from Moosehead Lake Council 2368 shows other Knights of Columbus two of the 27 coats the council purchased for children attending Greenville Consolidated School.

On Sunday mornings, the first-floor hallway of St. André Health Care in Biddeford is a busy place. In wheelchairs, with walkers, or with an arm to lean upon, around 30 residents are making their way to the community room for the celebration of Mass.

Bishop Robert Deeley joins in celebrating the 100th anniversary of St. Rose of Lima Church in Jay.

Two members of the Dominican Sisters of the Roman Congregation, jubilees with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert Deeley at Holy Cross Church in Lewiston on Sunday, August 25, 2019,

I start with the centerpiece and then go to the bottom and then around.” Roger Jean of Augusta explains his technique for making rosary beads, something he has been doing for more than a quarter century now.

If you’re looking for Jeffrey Quinn on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, you’ll most likely find him behind a keyboard at Notre Dame de Lourdes Church in Skowhegan. 

 “If you know how to do it, and God has given you the gift, you should.” That is the mantra of Avis Fleck, a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Windham.

Enter the St. Thomas Aquinas Gift Shop in Madawaska and you will be surrounded by faith-inspired treasures filling every shelf and tucked into every corner.