The Diocese of Richmond will have 400 tickets available for the papal mass which will be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at the Washington Nationals Baseball Park on April 17, 2008 during his visit to the U.S. The tickets will be assigned by lottery.

To enter the lottery for the tickets visit the Diocese of Richmond Web site, print out and fill in the form available there, and send it in to the diocese. Those who are not able to access the form via the Web site, may request a form from the parish office.

Today is the last day in the Haiti Solidarity Week which is sponsored by our diocese. According to the Haiti Outreach office, "This week gives us the opportunity to celebrate our relationships with the people of Haiti; increase our awareness of the people; culture and issues of Haiti; deepen our commitment to our twinning programs; pray for our brothers and sisters who live there; and advocate here for the changes necessary to bring justice to the people of Haiti." (For general information about Haiti click here to view a Haiti fact sheet.)

For many years, Holy Comforter Parish has had a twinning relationship with the parish of St. Michael's in Saltadère, Haiti. Over those years, our parish has had the opportunity of getting to know a little bit more about our brothers and sisters in Saltadère through visits to Haiti as well as visits from the priest of St. Michael's. In addition, we have had the opportunity to help our brothers and sisters through our prayer and monetary support. Very recently, through the generosity of parishoners at Holy Comforter and other parishes, the parish in Saltadère was able to build a much needed new school building.

Another important way that we can help is by sponsoring the children of St. Michael's parish. For only $12 a month, you can help one of the children in Saltadère by supporting his or her education at St. Michael's School. The money goes to cover school costs, such as basic supplies, clothes, teacher pay, and school lunch. You can exchange letters (in French) with your student and learn about your child's life in Haiti. For more information including a FAQ on the sponsorship program, and information about who to contact in order to participate as a sponsor, click here.

Monday, January 28th is Catholic Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly hosted by the Virginia Catholic Conference. The day is an opportunity to practice faithful citizenship especially for the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities.

The events of the day will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church and at Capitol Square in Richmond. Both Bishop Paul Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of the Diocese of Richmond will speak. In addition, there will be many opportunities to meet with your legislators and their assistants in order to discuss with them regarding pro-life, social justice, and education issues.

There is a $10 fee to cover lunch and materials. Parking is separate.

You are asked to register by January 22nd. However, if you register by January 10th, the Conference will assist in setting up meetings between your legislators and you.

Click here to view the flyer and access the registration form.

The Virginia Catholic Conference engages in legislative advocacy on behalf of Virginia's two bishops and their dioceses. All those who would like to stay informed about issues of peace and justice which are addressed by our elected officials should sign up to receive regular alerts and updates from the Virginia Catholic Conference.

The alerts and updates provide information about legislation related to respect life, social justice, family, and education issues on both the state and federal level. In order to receive these alerts, simply click here and sign up to receive the email notifications.

Sunday, January 6th has been designated as "Virginia Catholic Conference Sign-up Sunday" in order to help expand the network of Virginians who are informed of legislative activity that helps "build a culture of life, providing for the poorest and most vulnerable in our midst and enhancing family life."

Your free membership will enable you to communicate directly with legislators without having to look up their addresses or compose time-consuming letters. The alerts which you receive will include pre-drafted messages which you can then send to elected representatives. Note, your contact information will not be shared with others.

For more information about the Virginia Catholic Conference, click here.

Our bishop, the Most Reverand Francis DiLorenzo, along with the bishop of Arlington, the Most Reverand Paul Loverde have issued a document entitled Voting as Followers of Christ. The purpose of the document is to highlight the election resources which are available and to instruct the faithful on their obligation to participate by voting from a moral framework which is consistent with the teaching of the Church.

On Tuesday, November 6th, citizens of our Commonwealth will determine all 140 members of the General Assembly. In addition, many elections for local offices will be decided on Tuesday. To assist us in voting as followers of Christ, the two dioceses have provided voting resources. One of these resources is based on a 16 part questionnaire that was provided to all candidates for seats in the General Assembly. The answers from the candidates who responded to the questionnaire are provided in the resources.
Click here for more information.

To find out what your House and Senate districts are, click here.