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As of October 1, they have ceased operations.  Primera air offered discount airfares from Stanstead, England to several cities including New York (Newark’s Liberty Airport), Boston, Washington DC and Toronto starting at a little under $200 each way.

Those already in their booked locations will have to arrange their own transportation back home.

The discount airline offered fares under $200 for Newark to U.K. flights but was unable to compete with several other discount carriers.

Those who purchased using credit cards should contact their credit card issuers for possible refunds.

If you purchased travel insurance (we always recommend that you do)……you may be able to get a refund from the issuer.  Squaremouth is what we recommend to compare policies.

Hurricane Lane was first named a tropical storm on August 15, 2018, and has developed into a hurricane in the Central Pacific. The storm is tracking through the Pacific and is heading toward Hawaii.  Most beaches and tourist attractions have begun to close as of Wednesday August 22.  The danger is not so much the wind as it is the torrential rainfall that is expected.

Many travel insurance policies include coverage for hurricanes that impact travel, as long as the policy was purchased before the storm was named.

Travelers who had a policy in place prior to August 15, 2018 may have coverage for Hurricane Lane, including Trip Cancellation and Travel Delay.

If it was purchased after that point, it won’t cover hurricane-related travel changes, said Steven Benna, a marketing specialist with travel insurance comparison website Squaremouth.

The Hurricane Lane Travel Insurance Information Center explains coverage related to the storm.

This database is regularly updated by Squaremouth’s travel insurance experts with answers frequently asked questions, official provider position statements, travel alerts and notices, and other information as the storm develops. Information is subject to change at any time.

Many airlines are offering to waive change fees, etc. so if you have booked air it is best to check with the airline.  Only one cruise line is expected to be in Hawaii at this time:  Norwegian’s Pride of America, which bases the ship in Hawaii year-round and cruises the islands.  Their schedule has been modified.

The Formal Diocesan Investigation for the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Rhoda Wise will close on July 6, 2018.   The Acts of the Case will be present and sealed for transport to Rome at a 10:00 am Mass to be held at St. Peter’s in Canton, Ohio on July 7, 2018, the 70^th anniversary of her death.

The main celebrant will be Monsignor Robert Siffrin, Vicar General of the diocese.  The celebration will continue with a Eucharistic holy hour, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession after Mass.  Rhoda Wise House and Grotto will open to the public at 1:00pm that day.

See www.rhodawise.com or call 330-453-0322 for further details.

A new, magnificent Cathedral has been dedicated in Knoxville, Tenessee.  Among those present were five Cardinals, 21 Bishops, over 100 priests, 58 deacons, and 39 men and women religious.

Notable among them were Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, retired archbishop of Krakow, Poland, and longtime personal secretary to St. John Paul II (who also donated two relics of the saint to the diocese, including a stole frequently worn by St John Paul II); Cardinal William Levada, retired prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York; Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Cardinal Justin Rigali, retired Archbishop of Philadelphia and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States.

Find out more about the Cathedral here.

One of Italy’s oldest and most revered, the Sacre di San Michelle has drawn visitors from the world over. Unfortunately,  according to reports in Italian Media, in January 2018, a fire that started in a construction site on the roof of the monastery spread to parts of the Abbey, but due to the efforts of the local fire brigade they were able to prevent them extending to the church and the remaining part of the monastery.

We do not know when the monastery might again be open for visitors.

It is a shrine that was never really meant to be a shrine, according to Father Rev. Marco Mercado, rector of Maryville Academy.  This small shrine near Chicago draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims throughout the year..  It is the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois, just about a 7-minute drive from Chicago’s bustling O’Hare Airport.

It was in 1988 that a traveling statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe was brought back from Mexico City to the U.S.  After several failed attempts to find some church to accept it,  Maryville Academy offered to house the statue in a small chapel and from that a shrine was born.

Needless to say, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe are a highlight of the year.  Celebrations, along with native dancers, began on December 10th but the activities will really heat up starting on December 11th, with Masses beginning at 4:00 p.m. and being held every two hours through the night and following day until the final Mass and solemn procession at 7:00 p.m. on December 12th.

There is also television coverage on Univision, not only in the area, but in many cities throughout the U.S.

You can check their website here

Or learn more about the Shrine here.

On September 23. 2017 the first U.S.-born Martyr was beatified:  Father Stanley Rother, of the Diocese of Oklahoma City.

An Oklahoma farm boy, he fit in well with the oppressed Catholic peasants of Guatemala during the chaotic war fought in the late 1970’s and 80’s, when the dicatorship killed thousands of Catholics and persecuted the Church.

Refusing to abandon his parish, he was murdered in the sacristy…..not crying out so as not to put any of his flock in danger of execution as well.

His body was returned to Oklahoma City (minus his heart, which stayed in Guatemala) and is buried here in Oklahoma City.  Among the 14,000 people attending his Beatification were members of his family as well as some from the mission in Guatemala that he served and loved.

You can find out more about his life and his tomb in Oklahoma City by going to our page here.