News - May 2025

“In a few minutes, your life will be changed. A different man will walk down the aisle exiting the cathedral than the man who came in."

Read about many of the organizations and individuals living out the Corporal Works of Mercy within our diocese in the summer issue of The Catholic Voice magazine.

Six East Bay parishes combine efforts to help pregnant and parenting mothers - turning pro-life calling into solidarity and action.

Called in their vocation to Oakland for a two-year teaching fellowship in the University of Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE), Riginos and Nash are two of the six ACE teachers assigned to Oakland's Catholic schools in the 2024-25 academic year.

Anna Rossi and the Order of Malta Legal Clinic seek to collaborate for community good

The funds collected through the Bishop’s Ministries Appeal (BMA) support more than 70 ministries at the diocesan and parish levels including seminarian education, care for retired clergy, religious education and Catholic schools. These ministries contribute to the life of the diocese in critical ways, serving the faithful and the wider community.

Join us for an evening of discernment! Multiple dates available in 2025.

17 days throughout California. 21 missions. 15 years of Jubilee sites. At least 20 eucharistic processions. More than 1,200 miles. And a convergence with the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage culminating with the Feast of Corpus Christi. For details, itineraries, and ways to sign up or donate: caminodecalifornia.org

Mark Diamond, then an Augustinian novice and now the business manager for The Cathedral of Christ the Light, poised with other novices and then-Bishop-elect Robert Prevost in 2014. Now Pope Leo XIV, Bishop-elect Prevost had returned to Chicago to celebrate Mass before leaving for his installation in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru.

Representatives of Asociación Jóvenes y Adultos Para Cristo (AJAPC), also known as Young Adults for Christ, brought the fruits of their fundraising efforts for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) through Operation Rice Bowl to the Cathedral of Christ the Light on May 8.

"I welcome the newly elected successor to St. Peter. Pope Leo XIV. While many are surprised the cardinals chose an American, with his experience in both South and North America as a member of a worldwide religious order, this new pope will have a world vision. I am really encouraged by the new Holy Father’s emphasis on bridge-building, which we need in the Church right now. Our prayers and loyalty are with him!" Most Rev. Michael C. Barber, S.J. Bishop of Oakland

Prior to his election as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis, Cardinal Prevost, was Prefect of the Dicastery for the Bishops. Here you can find the biography of the 267th Bishop of Rome.

Predicting when the smoke will rise from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel is not an exact science. The time needed for the cardinals' prayers, discussions and vote counting can vary.

Sarah Hart, Steve Angrisano and Jesse Manibusan to play at El Cerrito parish May 16