Your Stories

From field hospitals in Vietnam to the floors of Mercy Hospital in Portland, Father Robert Paskey, S.J., has spent a lifetime caring for the sick and comforting the afflicted. 

Inviting Catholics around the diocese to make a pilgrimage and experience God’s mercy, Bishop Robert Deeley opened holy doors at four churches in celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

New Year’s Eve 1954 was the beginning of a wonderful life together for Barbara and Eugene Fetteroll.  They met on a blind date, married two and a half years later, and have been together ever since.

“She is very, very independent.” Mary Coyne has always been someone who has known her own mind.

When 9-1-1 calls come in and fire alarms sound in Biddeford and Saco, police and firefighters aren’t the only ones ready to respond, so is Deacon Kevin Jacques.

“I can’t imagine anything better or more wonderful than this gift of being called to give myself, every bit of myself, to God.”

“I was homeless, jobless. I had mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially hit bottom.” Bernie L. remembers a time in his life when he was dependent on alcohol.

"We cannot resign ourselves to thinking of the Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus for 2,000 years.”

“This is our altar.  Our altar is a special table." Sabrina Arel kneels besides a small altar surrounded by a group of four- and five-year-olds.

Sitting beside the stained-glass window that bears their grandparents’ name, Judith Pistaki Zelisko and her sisters remember with fondness the proud past of Saint Louis Parish in Portland.

Pure gift. That is how Sister Mariae Agnus Dei, S.V., describes her call to religious life. “It was more than winning the lottery. Everything else pales,” she says.

It’s not long after dawn on a Saturday morning and the parking lot of Most Holy Trinity Church in Saco is already filling up. 

With words and gestures, in homilies and handshakes and hugs, Pope Francis shared a message of love and hope, respect and responsibility, during his Apostolic Journey to the United States.

When Lee Myles was first offered a job at St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston, he remembers being concerned about the five-year commitment he was being asked to make.

From the processional to the final blessing, Matthew Gregory says every step of his ordination to the transitional diaconate was “awesome.”

Ashley Pezanowski loves to figure skate, is an avid Disney fan, and is studying to be an electrical engineer

“Yellow and green make brown.” Six-year-old Kara is a budding artist. “I love painting. I like making stuff,” she says.

“I have never doubted this is where God was calling me, never doubted.” Beatrice Caron says she is confident that she is following the path that God laid out for her.

“I’ve never been happier.  I have never been happier!” Father Steven Cartwright says it’s hard to put into words what he was experiencing when Bishop Robert Deeley laid hands on him and prayed the prayer of ordination

When Father William Campbell, S.J., was discerning his vocation to the priesthood as a college student in the late 1980s, he says there was only one path that felt right for him.

 “The only words we’re going to use are: ‘Be still and know that I am God.’” Sister Aline Plante, P.M., leads a contemplative retreat for women at the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center in Biddeford.

The T-shirts they wear say it all:  “Churches united in love.”  For 21 years, volunteers from faith communities throughout the Fairfield and Benton area have been coming together to provide food for those who are struggling.

It’s never too late to realize your dreams. That’s the idea behind the Maine Health Care Association’s Live Your Dream Awards, presented to residents living in long-term care facilities across the state.

At a friend’s urging, Sister Aurelie Michaud, D.W., responded to God’s call and entered the Daughters of Wisdom upon finishing high school in Saint Agatha.  

“Hi, have you been here before?” When Naomi Reeh spots an unfamiliar face in the Newman Center at the University of Maine at Orono, she doesn’t hesitate to go over and say hello.

“I bless heaven for the success of this wonderful Catholic school.”– Bishop James Healy, second Bishop of Portland, 1888.

“What can we do to help each other?” That question posed by one principal to another has led to a budding partnership between the diocese’s two York County Catholic schools.

Who is considered to be the first martyr of the Church? Which pope started the Second Vatican Council?

“It’s only been six months, but it’s been incredible.” When Rachel Huber was offered the second-grade teaching position at All Saints Catholic School in Bangor, she didn’t hesitate.

When Pat Lissandrello and Terry Oliver first got together, they both admit to feeling a bit uneasy.

At one point in her life, Christine Savage says she didn’t take her faith seriously at all. But inspired by her father and moved by the Holy Spirit, she says God came rushing back in.

Two-year-old Liliana couldn’t seem to decide what she wanted to do first –cradle a doll, prepare for tea, or guide a wooden train through a tiny tunnel.

 “We commit ourselves to exercise the spiritual and corporal works of Mercy, revealed to us through the life of Jesus.”  – Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

Through the grace of God, even the tiniest among us can have an immeasurable impact on those around them.

With studies, sports, and social activities, high school students’ schedules are often packed full.  Joan Fasulo, who recently graduated second in her class from Catherine McAule

Ten Lessons for Pastoral Leaders from St. Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis

“She’s amazing! I can’t imagine my life without her.” Debbie Guiggey says ever since her daughter Kayla was a baby, she has had a way of brightening the darkest day.

With classes, commitments, cell phones, and social media, where does faith fit into a high school student’s life?

Sister Anne Fitzpatrick, RSM, receives warm greetings as she moves along the corridors of the Saint Joseph’s Rehabilitation & Residence in Portland.

On Sunday April 27, Pope Francis proclaimed two popes saints in the presence of another pope, Benedict XVI—two historic firsts. 

Madawaska is a town of approximately 3000 residents.  Nearby Van Buren has a population of just under 2000.   But this August, streets, inns, and spare bedrooms will be packed with visitors...

May 30 was a day Kyle Doustou has eagerly anticipated since he was a boy of eight or nine.   On that day, at the Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul in Lewiston, he became the first priest to be ordained by Bishop Robert P. Deeley.

A few weeks before Pope Francis’s election as the new pope I had completed a book I had been researching on St. Francis of Assisi and the New Evangelization.

Those are familiar words to students at Saint Dominic Academy’s elementary school campus.

Welcome to Maine! Congratulations!  Those were the greetings repeated from Kittery to Fort Kent as parishioners extended a hand, shared a laugh or took a photograph with Bishop Robert P. Deeley as he began visits to parishes across the state.

The saint most beloved besides the Blessed Virgin Mary herself  is no doubt Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Revered by Catholics and by many who have no religious faith...

Bishop Robert Peter Deeley, J.C.D., says it is with “great joy” that he begins his service as the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Portland.

They were words, spoken by Bishop Richard Malone, that Catholics throughout the Diocese of Portland had waited 19 months to hear. 

The saint most beloved besides the Blessed Virgin Mary herself  is no doubt Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Revered by Catholics and by many who have no religious faith, his sparkling, joyous personality has made religious faith seem attractive and important.

The saint most beloved besides the Blessed Virgin Mary herself  is no doubt Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). Revered by Catholics and by many who have no religious faith