Suddenly, young people have been appearing mysteriously in front of the large white statue of Jesus that stands tall on the spacious front lawn of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Evangelization Center at Bayley-Ellard in Madison. Periodically, they have been spotted holding up their Smartphones toward the statue, while looking into the screens and tapping them furiously.

As you read this, World Youth Day is under way in Krakow, Poland, and thousands upon thousands of young pilgrims from around the world are experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime event. Of course, the cherry on the top of this spiritual experience is the youths’ encounter with Pope Francis. In a video message sent to the pilgrims prior to his arrival there, Pope Francis told them, “My entire visit will be inspired by mercy during this Jubilee Year, and by the grateful and blessed memory of St. Pope John Paul II, who instituted the World Youth Days and was the guide of the Polish people in its recent historic journey towards freedom.”

High school and college students no longer have to take a vacation from learning about their Catholic faith on these hot summer nights. Anytime, anywhere, Faith on Fire, an engaging new locally produced video series, is a mere click away on the Internet to give young people straight talk about a range of real-life topics on their Catholic faith and situations relevant to them, including happiness, their life’s purpose and Catholic rites and rituals.

Does fashion design have anything in common with a religious vocation? It did for Alida Taylor, a resident of Casa Guadalupe, the Diocese’s house of discernment for women in Clifton, because she said they share one important similarity — beauty.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Patrick Parish in Chatham July 17 where he celebrated Mass to mark the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Our basic religious rights, embodied in the First Amendment, are under attack on many fronts in our increasingly secularized society. That’s why it was important last week that a House of Representatives committee moved to place legislation known as the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) — which has the full support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) — before the full House of Representatives.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Lawrence Church in Chester July 3 where he celebrated Mass for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Thomas More Parish in Convent Station where he celebrated the vigil Mass marking the 14th Sunday in Ordinary July 2.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Michael Church in Netcong where celebrated the vigil Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 9. During the Mass, the Bishop blessed 50 young people and their chaperones who will be traveling to Connecticut on a mission trip. The young people will be volunteering with Catholic Heart Work Camp.

More than 20 years ago, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI — then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — was already warning against “the dictatorship of relativism.” This philosophy has laid the groundwork for ever-growing social movements that threaten the human life and the traditional family like never before in this modern age, such as sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, transgenderism and abortion.

During the Sacred Triduum, the holiest days on liturgical calendar of the Church leading to Easter this past spring, Nicholas Berg took a photo showcasing the source and summit of the Catholic faith. The photo he captured was during the Consecration of the Eucharist. Msgr. Martin McDonnell is seen elevating the Host with Deacon Tom Sullivan elevating the chalice and Father Ed Reading concelebrating the Mass in Good Shepherd Church in Andover.

In the wake of violence across the nation last week, the Knights of Columbus have issued a campaign encouraging people to join them in praying for peace. “The violent episodes of the past week have shocked the conscience of our country,” said Carl Anderson, supreme knight.

Father Enrique Corona, pastor of St. Michael and St. Agnes parishes in Paterson, cracks a joke on camera. Wearing headphones, he sits behinds a microphone, sips a cup of coffee and reads a question by a viewer of his Spanish-language video show, streamed live weekdays on the social media website Facebook.

On Sunday, Bishop Serratelli celebrated the 70th anniversary of St. Simon the Apostle Parish, a small faith community tucked in the woods of rural Rockaway Borough that has grown from humble beginnings to a dynamic congregation, demonstrated by its commitment to the faith and service to others.

How did one of the Princes of the Church celebrate his birthday? He spent time with a group of homeless people. Cardinal Orani Tempesta, archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, celebrated his 66th birthday with a visit to the homeless in his archdiocese.

Bishop Serratelli was the main celebrant of a Mass of Thanksgiving marking the 25th anniversary of religious life for five Franciscan Sisters of St. Elizabeth in Parsippany June 26. A dozen priests concelebrated the Silver Anniversary Jubilee Mass, and the celebration was attended by Mother Lilly Pereppadan, delegate general of the order along with religious sisters, family members and friends.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Christopher Church in Parsippany on June 26 and celebrated Mass for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Marking the end of an era for Diocesan Catholic Charities, a farewell dinner was held for Joseph Duffy, president of Diocesan Catholic Charities and executive director of Straight and Narrow, at the Brownstone in Paterson June 28. Duffy announced his retirement in March and his final day serving as head of the Paterson Diocese’s social service agencies was June 30.

Joining together to pray for life and liberty, the Knights of Columbus, Regina Mundi Council 3969, hosted a Mass and Holy Hour June 30 in St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Clifton in support of the U.S. Bishop’s Fortnight for Freedom campaign.

From June 29 to July 1, 38 young men from the Church of Paterson got the opportunity to see priests and seminarians up close during the Quo Vadis Days 2016 discernment retreat, guided by the theme “The Universal Call to Holiness,” at Sacred Heart Spirituality Center in Newton. These young men, who ranged in age from their teens to their 20s, explored God’s call — as a priest, religious, married person or single person.