Father Francis A. Roberge and St. Bernard Central Catholic High School students received thanks for their service at a Veterans Day cemetery celebration.

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles was elected to a three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during the bishops' fall general assembly. Bishop George V. Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, was elected chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty. Bishop McManus had been acting chairman of the committee since July when Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, stepped down to undergo cancer treatment.

Father Louis J. Gould, 89, formerly of Fitchburg, died Nov. 8 at University of Massachusetts - Memorial Hospital, Worcester. His funeral will be 11 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph's in Fitchburg.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Bishops from New England, including Bishop McManus, shared with Pope Francis some of the joys, challenges and sufferings of the church in the Northeast and, really, throughout the United States, three of the bishops said.

SHREWSBURY – You could say that the makerspace at St. Mary Elementary School is a multi-purpose room. Simply put, a makerspace is a “space in which to make things,” said Gabriel Beltran, St. Mary’s technology director.

SOUTHBRIDGE – Deacon Teodoro Camacho, 65, died at home Monday, surrounded by his loving family. Calling hours will be Friday, Nov. 8, from 5-8 p.m. at Notre Dame Church, 446 Main St.; vigil service at 8 p.m. Funeral will be 10 a.m. Saturday at Notre Dame.

Need a spiritual recharge? How about visiting the Worcester Art Museum? About 40 people from various parishes in the diocese did that recently.

WORCESTER/SPENCER - Raymond J. Bosse, 94, formerly of Spencer, passed away peacefully on Oct. 29 with his family surrounding him. He was ordained a permanent deacon in 1978 in the first diaconate class in the Worcester Diocese. His beloved wife of 67 years, Gloria M. (Couture) Bosse, passed away in 2017. He leaves three sons.

“We have inherited a legacy of faith from our ancestors; now it is our turn to pass on a Legacy of Hope to our children and grandchildren,” said Father Leo-Paul LeBlanc.

Urban Missionaries of Our Lady of Hope has sponsored nearly 100 refugee/immigrant families, since its inception 40 years ago.

Public service in a pluralistic society is both an honor and a challenge ... This might be a good time to review a few Catholic principles regarding government and public service.

SHREWSBURY – The diocesan Commission for Women held a mini-retreat Oct. 19 at St. Mary’s Parish Hall. Eighty-five women from around the diocese attended.

Monday Catholic Charities Worcester County held a ribbon cutting and open house at its new family shelter at 4 Caroline St., Worcester, the former St. Stephen's Parish convent.

Tim Francis, an evangelist and creator of the mission, You Shall Believe, will speak at the upcoming Worcester Catholic Women’s Conference Nov. 23. The title of his talk is, “Signs From God: Miracles and Their Meaning.”

About 40 youngsters and their families spent the afternoon at Assumption College at the Faith & Family Celebration hosted by Pflaum Publishing Group and the Diocese of Worcester.

WORCESTER – The Catholic Campaign for Human Development local grant award ceremony was held last Monday in St. Peter Parish’s gym.

Catholic schools in Massachusetts are to receive millions of dollars in services for students with disabilities, in an effort to correct longstanding violations of their civil rights, according to Stephen Perla, a former superintendent of Catholic schools here.

“That’s amazing!” “Unbelievable!” Bishop McManus had just finished watching a private showing of “Joseph,” a 13-minute film about Jesus’ foster father, created and directed by Alexander Diaz of St. Joseph Parish in Charlton.

WORCESTER – Local clergy, religious and laity, as well as a pope, were celebrated at the sixth annual Celebrate Priesthood! gala Tuesday in St. Vincent Hospital’s atrium. The evening is to recognize diocesan priests and support the Priests’ Retirement Fund.

Sunday Bishop McManus congratulated dozens of couples and thanked them for the example of their “faithfulness and love with which you have blessed all of us” at the annual Wedding Anniversary Mass organized by the diocesan Office of Marriage and Family.