A college instructor once quizzed us on the word “catholic.” It means “universal.” While we know the Catholic church has a global reach, it’s not always as easy to feel when we’re in the same parish and pew every week. The last few days have been an exception.
We log in daily as reporters and editors to monitor Catholic News Service, the news wire from where we draw most news for our “Nation/World” section. It’s filled with stories that reporters from diocesan newspapers across the country submit and with stories that CNS reporters stateside and in Rome compose themselves.
Generally, the only time Phoenix is mentioned is if we submit something that you’ve already seen in our newspaper. Twice already this week, fresh photos from a Phoenix parish and school have made the Catholic News Service news wire.
That’s because Nancy Wiechec, who worked her way from The Catholic Sun intern to associate editor (1987-94), has continued sharing her photography skills with CNS after stepping down as its visual media manager in January. Wiechec spent 15 years prior as photo and graphics editor for CNS and has nearly 2,000 images on the current news wire server.
See more of her career in review on page three of the March issue of The Catholic Journalist.
She and her family has returned to Arizona, so expect more stunning pictures in the future. Take a look at some of her work on this page.
This morning, I received an email from Tom Peterson, a former parishioner at St. Anne in Gilbert. He went on to establish headquarters for Virtue Media, Catholics Come Home and Good Confession.com in Atlanta. Peterson said Devin Jones, a one-time parishioner at St. Timothy in Mesa — who now lives in Denver — will be among the first guests on “Catholics Come Home,” a TV series premiering on EWTN Sept. 4.
The 13-episode series features an interview with someone who recently returned to the Church, partly because of Catholics Come Home’s media outreach. The episode featuring Hones and her current home diocese will air Sept. 28.
Check out the promo video.
