Articles by Jonah McKeown
Team of young Chicago priests answer the call to anoint COVID-19 patients
Apr 8, 2020 / 15:33 pmThe Archdiocese of Chicago has assembled a team of 24 priest volunteers— all under age 60, and without pre-existing medical conditions— to administer sacramental anointing of the sick to Catholics with COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Keep Palm and Carry On
Apr 6, 2020 / 00:00 amMillions of people were affected - in some way or another - by the coronavirus pandemic this Palm Sunday. We talk with a palm supplier in Florida about the impact of the coronavirus on his business. Then, a priest in Maine shares his creative alternative to palms for this year's Palm Sunday. Producer Jonah McKeown shares about the Palm Sunday Mass he attended at a parish for deaf Catholics in Maryland.
Palm supplier sees business halved by coronavirus cancelations
Apr 3, 2020 / 22:55 pmThomas Sowell and his wife own Southeast Palm and Foliage in Astor, Florida, in the middle of the state, about 40 miles west of Daytona Beach.
Coronavirus keeps volunteers away, but Arkansas Catholic Charities plans help for tornado victims
Mar 31, 2020 / 18:01 pmAn EF3 tornado blew through Jonesboro, Arkansas, this week, and although no deaths have been reported, Catholic Charities of Arkansas is gearing up to help those whose livelihoods will be affected by the disaster.
Listen at Your Leisure
Mar 30, 2020 / 00:00 amWe hear from a couple in Ohio who write fiction; Princeton professor Robbie George talks about why he plays the banjo; artist Katrina Harrington shares her plans to start a Mary Garden; a longtime FOCUS missionary talks about her new relationship with leisure; and a musician uses her leisure time to write personalized songs for people during this pandemic.
How CRS is helping refugees amid coronavirus
Mar 27, 2020 / 15:11 pmThere are nearly 700,000 refugees living in close quarters in the world's largest refugee settlements in Bangladesh, making them vulnerable as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spreads.
Can't go to confession during coronavirus? Consider an 'act of perfect contrition'
Mar 27, 2020 / 04:00 amWhat is an act of perfect contrition, and how does it work? A CNA Explainer.
Food pantries ramp up distribution, take precautions
Mar 26, 2020 / 02:01 amDespite the closure of churches and lockdowns in place in many areas of the United States due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, many social service agencies are ramping up their efforts to feed the poor, while at the same time taking unprecedented precautions to avoid getting their guests sick.
‘Stay the course’ - Keeping the faith, keeping a restaurant, and helping employees amid coronavirus
Mar 25, 2020 / 03:00 amFavazza’s Restaurant has been an institution in St. Louis for over four decades. It’s located on The Hill, an Italian neighborhood well-known for its cuisine.
Coronavirus Comes to America
Mar 24, 2020 / 00:00 amWe talk with priests who are navigating Mass cancellations; a homeless shelter in Washington D.C. that continues its life-saving ministry to the poor; the coronavirus' impact on 12-step recovery programs; and the time Mary protected a St. Louis school from a cholera epidemic.
Prison chaplains adapt as coronavirus limits their ministry
Mar 23, 2020 / 14:01 pmThe worldwide outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) is beginning to touch one of the populations in the United States most vulnerable to disease: the incarcerated.
Former Swiss Guard: the elderly are 'united in prayer' in coronavirus hit-Italy
Mar 23, 2020 / 12:01 pmMario Enzler’s mother always wanted a big family.
Italy in the time of coronavirus
Mar 23, 2020 / 00:00 amRome correspondents Hannah Brockhaus and Courtney Mares share personal essays of their experience living under lockdown in Rome. A former member of the Swiss Guard tells us about how his elderly parents are faring in the Italian city of Bergamo— one of the hardest hit cities in Italy.
A Franciscan friar and deacon is DC’s first known coronavirus fatality
Mar 21, 2020 / 15:07 pmA Franciscan friar is the first person known to have died as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the District of Columbia.
How could a market downturn affect Catholic giving? A look at the data
Mar 20, 2020 / 02:01 amHow might the market downturn affect how much US Catholics give to their parish and other Catholic causes?
Fort Worth diocese will distribute Communion outside after Masses
Mar 18, 2020 / 17:00 pmBishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth issued a pastoral letter March 18 detailing directives for the celebration of Mass during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Coronavirus and the collection basket: Parishes feel quarantine cash crunch
Mar 17, 2020 / 11:20 amSome parishes, especially those serving poor communities, have already begun feeling a financial pinch as they lose access to in-person parish collections.
The Church and disabled Catholics (Part 2)
Mar 16, 2020 / 00:00 amJeff Schinstock talks about his daughter, Regina Maria, who has severe autism. The director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability talks about simple but effective modifications to the sacraments of initiation for Catholics with disabilities.
Places of worship caught in New Rochelle coronavirus 'containment area'
Mar 12, 2020 / 10:55 amPlaces of worship in a New York City suburb are facing unprecedented measures to fend off the spread of coronavirus after the governor on Tuesday announced the creation of a 1-mile radius “containment zone” to limit the virus’ spread.
Why this group performs ultrasounds in Nebraska schools
Mar 12, 2020 / 03:00 amPregnancy ultrasounds are often intimate moments, performed in the privacy of a doctor’s office. But pregnant volunteers, and one Nebraska group, have begun performing ultrasounds in schools: aiming to give students a live, real-time look at the miracle of life.