Simbang Gabi (Filipino for “Night Masses”) is traditionally a pre-dawn novena of Masses, approximately from December 16-24, culminating at Christmas midnight Mass. Bishop Barber will join the Simbang Gabi kickoff Mass at Church of the Good Shepherd (Pittsburg) Saturday, December 9, 10:00am. Parish Novena schedule through the link.
Bishop Barber will celebrate Adult Confirmation at the Cathedral of Christ the Light on February 3, 2024 and May 4, 2024. To register your parish, please complete this form by Monday, December 4, 2023. Link to form and additional deadlines through the link.
NPM celebrates the Black Catholic men and women who have shaped our faith and life in the Church, especially during the month of November. Helpful resources, videos, music and podcasts through the link.
Please join Bishop Michael Barber, SJ in a day of prayer and fasting for peace on October 17, 2023. Read the letter from the Patriarch of Jerusalem through the link.
On September 14, the Holy See shared prayers inviting the faithful from around the world to prayerfully participate in the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will open in the Vatican on October 4.
Read the August 22, 2023 update from Fr. Jayson Landeza from his visit in Maui, where he shared pastoral care and offered Mass for Filipino and Hispanic hotel workers. Complete text through the link.
Bishop Michael Barber, SJ, asks us to prayerfully consider the following request for assistance from Bishop Larry Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu. (Bishop Silva is a native of the Oakland Diocese.) Read more through the link.
El Obispo Michael C. Barber, SJ, ha nombrado al padre Raphael Zwolenkiewicz, OFM Conv. como párroco de Nuestra Señora de la Gracia (Our Lady of Grace Parish), en Castro Valley, a partir del 1 de agosto de 2023 y como párroco de la Parroquia de la Transfiguración (Transfiguration Parish), también en Castro Valley, a partir del 1 de septiembre de 2023, fecha en la que se establece el nuevo grupo diocesano para esas dos parroquias. Detalles a través del enlace.
Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, has appointed Father Raphael Zwolenkiewicz, OFM Conv. as pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Castro Valley, effective August 1, 2023 and as pastor of Transfiguration Parish, also in Castro Valley, effective September 1, 2023, the date on which the new diocesan cluster of those two parishes is established. Further details through the link.
Pope Francis has advanced the sainthood cause of Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, a Black religious sister who founded the country’s first African American religious congregation in Baltimore in 1829. Read the article from the Catholic News Agency through the link.
The FAQ's through the link include valuable information about adult, youth and volunteer registration as well as helpful links for lodging and transportation. Read through the link.
Fr. Erik Villa's invites the Faithful of the Diocese to a join the 33 Day Preparation for Total Consecration in preparation for the 2023 Eucharistic Revival. This pre event for the DERC uses the Saint Louis de Montfort Method. Program offered in English and Spanish and will include both children and adults. Read Fr. Erik's letter and access the registration website through the link.
Join the California Catholic Conference’s Novena for Migrants and Asylum Seekers at the U.S. Border to pray for the migrants and asylum-seekers at the border now that Title 42 has expired and tens of thousands are expected at the southern U.S. Border each day.
The Steering Committee of the DERC are blessed to announce these four (4) initiatives geared towards greater appreciation of the centrality of the Eucharist in our life of Faith, and the role that the Blessed Mother plays in bringing us closer to her Son. Read through the link for the initiatives and how you, your ministries and parishes can become involved in these events, culminating in the weekends of September 8/9 and 15/16, 2023. For more information email: eucharisticrevival2023@oakdiocese.org.
Han pasado más de dos años desde que el Obispo de Oakland, Michael C. Barber, S.J., pidió se formara una comisión de trabajo para evaluar cómo enfrentar los desafíos de la disminución de la asistencia a misa y las instalaciones parroquiales subutilizadas en nuestra diócesis. Estos desafíos no son exclusivos de la Diócesis de Oakland. En los Estados Unidos, las diócesis se ven afectadas por desafíos similares. Lea el informe completo a través del enlace.
It has been more than two years since the Bishop of Oakland, Michael C. Barber, S.J., called for the formulation of a task force to assess how to meet the challenges of declining Mass attendance and underutilized parish facilities in our diocese. These challenges are not unique to the Diocese of Oakland. Dioceses throughout the United States are impacted with similar challenges. For background and recommendations, read the Report through the link.
Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, has granted all Catholics in the Diocese of Oakland a dispensation from the requirement to abstain from all meat on Friday, March 17, the feast day of St. Patrick, and to consider a separate sacrificial or charitable act today.