Catholic Church | New Hampshire Public Radio

Friars of Manchester Church Known for Serving City's Immigrant Population Reflect on Their Work

By Alex McOwen & Peter Biello • Mar 3, 2020

In the basement of St. Anne - St. Augustin church in Manchester, class is in session. About two dozen people - mostly immigrants to New Hampshire - gather around tables to learn English as a second language.

Twenty-eight year old Mariam Soulama came to the United States from Burkina Faso about five years ago speaking French, and not knowing much about life in the U.S.

“I learn everything here,” she says. “Father also help us to learn and have everything here to write, to read. Yeah, I like that.”

Multicultural Services To Continue After Friars Leave Manchester Church

By Alex McOwen • Feb 25, 2020

The Capuchin friars at the St. Anne-St. Augustin church in Manchester have announced they will be leaving the parish in mid-July.

The Rev. Sam Fuller says the parish has lost five pastors and associate pastors due to illness and other personal reasons since 2017. This staffing shortage is, in part, what drove their decision to leave.

St. Anne-St. Augustin is known for serving Manchester's refugee and immigrant populations, offering special services in Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Swahili, in addition to English.

Catholic Church in N.H. Publishes Names of Priests Accused of Sex Abuse of Minors

By NHPR Staff • Jul 31, 2019

The Catholic Diocese of Manchester is publishing a comprehensive list of priests accused of sexually assaulting minors.

The report includes the names of priests both living and deceased dating back to 1950.

While all of the names were previously public, the Diocese says it created a website page as an act of "ownership and accountability."

St. Joseph’s Church in Laconia Dodges Sale and Demolition

By Sara Willa Ernst • Jul 9, 2019

The sale of St. Joseph’s Church in Laconia has been called off, after prospective buyers withdrew from the deal.

The Diocese of Manchester, the Catholic Church in New Hampshire, announced a new plan to preserve the church Monday. The plan is to divide the campus into three parcels: the John W. Busiel House, the old Holy Trinity School and St. Joseph’s church. The Diocese will then keep the church and sell the other two buildings.

Community Members Appeal Demolition of St. Joseph's Church in Laconia

By Sara Willa Ernst • Jun 14, 2019

Community members formally appealed the decision by the Diocese of Manchester to demolish St. Joseph’s Church in Laconia. This is a last ditch effort to save the building after church officials filed for a demolition permit.

The appeal was submitted by St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Preservation Society, a nonprofit created by a handful of impassioned community members last week.

How Should We Preserve And Repurpose Old Churches?

By The Exchange • May 29, 2019

New Hampshire's landscape includes many old houses of worship, and while some are being restored, while others are being adapted for new use, as homes, businesses, or meeting spaces. We examine the importance of these structures to communities, and the debate around what their future should be.

The Furniture Masters of New Hampshire State Prison

By Hannah McCarthy • Jul 20, 2018

For nearly two decades, the Furniture Masters of New Hampshire have been leading a program at the state men's prison in Concord. They teach a woodworking skill to inmates in the hobby shop, and return a month later to check on the progress.

For some inmates, these workshops have opened the door to mastering the craft of furniture making; and to a changed perspective on the world.

On this week's episode, we hear from these inmates, and from a UNH professor and woodworker wants to bring the same skills to incarcerated women.

Attorneys See Parallels With Church Cases in St Paul's Investigation

By Casey McDermott • Jul 14, 2017

The attorney general’s office made waves Thursday night in announcing its plans to launch a criminal investigation into St. Paul’s School over its handling of sexual assaults on school grounds.

While the investigation is still just in its beginning stages, some are already starting to draw parallels to a time when the state took on another powerful institution over its handling of sexual abuse: the Catholic Church.

Bishop Urges Clergy Against Civil Disobedience On Behalf Of Unauthorized Immigrants

By Emily Corwin • Apr 10, 2017

The head of the Catholic Diocese of Manchester, NH has instructed clergy not to house unauthorized immigrants facing possible deportation.

According to Tom Bebbington, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Manchester, the Bishop had received questions from priests about how to respond to news of increased deportation enforcement. On Friday, the Bishop sent a letter to local church leaders urging them not house unauthorized immigrants in their churches.

Pope Dismisses New Hampshire Priest Who Embezzled Money

By Jack Rodolico • Apr 7, 2017

Pope Francis has dismissed a New Hampshire priest from the clergy.

Monsignor Edward Arsenault was the public face of the Diocese of Manchester during the Catholic sex abuse scandal in the mid-2000s.

Arsenault later pleaded guilty to stealing $300,000 from a hospital, a bishop and the estate of a deceased priest.

Father George DeLaire, vicar for canonical affairs for the diocese, says Arsenault has been unable to repay the money he embezzled.