The 60th anniversary edition of The Dialog, published Sept. 19, 2025, included a review of Catholic news from 1965-2025. This is the fifth of 10 parts.
1989
The first diocesan communal reconciliation service was held in March at St. Peter Cathedral.
The Annual Catholic Appeal set a new high for amount collected at $1,269,101, which was 108.5 percent of the goal.
Catholic Forum of the Air, a weekly radio program produced by a volunteer lay group, marked its 50th anniversary.
St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington launched its childcare and learning center for children of hospital employees.
St. Hedwig Parish began a yearlong celebration of its centennial.
Norbertine Father Justin Diny, 77, headmaster of Archmere Academy in Claymont from 1946-83, died of an apparent heart attack.
The cloistered Sisters of the Visitation announced plans to move from their 96-year-old monastery on Bancroft Parkway and move to a new home.
1990
A would-be burglar at St. Paul Convent in Wilmington was stopped by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia who lived there.
The Capuchin Poor Clare nuns who came to Wilmington in 1987 moved into their newly completed home, St. Veronica Giuliani Monastery, on Jefferson Street in Wilmington.
Bishop Mulvee rededicated St. Patrick’s Center in Wilmington, which had been seriously damaged by a fire a few years prior.
St. Francis Hospital broke ground for a seven-story medical services building next to the hospital. It opened in 1991.
Mass at St. Michael the Archangel in Georgetown was moved to the parish hall after the discovery of termite damage in the church.
At the annual Field Mass at All Saints Cemetery, Bishop Mulvee blesses the grouping of bronze statues depicting the Pieta and Saints Veronica and Mary Magdalen.
Capuchin Brother Ronald Giannone, the founder and executive director of the Ministry of Caring, was ordained to the priesthood at Holy Rosary Church by Bishop Mulvee.
St. Joseph Parish on French Street in Wilmington began its centennial celebration.
Bishop Mulvee blessed and dedicated the Fountain of Life Columbarium at Cathedral Cemetery.
St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Hockessin concluded the celebration of its 200th anniversary with the blessing of the new addition at the parish.
Bishop Mulvee blessed the 6,840 square-foot expansion at Ss. Peter and Paul High School in Easton, Md.
1991
The Franciscan Fathers of the Holy Name Province assumed responsibility for St. Paul Parish in Wilmington. The Third Order Regular Franciscans had staffed the parish from 1980-90.
St. Joseph on the Brandywine Parish in Greenville began celebrations for its 150th anniversary.
Ground was broken for a church for St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Prices Corner. The church was dedicated in December.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish welcomed Bishop Mulvee for the dedication of its new church building.
Bishop Burke baptized children of migrant workers during a visit to celebrate Mass at St. Elizabeth Church in Westover, Md.
A $250,000 project to fortify walls and interior columns begins at St. Peter Cathedral.
Ground is broken for the Franciscan Healthcare Center at Brackenville. The facility was sponsored by the Franciscan ElderCare Corp. and the diocesan Catholic Ministry to the Elderly.
Joseph House Village, serving homeless individuals and families in Salisbury, Md., opened for its first residents.
Corpus Christi broke ground for its new church.
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Secretary, Md., and St. John the Baptist Church in Newark celebrated their centennials.
Microfilming of parish sacramental records began for the diocesan archives.
1992
The diocesan gospel choir debuted at a Mass at St. Joseph Church on French Street in Wilmington.
Corpus Christi Parish opens its new church. The parish had celebrated Mass in the basement of the school.
St. Joseph Parish in Middletown announced plans to build a new parish complex on 20 acres along Route 299. The original church, which accommodated 140 people, had become too small for weekend Masses.
Tiny Steps, Delaware’s only community-centered prenatal program for the underserved, opens at St. Francis Hospital.
Arson was the cause of a fire that gutted the diocesan Finance Office. An employee was charged with that and other crimes.
The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales marked a century of service in the United States with a Mass at St. Peter Cathedral.
Volunteers overhauled a chapel at St. Peter the Apostle Church in New Castle. The chapel was created in 1960.
St. John the Baptist Church in Newark reopens after repairs and renovations necessitated by a fire in 1991.
Our Mother of Sorrows Parish in Centreville, Md., celebrated its 100th anniversary.
1993
The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales broke ground in Childs, Md., on an assisted-living facility to care for aging and infirm priests.
The Visitation Sisters moved from their monastery next to St. Ann Church in Wilmington to a new home in Massachusetts. They arrived in Wilmington in 1893.
Father Daniel Gerres was promoted to colonel in the Delaware National Guard, the highest rank ever attained by a chaplain in the state unit.
Work began on a new wing at Catholic Charities’ headquarters on Greenhill Avenue in Wilmington.
St. Francis Hospital opened three labor/delivery/recovery suites, allowing new mothers to remain in one setting while giving birth and recovering.
The remains of Bishop Alfred A, Curtis, which had been interred on the grounds of the Visitation Sisters’ monastery in Wilmington, were transferred to Cathedral Cemetery.
Holy Cross parishioners and father-and-son duo Howard and Howie Smith leave Washington state on a cross-country bicycle odyssey to raise money for three local charities.
Fifty youth and adults traveled to Denver for World Youth Day, which featured Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II.
