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Mosaic tiles depicting the Immaculate Conception and various saints are seen in the Trinity Dome at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated Dec. 8. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

By Carol Zimmermann 
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Just last year, Catholics were required to attend separate Masses two days in a row for the Sunday obligation and Monday’s Christmas Mass. Now, they have a similar opportunity this year with the feast of the Immaculate Conception falling on a Saturday — Dec. 8.

The vigil Mass on Saturday evening is not a “two-for-one” Mass for both days.

Last year, the U.S. bishops gave Catholics a heads-up about the back-to-back Sunday and Christmas liturgies 10 months in advance in a newsletter issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship. It also referenced what would occur this year and will recur when Dec. 8 falls on a Monday.

The newsletter specifically noted that the Saturday vigil does not count for both the holy day and Sunday in the very rare circumstances when two of the church’s six holy days of obligation — the feast of the Immaculate Conception or Christmas — fall the day before or after Sunday.

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Jim Collins, right, and Greg Wright are pictured with new backpacks that arrived Nov. 29 for fellow parishioners at St. Thomas More Parish in Paradise, Calif., where 640 of 800 community members lost their homes in the Camp Fire in early November. The packs filled with toiletries, warm clothes and small luxuries were donated by Deacon Dominic Peloso and his wife, Mary Ann Peloso, of the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park, Calif., and included $9,000 in gift cards. (CNS photo/Christina Gray, Catholic San Francisco)

By Christina Gray 
Catholic News Service

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) — Deacon Ray Helgeson left his home in Paradise on the morning of Nov. 8 with his wife, Donna, for daily Mass at the close-knit Butte County town’s only Catholic church. They never arrived.

On the short drive to St. Thomas More Church, where the deacon assists at Mass and heads the parish’s adult faith formation program, the Helgesons saw billowing smoke and a nearby peak in flames. They continued warily in the direction of the church but were soon intercepted by emergency crews, who diverted them from what would become California’s most destructive wildland fire.

The Camp Fire burned more than 153,000 acres, destroyed more than 14,000 homes and caused 85 fatalities, with several people still reported missing as of Dec. 6.

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Abby Johnson, who early in her career assisted in carrying out abortions, will be among the speakers during the 2019 March for Life rally Jan. 18 on the National Mall in Washington. She is pictured in a 2011 photo. (CNS photo/Jose Luis Aguirre, Catholic San Francisco)

By Dennis Sadowski 
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Abby Johnson, who early in her career assisted in carrying out abortions, will be among the speakers during the 2019 March for Life rally Jan. 18 on the National Mall in Washington.

Johnson, a one-time Planned Parenthood clinic director, is the founder of And Then There Were None, a ministry that assists abortion clinic workers who have left their position.

“Unique From Day One: Pro-Life Is Pro-Science” is the theme of the 2019 march, Jeanne Mancini, March for Life president, said during a media briefing Dec. 5 in Washington.

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