Fr. Larry Bakke, pastor of St. Clare of Assisi Parish, Monroe, and director of the Apostolate to the Handicapped of the Diocese of Madison (right in tan jacket), hosted a pilgrimage for 40 people to the Holy Land from October 30 to November 10, 2011. Here they are reading the Catholic Herald outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

On a pilgrimage tour of Ireland, travelers from the Diocese of Madison and others from Wisconsin read the Catholic Herald at Knock, Ireland, after attending Mass in the parish church and visiting the Apparition Chapel and the basilica: Patrick Schwingle, St. John, Muscoda; Ann McGuire, St. Patrick, Madison; Irish bus driver; Helen Stanek, St. John, Spring Green; Bernice Stanek, St. John, Muscoda; Fr. Dennis Meulemans, Rib Lake; Mary Stanek, St. John Nepumuc, Castle Rock Ridge; Deacon Michael Cullen, Barren; and Jean Marie Schwingle, St. John, Muscoda.

Fr Bruce Hennington, right, retired priest of the Madison Diocese, reads the Catholic Herald in Sunsites, Ariz., in the Diocese of Tucson. From left are Fr. Michael Bucciarelli, dean and pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Benson, Ariz., where Father Hennington sometimes helps out; Fr. Martin Atanga Baabuge, pastor of St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, Sunsites, Ariz., a priest of the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, Ghana, which has a partnership with the Diocese of Madison; and Fr. Sylvester Nwaogu, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Tombstone, Ariz., a priest of the Archdiocese of Owerri, Nigeria, home of many Nigerian priests who previously served in the Diocese of Madison.

The National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW) held its annual convention November 9 through 12 in Chicago, Ill. The theme was "Campaign for Human Dignity -- Love in Action." There were 675 registrants, and 14 attending from the Madison Diocese. The women came together to study, pray, and experience fellowship. Workshops were all based on the theme.

People on a pilgrimage read the Catholic Herald at Ireland’s National Marian Shrine in Knock, Ireland. The Story of Knock began on the August 21, 1879, when Our Lady, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the Knock parish church. From this miraculous apparition Knock has grown to the status of an internationally recognized Marian Shrine. One and a half million pilgrims visit the shrine annually.

Carmen Schultz and Sarah Shackleton, parishioners at St. Francis Xavier Parish, Cross Plains, enjoyed reading the Catholic Herald in Jerusalem while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Among the sites they visited were Bethlehem, Jerusalem (Holy Sepulchre), Mt. Tabor, Mt. Carmel, Capernaum, Cana, Gethsemane, and Mt. Nebo.

Reading the Catholic Herald at the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo campus prior to taking the ACT test are, from left: Allan Platt, Michael Hess, Jacob Cicero, and Moses Alvarez. The picture was sent in by Jan Hess of St. Cecilia Parish, Wisconsin Dells.

Anne Mortensen, a teacher at St. Maria Goretti School in Madison, reads the Catholic Herald in Cartago, Costa Rica, outside the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles. The basilica has a statue of the Black Madonna known as La Negrita. The sick come to her statue in the hope of witnessing a miracle.

Mary Eckert, left, a member of St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville, and her son, Don, Jr., read the Catholic Herald at Talofofo Falls, Guam. He has lived there since 1978. Mary Eckert and her niece, Linda Martin, were visiting Don and his wife, Tessie, and family, including a five-day-old great-granddaughter, Sophie Lynn.

Mater Dei pilgrims read the Catholic Herald while visiting Our Lady of the Pillar Basilica in Zaragoza, Spain, recently. It is the site of the first recorded Marian apparition, where Mary appeared standing on top of a pillar to the apostle St. James. Pictured are Rose Serna, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Portage; Kathleen Blair, Christ the King, McFarland; and Barb Kutchmarek and Juan Landa, St. John the Baptist, Waunakee.