Each year, The Criterion produces a special Marriage and Family Life Supplement announcing recent engagements and weddings submitted to the newspaper, accompanied by marriage-related articles. For more information on the archdiocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life, go to marriageandfamily.archindy.org.

If there is ever a doubt that children pay more attention to their parents’ actions than their words, listen to a few of the 10 children of Patricia Etling talk about their mother.

“Holy Flirtation,” a speed dating event for Catholic singles, will take place at St. Joan of Arc Parish, 4217 Central Ave., in Indianapolis, from 1:30-5:10 p.m. on April 18.

The archdiocesan annual Wedding Anniversary Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Charles C. Thompson at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, 1347 N. Meridian St., in Indianapolis, at 2 p.m. on Aug. 30. A reception will follow across the street at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center.

Three marriage preparation programs offered in the archdiocese—the Pre-Cana Conference, Tobit Weekend and One in Christ—help prepare engaged couples for the sacrament of marriage as well as the challenges of married life. Early registration is recommended for all programs, as each fills up quickly.

When Melinda Rivelli thinks of her six boys, she fears “it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ ” they are exposed to pornography.

Engagement announcements will be published in the July 10 issue of The Criterion for couples planning to marry between July 12, 2026, and Jan. 31, 2027, in a marriage that is recognized by the Church as a valid sacramental or valid natural marriage.

Click on the image for a larger version of our couples; see below for the individual listings without photos

The struggle with pornography, and the need to provide resources for recovery and education, is not something new. However, in the last one to two years, the issue came to the forefront in several ways on the national level and in our own state of Indiana.

The Tell City Deanery spreads across Crawford and Perry counties and portions of Spencer County in the southwest corner of the archdiocese. More than 2,100 families find their faith home in one of the predominantly rural region’s 10 parishes.

La mayoría de nosotros somos buenas personas: obedecemos las normas y nos esforzamos por rectamente. Creemos saber lo que Dios espera de nosotros y, aunque a veces fallamos en ser más amables o sinceros, en general consideramos que cumplimos.

Most of us are good people who obey the rules and strive to live good lives. We think we know what God expects from us, and despite our occasional failures at being kind or truthful or honest, for the most part we succeed at being good people.

The scene will always be my favorite Olympic moment, a moment that wasn’t captured by a television camera or a sports reporter. The moment happened during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, shortly after the women’s soccer team of the United States earned the gold medal with a riveting, intense 1-0 victory over the team from Brazil.

The Catholic Church teaches that any act of violence against another person denies their God‑given dignity. Violence treats a person not as someone worthy of love, but as an object to control.

We are again approaching the Lenten season, where as people of faith we observe the penitential practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lent begins on Wednesday, Feb. 18, this year and concludes on Holy Thursday, April 2, leading into the Easter Triduum.