News - October 2022 RSS Feed

Sean, who has Down syndrome, works every day toward his dream of becoming a chef and owning his own restaurant one day. Interested in culinary arts, he has learned to cook several dishes for his roommates at Basile Apartments in Wayne — the supervised apartments are operated by the Department for Persons with Disa­bilities (DPD).

Parishioners of Assump­tion of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Morristown have been filling the walls of its church with prayers and faith since it was dedicated in 1873. That faith has sustained them through political division and social movements in the United States and changes in the Church over all those decades, said Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney at a Mass on Oct. 16 to mark the 150th anniversary of Assumption Church, which was partially destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the 1980s.

Morris Catholic High School held a pro-life rally and retreat on Oct. 20, attended by students from Morris Catholic, DePaul Catholic High School, and Pope John XXIII Regional High School.

The annual World Mission Sunday Mass was held on Oct. 23 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, celebrated by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. He led the diocese in thanking and praying for missionaries, priests, laity, and consecrated persons for spreading the Gospel around the world, including to the poor.

This is the time of year when the faithful are invited to support the work of our Diocesan Ministries Appeal. Since 1991 when it began as the “Bishop’s Annual Appeal,” the Appeal has focused on four specific causes in our Diocese: Catholic Charities, seminarian education, Catholic urban education, and Nazareth Village, our retirement residence for senior priests. The work of each of these ministries is unique and varied — and inspired by the lives of saints in the Church. This year, the “in pew” Appeal Weekend will take place in most parishes on the weekend of Oct. 29 and 30 — a day before “All Hallows Eve” (aka Halloween) and two days before All Saints Day. Here are just a few of the ways that the “lives of the Saints” are an inspiration to the Ministries supported by the “DMA.”

Since its inception in the diocesan structure, the Office for Hispanic Ministry has enthusiastically renewed its commitment to the great number of Hispanics that make up a large portion of the Diocese of Paterson. When Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney established the office last year, he granted the Spanish-speaking population of our diocese a place at the table, thus recognizing the great contribution on the part of all Hispanics to the experience of our Catholic faith in the counties of Passaic, Morris, and Sussex.

Desde su incepción en la estructura diocesana, la Oficina para el Ministerio Hispano ha renovado su compromiso con el pueblo latino que forma gran parte de nuestro territorio diocesano. Al instaurar la oficina el año pasado, Monseñor Sweeney concedió un lugar en la mesa al pueblo latinoamericano que tanto contribuye a la experiencia de nuestra fe católica en los condados de Passaic, Morris y Sussex.

The sorrowful wail of bagpipes echoed through the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, capturing the solemn atmosphere of the annual diocesan Firefighters Red Mass on Oct. 18. At the liturgy, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the diocese in honoring deceased firefighters and in praying for the safety of all fire personnel, who risk their lives to save others “by reaching out to those, who have been injured and bringing them to safety.”

Founding parishioners of St. Luke’s in the Long Valley section of town fondly recall Masses 40 years ago being held in a local real estate office and Long Valley Middle School. Christmas Masses were celebrated in a barn with bales of hay for pews. There they were in 1982 — Msgr. Peter Doody, St. Luke’s founding pastor, and 200 families eager to build up a faith community in their growing area out in the country — with much hard work, sacrifice, and love. One of those founding parishioners, Jo-Ann Gay, was thrilled to celebrate all those past efforts — and work today — at a Mass on Oct. 15 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Morris County parish.

When Msgr. George Hundt arrived with his guitar, students of the St. Vincent Martyr Parish school would know that it would be a fun class. The priest would lead the class in singing rollicking faith-based songs, remembered Max Dreitlein, a St. Vincent’s graduate. Dreitlein joined a handful of people who also know Msgr. Hundt well to offer praise and thanks to St. Vincent’s beloved pastor — along with fond memories — during a Mass on Oct. 9 to mark his more than 40 years as a priest.

On Oct. 11, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated Mass at Delbarton School in Morristown. Delbarton School is a Benedictine Catholic college preparatory school educating young men in grades 7–12 in mind, body, and spirit. Led by the monks of St. Mary’s Abbey, Delbarton continues a 1,500-year tradition of Benedictine Catholic liberal arts education that guides students to strive for nothing less than excellence in scholarship, spirituality, character and physical health.

It wasn’t until Tom McKinley of Hawthorne started ministering to the desperately poor a world away in the Philippines that he heard in their cries a possible call to the priesthood by God. “Poverty in Cebu City is extreme like we don’t see here in the United States. It’s destitution — kids in rags, street urchins, and people living in shacks,” said McKinley, 45, a native of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne. In the Philippines, he ran a Rotary Club, which fed the poor and arranged for them to receive dental work. He returned to his family in Hawthorne in 2019. “Serving the poor was rewarding. I started thinking, ‘How can I do more of this — put my Christian principles into action?’ That led me to consider the priesthood,” he said.

Throughout the Diocese of Paterson, the faithful give humbly of themselves day after day and year after year. Selfless acts of service that often go unseen unite faith communities in love and charity. On Sunday, nearly 150 Catholic faithful were honored for such service at the annual Vivere Christus Ceremony at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson.

This past Tuesday, Oct. 11, was the feast of St. Pope John XXIII. I sent an email to all our priests on Tuesday and, for some reason, wished them a Happy Feast of St. Clare, whose Feast Day is Aug. 11. I realized I had made a mistake at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, just a little too late to correct my error in the email that was scheduled to be sent at 8 a.m. Yet, realizing my mistake led me to spend a little more time thinking about “Good Pope John” and appreciating that his Feast Day, now as St. Pope John XXIII, is on Oct. 11 because that was the date of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

“Togetherness is the heart of African culture,” Maryknoll Father Joseph Healey, an African missionary for the past 54 years, told 1st–8th-graders during a visit to Divine Mercy Academy (DMA) here on Oct. 6. To illustrate his point, Father Healey, who teaches at the Catholic university in Nairobi, Kenya, asked five students to get up and form a line. He identified the student in front and the one in back. Then, Father Healey asked them to face each other and hold hands in a circle — a part of his talk about his missionary work in eastern Africa.

As chairman of the Pro-Life Ministry at St. Cecilia Parish here for 13 years, the late Thomas A. Haltigan worked tirelessly to help promote the protection of the lives of the unborn. A resident of White Meadow Lake in Rockaway, Haltigan helped organize many pro-life fundraisers for the group, now known as the Rockaway Denville Catholic Respect Life Ministry.

On Oct. 8, The Assump­tion of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Morristown held the 7th annual Knights of Columbus Mass and Dinner of Appreciation honoring local healthcare workers for their valiant efforts during the pandemic. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney was the main celebrant at the Mass and was joined by Msgr. John E. Hart, the pastor of the parish.

Teens participated in an Antioch Retreat at St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church in Washington Township Sept. 30. The youth ministries of Saint Luke’s and St. Lawrence the Martyr parishes in Chester co-hosted the event. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated an opening Mass with the leadership team.