Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) Parish in Pompton Plains on June 11, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. During his visit, he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 54 young people of the parish, who prepared for the sacrament through the parish’s Confirmation program for the past two years.

Graduating with the highest honors and a 4.0 GPA, Sister Monica Ama, of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood in Paterson, had the honor of giving the valedictory address at Passaic County Community College (PCCC)’s 45th commencement May 18 to a class of more than 1,100, one of the largest in history.

Bishop Serratelli gave heartfelt congratulations to 19 priests who are marking milestone anniversaries of their ordinations this year during the annual “Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving Jubilee Celebration for Priests of the Paterson Diocese” June 6 in St. Vincent Martyr Church in Madison. He praised the jubilarians, who are commemorating their 60, 50, 40 and 25 anniversaries, for their “willingness to bring others to Christ and the Church.”

In this edition of The Beacon, we salute the Class of 2017 in a special 16-page section. By now, the graduates’ heads are filled with the words of wisdom their classmates, teachers and commencement speakers have shared with them. Everything that can be said has been said, or so it seems. So our message to the Class of 2017 consists of just three words. “Never give up!”

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Sacred Heart Parish in Dover on Thursday, May 25 where he was the main celebrant and homilist of a Mass for the Feast of the Ascension, a Holy Day of Obligation.

Imagine one day standing on the same mound as some of the greatest New York Yankees pitchers of all time such as Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry and Mariano Rivera. For Sister of Christian Charity Patrice Owens, soon she can say she stood where those greats once stood as she throws out the first pitch June 9 at Yankee Stadium during the Bronx Bombers game versus the Baltimore Orioles.

Parishes of the Paterson Diocese will be collecting food for the fourth annual diocesan-wide Corpus Christi Food Drive to assist the food pantries at Diocesan Catholic Charities and some parishes of the Diocese. The food drive will be held the weekend of June 17-18, when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Body of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi.

The trouble started when — almost out of the blue — a large rock appeared on the shoulder of a quiet stretch of Route 619 in rural Swartswood. Father Abuchi Nwosu, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) Parish here, jerked the steering wheel of his 2005 Nissan Murano to one side to avoid the rock. But the results on the late afternoon of May 10 were devastating: the priest’s SUV pitched to one side and rolled over — and then again — before coming to rest — upside down — on the blacktop.

Bishop Serratelli reminded a selection of First Communicants from around the diocese that Jesus gives us the gift of himself, each time we receive him in Holy Eucharist, during his annual “Celebration for First Communicants and Eucharistic Catechesis” held June 4 at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany. The catechesis took place on Pentecost Sunday.

Leaks. They emanate from our nation’s capital by the boatload in attempts to sink the ship of state. Rarely does a leak provide good news. But one last week strengthens religious liberty in our nation. This leak did not make headlines in the secular media outlets like all the others, but it needs to be broadcast loud and clear.

Bishop Serratelli has announced clergy appointments and clergy retirements.

Bishop Serratelli celebrated the annual diocesan Memorial Day Mass in Calvary Cemetery’s Mausoleum Chapel in Paterson May 29 to honor the brave men and women, who died while serving in the armed forces. Concelebrants were Father Peter VB Wells, director of the diocesan Cemetery Office and pastor of Our Lady of the Valley and Holy Cross parishes in Wayne; Father Patrick Ryan, pastor of St. James of the Marches Parish in Totowa and Father Kevin Corcoran, priest-secretary to the Bishop and diocesan vice chancellor.

Bishop Serratelli installed Father Thomas Mangieri as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln Park May 28 during the Mass at which the Bishop was the principal celebrant. Father Mangieri was ordained to the priesthood May 26, 2001 by Bishop Emeritus Rodimer at the Cathedral of St. John Baptist in Paterson.

Bishop Serratelli installed Vocationist Father Leo Anthony as pastor of St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson May 27. The Bishop was the main celebrant of the Installation Mass, which was concelebrated by many priests of the Society of Divine Vocations, including the superior general, Vocationist Father Antonio Nascimento.

Bishop Serratelli will be principal celebrant of the annual diocesan Priests Jubilee Mass to honor diocesan and religious order priests serving or who have served within the Paterson Diocese. The Mass will be held in St. Vincent Martyr Church in Madison at 11 a.m., Tuesday, June 6. The Jubilee Mass will honor those priests celebrating 60, 50, 40 and 25-year anniversaries of their priestly ordinations.

Jim Murphy, who grew up as a parishioner of Holy Spirit Parish in Pequannock, remembers when he was 18 and his father, Michael, made a rather startling prediction: “Someday, your cousin will become a saint.” Murphy’s cousin moved a step closer to his dad’s prediction when on May 4 Pope Francis named Capuchin Father Solanus Casey “blessed” — giving Murphy, now 80, hope that his third cousin will be canonized a saint in his lifetime.

The Sisters of Christian Charity at Mallinckrodt Convent have decided to “go big” in celebrating the 200th birthday of their order’s founder, Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt. It will include an array of festivities in June and July to reconnect them with her example of Christ-centered concern for the poor that keeps inspiring them to promote her mission to the wider world. These birthday events will include an Eastern Province-wide Mass with Bishop Serratelli on Saturday, June 17 at 11 a.m. in the Chapel of Mary Immaculate at the convent in Mendham.

“Thank you, thank you. I won’t forget what you said.” With those words, President Trump concluded his private meeting with Pope Francis on the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, May 24. Afterward, the President tweeted: “Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue peace in our world.”