The generosity of the faithful in the Paterson Diocese made the 2016 Bishop’s Annual Appeal a record-breaker. The $4.4 million in pledges was the largest amount raised in Appeal history. These pledges will help fund diocesan Catholic Charities agencies, the education of seminarians, the educational needs of inner-city children attending Catholic schools in the Diocese and Nazareth Village in Chester, the diocesan priests’ retirement residence.

Vice President Mike Pence recently drew attention to the persecution of Christians around the world, telling a summit in Washington, D.C., that “no people of faith today face greater hostility or hatred than the followers of Christ.” In the same speech, Pence singled out “the suffering of Christians in the Middle East,” promising that the U.S. would act to protect Christians in that part of the world.

Bishop Cletus C. Perera, a Benedictine priest from the Sylvesterine congregation, of the Diocese of Ratnapura in Avissawella, Sri Lanka, came far from his home to the Paterson Diocese recently to share the stories and struggles about the faithful he leads in his diocese.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Thomas of Aquin Parish in Ogdensburg July 30 where he celebrated Mass for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Annunciation Parish in Wayne July 29 where he celebrated the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

It will be a summer to remember for 25 pilgrims from the Paterson Diocese who traveled on a historic pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal where they marked the 100th anniversary of the appearance of the Blessed Mother to three shepherd children — siblings Jacinta and Francisco Marto, and their cousin Lucia dos Santos from May to October 1917.

Last month, Preston Dibble, director of Diocesan Music and director of the Diocesan Choir, hit another high note as he accepted the Member of the Year Award from the Director of Music Ministries Division of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, known as NPM, during the organization’s 40th annual national convention held in Cincinnati from July 10 to 13.

From the start two years ago, it was clear to Jim and Coleen Caulfield of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany that their new Mustard Seed Mission was taking root in the hearts and minds of many Catholics in the New Jersey parishes that they were visiting. Since then, the countless “positive reactions” that audience members have given to the Caulfields to their presentations on religious topics by using an engaging mix of Scripture, prayer, music, poetry, humor, stories, personal reflections and visual art, confirmed their decision to found Mustard Seed Mission in the spring of 2015 as a ministry to help deepen the faith of local Catholics.

The ambassador at-large for International Religious Freedom, for those who value our religious liberties and are on the front lines to defend them, is one of the most important appointments a President can make. The position is vital because countries where freedom of religion is respected see fewer acts of terror and extremism, and enjoy stronger civil and human rights than other countries where religious freedom is not respected.