To better serve the pastoral and the spiritual needs of laity, it is important today that pastors, priests and lay leaders are equipped with also managing the parish on an administrative and organizational level. To facilitate this, the Paterson Diocese has entered into a unique partnership with the Villanova School of Business (VSB) Center for Church Management (CCM) to offer an innovative two-year, online Master of Science in Church Management degree designed to provide students with a high-level skill set in effective church management. In addition, a 50 percent scholarship is available to any new students from the Paterson Diocese.

They come from different vocations — priests, religious sisters and laity — and have taken on different roles at St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne — including lector, Catholic school principal and Bible-study participant. They use different approaches to make their points, drawing on personal experience, quoting Scripture or outlining with bullet points. Yet these people of faith, past and present members of St. Anthony’s, came together between the covers of the parish’s new booklet, “Repent & Believe in the Gospel,” offering short, individual spiritual reflections.

On March 10, the First Sunday of Lent, in dioceses around the world, the Rite of Election took place as catechumens journeyed closer to receiving the Sacraments of Initiation — Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation — at the Easter Vigil celebration on Holy Saturday evening, April 20. The 114 catechumens, who will be welcomed into the Church on Holy Saturday, came to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Sunday where Bishop Serratelli formerly selected — or elected — them.

On March 1, U.S. Sec­re­tary of Educa­tion Betsy DeVos, along with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), unveiled Education Freedom Schol­arships (EFS), the Trump Administration’s key proposal to expand and improve the education options available to students across the country.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Sacred Heart Parish here on Friday, March 1, where he celebrated Mass followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Notre Dame of Mount Carmel Parish here where he celebrated Mass for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time on March 3. During the Mass, many children were present to participate in the Children’s Liturgy of the Word. This past weekend’s Masses marked the end of Ordinary Time as Lent began yesterday, March 6 on Ash Wednesday.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit on Saturday, March 2 to Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in the Hewitt section of West Milford Township where he served as main celebrant and homilist of the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. At the Mass, the Bishop officially installed Father Kamil Stachowiak, as Queen of Peace’s pastor.

A trip to the land down under is a-once-in-a-lifetime adventure for many and for Deacon George Forshay and his wife, Mary, the couple’s recent trip on a cruise ship that traveled to New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia will be filled with memories that will last forever. One particular memory that stands out for Deacon Forshay was distributing ashes at an Ash Wednesday service to people from around the world traveling aboard the cruise ship Silversea Silver Muse.

Early Irish immigrants, who came to the U.S. in pursuit of the American Dream, often found their search for “a little bit of God’s mercy” — a job, a home, friendship and a sense of security — more difficult, as they sometimes faced bigotry from an unfriendly wider society. Many of these newcomers to Morristown discovered the open arms of the “Dublin” neighborhood — an ethnic enclave that nurtured generations of its Irish and their descendants for more than a century. At its heart was Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, which led the community in welcoming the stranger.

In the last week, the pro-life movement gained some ground in one area but in another lost ground. A victory for life came when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Trump Administration, as promised, is restoring Title X family planning regulations to prohibit grantees from co-locating with abortion clinics, or from referring clients for abortion. “The Protect Life Rule” requires clear financial and physical separation between Title X funded projects and programs or facilities where abortion is a method of family planning.

Assumption College for Sisters (ACS) will honor a diocesan priest and two couples for their service to the Church and community at its 18th annual Caring Basket Gala at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany on April 4.