The Vatican has sent bishops around the world the text of the prayer that Pope Francis will lead on March 25 for the consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In a section of Morristown often known as the “Dublin” neighborhood, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade Mass in Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Morristown March 12. Descendants of the early Irish immigrants to this area more than a century ago and many others who consider themselves Irish by blood or by heart were in attendance. However, due to inclement weather that day, the parade was postponed until Saturday, March 19.

Three years ago, some people said it could not be done, initially because it was too ambitious. Then, came the COVID-19 lockdown, followed by shortages in building materials because of supply-chain issues. But there was Rosalie Diaz, 8, of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson and her family on the morning of March 13, taking a tour of that seemingly impossible dream, now a reality: a recently completed two-story, 15,000-square-foot, 13-classroom Catechetical and Educational Building.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Michael the Archangel Church in Paterson March 13 and celebrated Mass marking the Second Sunday of Lent. After the Mass, the Bishop blessed the St. Joseph’s Table, which is a tradition to mark the Feast of St. Joseph, March 19.

We must “live the Eucharist” that we receive at Mass by “becoming more aware of Jesus’ presence in our daily lives so that he can help us to be instruments of his healing and peace for others,” Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney told parishioners of St. Joseph in Mendham during a Lenten retreat focused on the Eucharist, March 7–9.

As the Ukraine-Russia conflict continues, it is believed that almost 3 million Ukrainians have fled the Eastern European country to neighboring countries to its west. One of those countries is Hungary, which has an 84-mile border with Ukraine. This narrow strip of land is an escape route for many displaced people. St. Stephen Magyar Church here is the Diocese’s only parish that offers Mass in Hungarian and the parish community has found itself uniquely connected to the current situation in Ukraine.

Since Russian forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine Feb. 24, daily news reports have shown the horrors of war as innocent men, women, and children are maimed and killed, illustrating Russia’s violent push to take strategic towns at a high cost for civilians.

On this past Saturday, March 12, I had the privilege to celebrate and preach at the “Pre-Parade Mass” at Assumption Parish in Morristown, on what was supposed to be the “return” of the Morristown St. Patrick’s Day Parade, after the parade had to be cancelled for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Good things come to those who wait” — while we celebrated the Mass, we will have to wait one more week to march in the parade, which was postponed to Saturday, March 19 (the Feast of St. Joseph) due to inclement weather.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson on Ash Wednesday, March 2, the first day of Lent, where he blessed and placed ashes on the foreheads of employees during Mass. Afterward, the Bishop visited patients’ rooms at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, a state designated specialized children’s hospital at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, to give them ashes and to pray with them.

On March 3, a day mixed with joy, sorrow, and ultimately hope, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney blessed and dedicated the $1.5 million in major renovations at Morris Catholic High School (MCHS) in Denville, designed to “provide new and improved space for the Morris Catholic community.” On that Thursday morning, Bishop Sweeney made a scheduled visit to MCHS for the dedication but ended up comforting the school community, which was still in shock from the sudden death Jessie Wintle, a beloved math and computer teacher on March 1.

It was fitting that one of the first sessions on March 5 for the new Pentecost Project series on the New Evangelization at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson were held in a classroom of its new Cateche­tical and Educational Building. Nearly completed, the two-story, 16,000­­-square-foot facility will house formation programs and ministries to help the faithful of all ages to know Christ and answer his call to spread the “Good News” of the Gospel — armed with an enthusiasm for evangelizing that the Pentecost Project seeks to reawaken in the cathedral parish and beyond, said Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects.

In preparation for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2023, Pope Francis has asked the Universal Church to participate in a consultative two-year process of listening and dialogue. Currently in the first phase of the Synod, the Diocese of Paterson launched an online survey on the Diocesan website March 8 for the public, including Catholics, other Christians, members of other religions, and even those who claim no religion, to participate in the process and share their experiences with the Catholic Church. The theme of this Synod is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission,” and finding expression locally on the website as “#ListeningChurchPaterson.”

On the First Sunday of Lent, March 6, in dioceses around the world, the annual Rite of Elec­tion took place as catechumens moved a step closer to receiving Sacraments of Initiation — Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist — to become full members of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 16. The Diocese of Paterson welcomed 103 catechumens to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson where Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney selected — or elected — them.

Just a mere 48 hours before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to the nation, the Democrats in the U.S. Senate attempted to shove through a vote on most radical abortion bill in U.S. history, the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA). Every Republican in the Senate, along with one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, stood up for life in the womb and voted “no’” to stop this horrific legislation.

I have not yet had the privilege to meet Pope Francis in person. I hope that I may have that opportunity sometime in the coming year (or years). Yet, without having met him in person, I feel that I have gotten to know him better, especially in the past year. I was somewhat surprised to learn, as I was preparing this column, that the first announcement of the Synod on Synodality was made on March 7, 2020, almost exactly two years ago. My first recollection of hearing about the Synod was in spring 2021. It turns out that the Synod, like so many other things, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The documents for the implementation of the Synod, including a “Vademecum” (guidebook), were issued by the Vatican in September 2021. I hope that most readers of this column and most of the faithful in our Diocese have at least some sense that the Synod is taking place.

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (FSSP) of Morris County hosted the 40th anniversary of the annual blessing of the tri-color flag at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mountain Lakes Feb. 27. This traditional celebration marks the faith and commitment its members have to their religious beliefs and their Irish heritage. The blessing included Scripture readings, songs, and bagpipers playing. Father Charles Kelly, parochial vicar of Assumption Church in Emerson, was the guest homilist.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Pompei (OLP) Church in Paterson Feb. 27 where he celebrated Mass marking the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the visit, he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish.

On Feb. 26, a small women’s faith-sharing and social group at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in Randolph was reminded that the Eucharist is not possible without the Holy Spirit. In its 8 a.m. meeting that Saturday at St. Matthew’s, members of the Marthas and Marys group came away with a better understanding that the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit, after they watched “The Spirit and the Eucharist,” a 30-minute video. It’s part of “The Ministry of the Wild Goose: Discover­ing a Deeper Relationship with the Holy Spirit,” a 14-part video series presented by Third Order Regular Franciscan Father Dave Pivonka, president of Franciscan Uni­versity in Steubenville, Ohio.

Sometimes, Father Nico Quintos, parochial vicar at St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton, laughs so much, he has trouble finishing his sentences. Chuckles and chortles fill a studio in Makati City in the Philippines, where Father Quintos tapes a Catholic podcast with St. Paul Father Albert Garong, the host — his college buddy, as they sometimes reminisce about their days in college seminary. Sitting behind a microphone, Father Quintos, born and raised in the Philippines, delights in sharing with Father Garong, also a native, the pure joy of his ministry and his calling from God. Sitting in with them for last month’s taping of the podcast, called “The PadsCast,” was Deacon Ed Dantis who serves in the area there. They spoke in their native language of Tagalog.

With the Lenten season under way, every church in the Paterson Diocese will have its doors open starting Monday evening, March 7, for Catholics to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Through the diocesan initiative, Welcome Home to Healing, every Monday during Lent from 7 to 8:30 p.m. until April 4, priests will hear the confessions of anyone who seeks God’s healing love and forgiveness.