At various times in his life, Father Peter Clarke, president of Morris Catholic High School in Denville, has walked with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, patron of Catholic schools and the first U.S.-born saint, in his faith, vocation and pursuit of higher education. Before becoming a priest, Father Clarke attended St. Peter Parish in Manhattan, where Mother Seton converted to Catholicism in 1805. Years later, as a priest in Catholic schools in the Diocese, he was inspired to pursue a doctorate in educational leadership at the College of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, named in the saint’s honor and operated by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth.

About 150 members of the St. Lucy Province of the Religious Teachers Filippini gathered at their Motherhouse, Villa Walsh, for a convocation from June 28 to July 3, where they were privileged to receive fresh perspectives on their charism, mission and history, which started with their founder, St. Lucy Filippini. Guided by the theme, “A Summons for the Time that Is Ours,” the convocation also included liturgies and spirit-filled presentations that gave the Filippini sisters a renewed sense of hope in moving forward.

Given today’s political climate in our nation and abroad, most of us would be hard pressed to come up with the name of a single politician we admire enough that he/she should be considered for sainthood. But Giorgio La Pira, the mayor of Florence from 1951 to 1965, was not like any of the politicians of our day and age.

On average, more than 3 million people are expected to visit the U.S. Capitol in Washington each year. Some of these people will go through the Cannon Tunnel, an underground walkway that connects the U.S. Capitol with the Cannon House Office Building — the oldest congressional office in the country. In that tunnel, there are hundreds of pieces of artwork that are created by high school students. One of those pieces of art belongs to 2018 Pope John XXIII Regional High School graduate Alyssa Talon.

A barbecue for seminarians of the Diocese of Paterson was held June 26 on the grounds of St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson. Joining the seminarians were Bishop Serratelli; Father Kevin Corcoran, the Bishop’s priest-secretary; Father Edgar Rivera, diocesan vocations director; Father Vidal Gonzalez Jr., assistant vocations director, and Father David Monteleone, assistant vocations director, as well as Father Brando Ibarra, who helped in providing the food.

The N.J. Employee Assistance Professional Association (NJ EAPA) selected Father Alan Savitt, CEAP, LCADC, M. Div., a retired priest of the Diocese of Paterson, as the Riley Regan Addiction Professional of the Year recipient. The award is presented annually to the New Jersey substance abuse prevention and/or treatment professional who consistently demonstrates extraordinary efforts, compassionate outreach and ongoing advocacy services on behalf of individuals and family members struggling with addiction issues.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown on June 30 to serve as the main celebrant and homilist of the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the Feast of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. During the liturgy, the Bishop conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation on 60 young men and women of St. Margaret’s and also young men of Delbarton School, which is operated by the Benedictine religious community, both in Morristown.

Most young men might have been more concerned with keeping the flame lit. During his freshman year at Delbarton School in Morristown, Derek Lattmann accepted the honor of carrying one of four candles that surrounded the Blessed Sacrament for a procession. On route, this life-long member of St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester, did not seem overly worried about his duties as keeper of the flame. Instead, his thoughts centered on something deeper — reflecting on the great power of the Eucharist and hearing God’s call to the priesthood for the first time.

A group of Catholics at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization in Madison recently got to meet two famous figures of the early Church: St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas — not personally but on a theological, historical and academic level. These enthusiastic faithful learned, among many facts, that Albert, a university professor, had mastered several academic disciplines, while Thomas, also an academic, wrote “Summa Theologica,” a massive compendium of the Church’s theological teachings.

Everyone knows I am a big sports fan. So, it was with great interest that I read “Giving the Best of Yourself” — the very first-Vatican document focusing on sports. It was released by the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life released last month by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the dicastery’s prefect.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne on June 24 to serve as the main celebrant and homilist of the 10 a.m. Mass to mark the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the patron of the Diocese of Paterson.

Bishop Serratelli served as the main celebrant and homilist of the 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mary of Assumption Church in Passaic on June 23. During the Mass he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 49 young people from St. Mary Parish, St. Nicholas Parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish, all in Passaic.

The Beacon won four awards in the annual Catholic Press Asso­ciation’s Best Catholic Newspaper competition for work published in 2017. The awards were presented at the 2018 Catholic Media Conference in Green Bay, Wisc., June 13-15.

A new era begins June 29 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish (OLMC) in Passaic when it welcomes its first diocesan priest as administrator of the city parish. For the first time in 96 years, Capuchin Franciscan Friars of the Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis will no longer have a pastoral presence at OLMC after serving the faith community since the parish began in 1922. The faithful of this multicultural parish expressed sadness about the departure of their beloved Capuchins — whom they describe as “warm,” “welcoming” and “engaging” — but also hope at the dawn of a new beginning as the province hands the pastoral care of OLMC to the Paterson Diocese.

A soft breeze blew into the center of Eastside Park in Paterson on a recent summer day and through three new flowering cherry trees at the rear and sides of an equally new dark-green aluminum bench. Three years ago, the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God left their ministries in Paterson, but today, the bench and trees, dedicated on June 19, have symbolically re-established their presence in the city that they love. They also ensure that the sisters’ 92-year legacy of ministering to its poor and forgotten people will always be remembered.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the official overseas relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2018. For three-quarters of a century, CRS has been easing suffering and providing assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries. CRS’ roots go back to 1943, after an outpouring of concern from Catholics in the United States led to the creation of War Relief Services by the U.S. bishops to help thousands of World War II survivors and refugees.

Bishop Serratelli served as main celebrant of the annual Serra Club Mass to honor seminarians, newly ordained priests and retiring priests, held at St. Gerard Majella Church in Paterson on June 12. The 6:30 p.m. liturgy was followed by a dinner at the Brownstone, also in Paterson.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit on June 17 to St. Christopher Parish here were he served as main celebrant and homilist of the 10:45 a.m. Mass for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Concelebrating the liturgy were Father Joseph Buffardi, St. Christopher’s pastor; Father Michal Falgowski, parochial vicar; and Father Kevin Corcoran, diocesan vice chancellor and the Bishop’s priest-secretary.

The faith community of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Passaic welcomed Bishop Serratelli who served as main celebrant and homilist at the 5:30 p.m. Mass for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Saturday, June 16. During the liturgy, he conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation on 31 people — 30 from St. Anthony’s and one from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Paterson.

On June 10, Bishop Serratelli helped Resurrection Parish in Randolph commemorate 40 years as a “truly Second Vatican Council” faith community in central Morris County — and as the first parish that now-Bishop Emeritus Rodimer established in his early days as Bishop of Paterson in 1978. That day in the church, Bishop Serratelli served as the main celebrant and homilist of the 11:30 a.m. Mass, which concluded Resurrection’s anniversary celebrations.