Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney visited St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown on Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, to celebrate its Spanish-language Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The bishop brought several bags of donated toys for the children of St. Margaret’s and the families it serves.
The Mass, which was attended by upwards of 800 people, started with a procession into St. Margaret’s Church for “La Virgen de las Nubes,” or “The Virgin of the Clouds,” a Catholic devotion celebrated by the parish’s Ecuadorian community as pictured top right. Bishop Sweeney (top left) censed the statue of the Blessed Mother.
Concelebrating the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney were Father Duberney Villamizar, administrator, and Father Dailon Lisabet, parochial vicar. During his visit, Bishop Sweeney dropped off bags of toys donated by a group of generous individuals he knows from Queens and Long Island, N.Y., called “Make a Difference.” St. Margaret’s distributed the toys to members of its Spanish Children’s Choir and to families served by the parish’s Mary Hands social justice ministry. To the left, the bishop, the two St. Margaret’s priests, and Teresa Prendergast, Mary Hand’s director, bring the presents into the church.
— Michael Wojcik