RANDOLPH Chris Brancato, development director of Catholic Charities, has been with the non-profit for almost 20 years in various roles, and he speaks with great joy regarding this year’s Caritas Gala 2022.
“Other organizations like ours have been gathering again, and it’s time to gather people together again and celebrate our work and highlight our ministry,” Brancato said.
The Caritas Gala 2022 will be held on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Meadow Wood Manor on Route 10 in Randolph. The gala highlights organizations which are recipients of Catholic Charities’ three agency awards, and then there is an additional Bishop’s Award which Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presents. This year’s honorees are Bishop’s Award: The Order of Malta – N.J. Area, Diocese of Paterson; Msgr. Mark Giordani Award (Catholic Family and Community Services): Roger Forman, Food Pantry Volunteer; Father Jack Wehrlen Award (Department for Persons with Disabilities): Marie Cioletti and the Special Needs Ministry at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Pompton Lakes; and The “Jazz Priest” — Father Norman James O’Connor Award (Straight and Narrow): The Hovey Family.
“Everybody has been careful with COVID-19, and our organization is especially cautious in a good way because we’re serving people who are vulnerable,” Brancato said regarding 2020 and 2021 events that were either canceled or pivoted to virtual attendance. “A big part of our ministry is helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — that’s the Department for Persons with Disabilities — and another part of our ministry is helping people who are struggling with alcohol and drug addiction and are in need of recovery services. We have had outdoor events these last couple of years; we’ve had golf outings and the New Jersey Army Tank Pull, an awesome event benefiting veterans. But we have been hesitant to bring back the indoor events. Now it’s time.”
Brancato said the Caritas Gala is unique because it highlights the entire organization. “Catholic Charities is very special within the Diocese of Paterson because of how widespread, robust, and impactful our ministry is. This event is about the entire organization. It’s about the entire cause here within the diocese. It highlights ‘Straight and Narrow,’ it highlights Catholic Family and Community Services, and it also highlights and celebrates the Department for Persons with Disabilities.”
Catholic Charities does hold other events throughout the year which are focused on different causes and agencies, but the Caritas Gala is an everything-under-one-umbrella celebration of everything the organization does.
Brancato said, “It’s an inclusive event that highlights everything we do. All 70-plus programs that we have, all three of these agencies, a celebration of our 600-plus staff, a celebration of our 200-plus volunteers, and a celebration of our tens of thousands of people that we’re helping each and every month.”
The core of Catholic Charities is Catholic social teaching, Brancato said.
“The theme that we most relate to is the life and dignity of the human person,” Brancato explains. “When you’re supporting Catholic Charities, you’re standing by that theme — that every life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of our religion. When you support this cause, you’re supporting so many people in need: the food insecure, families in crisis, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people in recovery, children of all ages, veterans, senior citizens, and the list goes on and on. You’re helping everybody that’s in need. That’s what’s special about our cause and what’s special about this event.”
For Caritas Gala 2022, Catholic Charities will do something different than in the past.
“We’re filming segments that we’re going to show at the gala,” Brancato said. “In place of longer speeches at this event, we’re going to show a video, and then we’re going to repurpose the video afterward; the two-minute highlights of the Order of Malta, the special needs ministry, and so on, which we’ll show after the event. If you follow us on social media or visit our website, you’ll be able to see these highlights of these wonderful people we’re honoring.”
Donations are always welcome. For more information about Caritas Gala 2022, visit ccpaterson.org/caritas.