More Good News

Bishop Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Virgil Parish in Morris Plains Feb. 20 where he celebrated the vigil Mass marking the First Sunday of Lent.

Bishop Sweeney celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, the first day of Lent, where he blessed and sprinkled ashes on the heads of employees during the Mass. Afterward, the Bishop visited patients’ rooms to give them ashes and to pray with them.

Prayer and penance are two pillars of Lent and the youth of Passaic gathered on the First Friday of Lent, Feb. 19, to mark the start of the season for a Lenten prayer meeting with Bishop Sweeney in Holy Trinity Church in Passaic.

There were a few firsts at this year’s Rite of Election — marked on the First Sunday of Lent — presided at for the first time by Bishop Kevin Sweeney. This special ceremony takes place to mark the catechumens becoming the elect as they move a step closer to receiving the Sacraments of Initiation — Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist — at the upcoming Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 3. The Diocese welcomed the 75 adults, teens, and children who came to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson where Bishop Sweeney formally selected — or elected — them Feb. 21.

Bishop Sweeney made a pastoral visit to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Hermitage in Chester Feb. 14. The Carmelite Hermits are a branch of the Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance. The Carmelite Hermits live an enclosed life inspired by the ancient Carmelite monastic life.