Bishop big hit with students

MORRISTOWN  So how did Bishop Sweeney become the eighth Bishop of Paterson? Last week, students and staff at Assumption School here got the story right from the Bishop — because of “the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis and the George Washington Bridge.”

On Thursday–Friday, Feb. 4–5, Bishop Sweeney stopped at All Saints Academy in Parsippany and Assumption during Catholic Schools Week, celebrated nationally Jan. 31–Feb. 6, visiting each classroom. At the two pre-k3 to eighth-grade schools, he carried on easy-going conversations with teachers and students to find out what they were studying, what they know about their faith, their hobbies, and favorite sports. That included their picks to win Super Bowl LV before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 31–9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs Feb. 7. He also met with a few students who were learning virtually at home.

In turn, Bishop Sweeney used his down-to-earth personality and humor to share with All Saints and Assumption students the richness of the faith, including prayer and Scripture stories. He also told them about his vocation to the priesthood, including his journey to being ordained and installed as bishop of the Diocese last July 1 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. While social distancing and wearing face masks behind shields at their desks, students peppered him with questions, such as “What’s your favorite part of being Bishop?” and “How did you become Bishop?”

“In March, I got a call from Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio [and Pope Francis’ representative in the U.S.], who told me that the Pope had appointed me Bishop of Paterson,” Bishop Sweeney told a class at Assumption, during his visit on Feb. 5. He also credited the Holy Spirit, while jokingly giving credit to the George Washington Bridge, which helped bring him from the Brooklyn Diocese, where he previously served as a priest for 22 years, to Paterson. “I was very surprised [to be named Bishop]. I’m happy to be here in this Diocese. My favorite part of being Bishop is visiting parishes and schools to meet all of God’s family,” he said.

At the 400-student Assumption, some seventh-graders told Bishop Sweeney that they were learning about westward expansion of the U.S. made possible by such important historical figures as Lewis and Clark. He quipped that the pair of explorers “were actually searching for a Starbucks.” Some eighth-graders were learning about radio waves in science. Amid toy trucks, Legos, and dollhouses, one pre-k3 class was all smiles when the Bishop led them in folding their hands in prayer to say Grace for snack time.

Bishop Sweeney asked some third-graders about Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, while he learned that other classes were learning about the Ten Com­mandments, the Epiphany and Joseph and his coat of many colors in the Old Testa­ment. A fan of pop culture, he mentioned the musical “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and said that the biblical figure’s inspiring story teaches us “don’t give up even when you think all is lost.”

Bishop Sweeney also got a flavor for social outreach at Assumption as he listened to students talk about writing thank-you letters to essential workers at Morristown Medical Center and share limericks they wrote for them. A big sports fan, he also talked sports, telling students and teachers that he roots for the Yankees, the team he as a young boy dreamed of playing for, and the Jets, while respecting those who follow other baseball and football teams.

“The Bishop was easy to talk to. He knew that we were nervous,” said Piper Tricarico, an eighth-grader, who felt intimated meeting him for the first time that day. “It was an interesting experience. Now I understand more what it is to be a bishop; it’s about community and getting to know everyone,” she said.

After Bishop Sweeney’s visit, Sister of Charity Merris Larkin, Assumption’s principal, called him “a down-to-earth people’s bishop. He spent a lot of time with us. He is very pastoral.”

On the day before, Feb. 4, Bishop Sweeney visited All Saints Academy, where he was greeted in the lobby by Judith Berg, principal, and Father David Pickens, pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany, one of the four faith communities that support the school. The fourth-graders sang “The Prayer of St. Francis” in Spanish led by Spanish teacher, Claudia Perez, and accompanied by Joseph Christianson, music teacher, on guitar. Then two eighth-graders, Tony Sebastian and Nathania Bushay, delivered addresses in Spanish, welcoming him and expressing gratitude that they are able to learn about their faith and the Spanish language at the 197-student school.

“Excellente. What a warm welcome,” the Bishop, fluent in Spanish, told the community of All Saints, supported by the Parsip­pany parishes of St. Peter, St. Christopher and St. Ann, as well as St. Pius X in Montville.

Bishop Sweeney visited a pre–k4 class, where he asked the children if they like playing in the snow following the recent snowfall on the previous Monday. They said they liked sledding and making snowmen. Like in other grades, he talked sports in third grade, noticing some opposing Mets fans in the class. He and all the other baseball fans in the room agreed, “We’ll be happy, when it comes back.”

Second-graders told the Bishop that they were preparing for both their first Reconciliation and first Holy Communion and were learning about the Corporal Works of Mercy. Eighth­-graders were learning vocabulary, so he gave them a quiz: what is prayer? They called it “talking with God,” which “strengthens our relationship with him” and “leads us in the right direction.”

“God hears all our prayers. Are will listening to him?” said Bishop Sweeney, before asking the eighth-graders where they planned to attend high school.

After the visit to All Saints, eighth-grader Grace Baron said, “The Bishop helped us to think more deeply about prayer and how it connects us to God.”

Her classmate, Isaac Johnson said, “God really does listen to us through our prayers and Bishop Sweeney helped us to know that, even though we cannot see him, God is very close to us in our hearts.”

Father Pickens told The Beacon, “On behalf of the four pastors, who support the school, we were blessed for the Bishop to visit our school.

“We are proud of our principal, teachers, staff, and students at All Saints and look forward to see what happens in the future,” Father Pickens said.

The snowstorm on Feb. 1 prevented Bishop Sweeney’s visit to St. Anthony School for Catholic Schools Week. It will be rescheduled.