News - May 2016

Bishop Serratelli visited St. Monica Church in Sussex May 21 and celebrated a vigil Mass marking the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity also known as Trinity Sunday. During the Mass, the Bishop also administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish.

Will the world every see peace in the Middle East? It seems like a far-off dream today in this red-hot region of the world where the situation could not seem any more intractable or gloomy — endless political instability, war, terrorist attacks and religious persecution.

Bishop Serratelli ordained Benedictine Brothers Joseph Voltaggio and Demetrius Thomas to the transitional diaconate May 16 before family, friends, Benedictine monks and visiting clergy in St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Stephen Church in Paterson May 22 and celebrated Mass marking the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. During the Mass, Father Dariusz Kaminski, pastor of St. Stephen’s, marked the 25th anniversary of his priesthood ordination. Father Kaminski was ordained on May 26, 1991 in his native country of Poland.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Paul Church in Clifton May 15 and celebrated Mass for Pentecost Sunday.

She is the “Miracle of the Sun” and in honor of the Blessed Mother, coinciding on the days she appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal 99 years ago, Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Highland Lakes hosts “Celebrate Fatima.” It is a six-month series in remembrance of the apparitions which took place in 1917.

Bishop Serratelli, chairman of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, welcomed Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, May 17 to the ICEL Secretariat in the nation’s capital.

Engaged couples preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage learned about God’s Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage as they took part in the Diocese’s marriage preparation program rooted in St. Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body at Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Wayne May 21.

Bishop Serratelli led the Diocese in extending heartfelt gratitude to 99 Religious who are celebrating milestone jubilees this year. The Bishop thanked them for their many years of dedication to their various ministries to the Church and to the Diocese and for their “gift of Consecrated Life.” He served as main celebrant of the annual diocesan Jubilee Celebration for Religious on May 21 in St. Mary’s Assumption Church in Passaic.

As we celebrate Memorial Day May 26, we will pause as a nation to remember our fellow Americans who, in the service of our great country, made the ultimate sacrifice so our nation might remain free. It is also a time to remember to keep in our daily prayers those who are currently serving in our Armed Forces, many of whom are in harm’s way.

Bishop Serratelli will ordain 10 men, who come from diverse educational and professional backgrounds and life experiences, to the priesthood for the Paterson Diocese during the Rite of Ordination of Priests at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 28 in St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton.

Mary Help of Christians Academy has been getting young girls ready to assume leadership roles in the workplace, the Church and society for the past 75 years by offering strong academics, deep spiritual formation and extracurricular activities on its bucolic and secluded campus in North Haledon above Belmont Avenue. Today, this forward-thinking Catholic college preparatory school also continues another long legacy of reaching out beyond its iron gates to seek opportunities for students to develop their future careers and to serve the poor — both in their neighborhood and half a world away.

When a family heirloom is stolen, it’s like losing a member of the family. That’s exactly how Kathleen and George Damerel, parishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Oak Ridge felt when the 110-year-old statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus they had donated to Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. was stolen earlier this month.

Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, a priest of the Diocese of Paterson, has been appointed Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), based in Switzerland, effective June 1. Msgr. Vitillo takes over from Johan Ketelers as he nears completion of his third term, having led the organization since 2004.

Bishop Serratelli ordained 11 diocesan seminarians to the transitional diaconate May 14 in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany, the final step before they are called to the Sacrament of Holy Orders in 2017.

For being the visible Body of Christ to others in their parish communities, the Diocese honored 112 individuals, couples and families with the Vivere Christus Est Award in a ceremony held on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Clifton. Bishop Serratelli, who instituted the award for the Diocese in 2009, presented the awards to each of the recipients. Also at the ceremony, the Bishop led the annual diocesan May crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Battling the spread of the Zika virus, which is passed to humans through mosquito bites, has become No. 1 priority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A major concern for the CDC regarding the Zika virus is that it can be passed from a pregnant woman to her child in the womb, and infection during pregnancy has a chance to cause microcephaly, a severe brain defect.

Nave ceiling is completed, plaster walls are repaired, nave ceiling light fixtures are installed, and work continues on stripping the paint on the window stone frames.

Parish here where he celebrated Mass marking the Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 8, which was also Mother’s Day. During the Mass, the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to the young people of the parish.

As mothers were honored Sunday on Mother’s Day, a thoughtful group of residents at the Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD), a diocesan Catholic Charities agency, decided to give back to young mothers and moms-to-be in need.