News - November 2017 RSS Feed

The Diocese of Paterson will celebrate its 80th anniversary year on Saturday, Dec. 9, the actual date of the establishment of the Diocese by Pope Pius XI in 1937. On Dec. 9, Bishop Serratelli will be the principal celebrant and homilist of a Solemn Mass in the newly-renovated Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson at 9:30 a.m.

The Paterson Federation Knights of Columbus held their annual “Pride in Our Priests” dinner at the Hanover Manor in East Hanover Nov. 20. Traditionally, every November, the Paterson Federation encourages all its member councils in the Diocese to invite the priests from their parishes to attend the dinner held in their honor as a way of thanking the priests for their service to the Church, the Diocese, their parish and the community.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Simon the Apostle Church in Green Pond on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23. During his visit the Bishop celebrated Mass for Thanksgiving and then blessed new doors leading into St. Simon Church and also new bells.

The Paterson Diocese met with Bishop Serratelli at their annual meeting at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls here Nov. 21. Twenty-two religious communities serving the Diocese attended the meeting.

Bishop Serratelli officially approved the Pope John XXIII Movement in the Diocese of Paterson, with its base at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Paterson on Nov. 17. After four years of service at St. Anthony of Padua, the Spanish-speaking ministry was approved to organize three-day conversion retreats to promote evangelization efforts in the Diocese.

When Catholics receive the Eucharist, pray before the Blessed Sacrament in church, sing hymns at Mass or receive the Oil of the Infirmed on their foreheads in the Anointing of the Sick, they may understand some of the basic theology behind the actions, objects and symbols of the rites of those sacraments. Yet Father Philip-Michael Tangorra, a diocesan priest, invites Catholics to delve deeper in our understanding of the theology of the Sacraments and also into something that we cannot see: the mystical reality of God’s saving grace.

For today’s youths hearing the word “called” means receiving a message or phone call on their cell phone with the latest news and trends. But last week, for 20,000 youth, “Called” meant something different. It was the theme of the 2017 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) in Indianapolis Nov. 16-18. Youth from across the Diocese attended the three-day conference that featured dynamic Catholic youth speakers, and praise and worship music led by popular Christian artists.

The Beacon recently published the obituary of Dominican Sister of Hope Lorraine Gallagher, who served for 35 years as the principal of the former St. Christopher School in Parsippany. But long before that assignment, she was my seventh-grade teacher at the former St. Mary School in Passaic where she was then known as Sister James Helene. She, along with my eighth-grade teacher and the principal of the school, Sister Mary Clare, both helped form me in my faith and in my educational pursuits, so much so that I fondly recall my time spent in their classes to this day.

Bishop Serratelli, the main celebrant of the annual diocesan Respect Life Mass Nov. 18 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, encouraged Catholics to remain “persistent” and unyielding in their faith-filled efforts to lobby in the public square for laws that “hold human life sacred from conception until natural death.”

Beginning in 1979, St. John Paul II began a series of lectures exploring chastity, marriage, celibacy and a culture of life known as the “Theology of the Body” giving more than 125 lectures on the topic over a five-year period. Almost four decades later, the message of St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” continues to be as relevant as ever and serves as the foundation for Corazon Puro, an organization dedicated to forming leaders among Latino youth and young adults to bring about a culture of life.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Pius X Parish in Montville Nov. 19 where he celebrated Mass for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. The parish’s roots go back to 1959, when Bishop McNulty established an exploratory mission in Montville. He raised it to parish status in 1960.

In 1943, American artist Norman Rockwell created a painting depicting the Thanksgiving celebration with generations of family surrounding a table and the matriarch of the family presenting the traditional turkey she prepared for dinner. Throughout the Diocese, many families will be bringing this painting to life today. Fortunately, that also includes 410 families in the city of Paterson thanks to Turkeys 4U, a group of students, from Kinnelon High School, who provided Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish and poor families in Paterson with a Thanksgiving turkey.

Father Aleksander Bialas was formerly installed as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in West Milfo by Bishop Serratelli Nov. 18 during the vigil Mass for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Since 1938, Catholic Family and Community Services (CFCS), the original social service agency of the Diocese of Paterson, has administered programs to provide direct assistance to the poor. One of the basic programs that has been offered for many years is the distribution of food to the hungry through its food pantry at the Father English Center in Paterson.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Jude Parish in Hopatcong Nov. 12. During the visit, he celebrated Mass for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In spite of rainy weather that fell on a Monday morning, Nov. 13, the spirits of those at the Father English Community Center in Paterson were not dampened. Eleven days after a devastating fire destroyed the diocesan Catholic Charities agency’s food pantry, the Father English food pantry is back to serve its 100 to 150 clients that come daily for basic food needs.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pompton Plains on Saturday, Nov. 11 where he was the main celebrant of the 5 p.m. Vigil Mass for the 32rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bishop Serratelli visited Our Lady of Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls on Wednesday, Nov. 1 where he was the main celebrant of the 7:30 p.m. Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints (All Saints Day).

Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Lake Hopatcong welcomed Bishop Serratelli Nov. 5. During his pastoral visit, the Bishop celebrated Mass for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Xaverian Missionaries, whose provincial house is in Wayne, honored priests in the Diocese, highlighting two bishops and 11 priests of the Diocese and from religious orders, who serve the Church of Paterson, during its Diocesan Priests Appreciation Dinner Nov. 10 at the Brownstone in Paterson.