Around the Diocese of Worcester in 2017

JANUARY
The Worcester City Council, by a 9-2 margin, voted to ask the city’s Historical Commission to look into creating a historic district encompassing the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church property on Mulberry Street. The Mount Carmel Preservation Society, which wants the diocese to keep the church open, asked the council to take the action. The Worcester Diocese, sole owner of the property, opposed making the area a historic district. The Historical Commission then voted 3-2 not to initiate the study. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church was closed May 1, 2016 after architects and engineers reported that the front wall was pulling away from the building and part of the facade was falling onto the sidewalk. The parish had the front of the building and steeple stabilized. Parishioners were asked to attend Our Lady of Loreto Parish.
An anonymous donation of $1.5 million and an anonymous pledge of $500,000 allowed St. Joseph Basilica Parish in Webster to resume construction of a gymnasium, parish center and arts center. Construction of the building, to be called the Richard A. Nowak Gymnasium & Parish and Performing Arts Center, began in 2013. After the floor and framework of the $3.5 million building was completed in 2014, work was stopped because money ran out.
  Members of the Spanish community at St. Peter Parish in Worcester celebrated Dia de Los Reyes (Three Kings Day) on the feast of the Epiphany with a Mass in Spanish in the church and a meal in the gymnasium.
Diocesan superintendent of Catholic schools Delma L. Josephson, Ph.D, announced she would retire in August, after the end of the school year. Mrs. Josephson was named superintendent in 2009. During her tenure she put in place a diocesan-wide curriculum-mapping program and an annual meeting program to support pastors of parochial schools. She also added the position of curriculum specialist to support curriculum and professional development at all schools. Before coming to Worcester she had been assistant superintendent of the Narragansett Regional School District which includes Templeton and Phillipston.
After an audit of the diocese’s financial accounting for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, Bishop McManus reported a surplus of 0.8% or $210,373 “including realized and unrealized gains on investments” after total expenses of $26,002,905. By comparison, there was an operating deficit of $1,192,704 in the previous fiscal year. The bishop attributed this in great part to “the fiscally conservative operations of our agencies and ministries, most notably Central Administration.”
FEBRUARY    

Bishop McManus merged Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Ann and Our Lady of Loreto parishes effective Feb. 1. The new parish was named Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, but the church retains the name Our Lady of Loreto Church. Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, pastor, said the two parishes’ committees would blend their programs. Later in the month, Bishop McManus celebrated Mass at Our Lady of Loreto as a new beginning for the parish.
Father Edward J. Moran, 81, former pastor of St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury, died Feb. 2 in St. Vincent  Hospital. A Worcester native, he was a graduate of St. John High School and the College of the Holy Cross. He was ordained Feb. 2, 1967. He also served in St. Mary Parish, Jefferson; St. Bernard Parish, Fitchburg; St. Anthony Parish, Dudley, and St. Boniface Parish, Lunenburg. He had served on the diocesan Religious Education Board, the Liturgy Committee and the Presbyteral Council.
The Worcester Diocese made plans for the 17th annual Worcester Catholic Men’s Conference to be held in a new location, the Plourde Center at Assumption College, after many years at the DCU Center. “We are thrilled by the invitation by Assumption College to host the conference this year,” said Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, co-chairman of the conference. The conference was held April 1.
 Locally, more than 60 people joined a nationwide effort to ask President Trump and Congress to defund Planned Parenthood. They gathered in front of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts building at 470 Pleasant St., where abortions are performed. Another rally was held in Fitchburg.
Bishop Rueger celebrated the 30th anniversary of his ordination as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Worcester. He was ordained a bishop on Feb. 25, 1987, and served as auxiliary for Bishop Harrington, Bishop Reilly and Bishop McManus until he retired in 2005.
    

MARCH

The annual Partners in Charity Appeal, which kicked off in February, surpassed the million-dollar mark in advance gifts and pledges by the first week in March. Michael P. Gillespie, diocesan director of the Office of Stewardship and Development, said the actual figure, $1,192,175, was the most the fund drive ever raised before the start of the diocesan-wide in-pew collections. It was slightly more than 20 percent of the fund drive goal of $5 million.
John C. Flannagan, 93, of Clinton, a member of the original diocesan building commission, died March 11. He attended Clinton schools, worked at  Wyman-Gordon in Worcester, joined the Air Force in World War II and took part in the D-Day invasion of France and, after the war, was a contractor in Clinton. Bishop Flanagan named him to the first diocesan building commission in 1962. Later he was named diocesan building commissioner and, for 27 years,  oversaw all construction and renovation of churches, schools and other buildings and properties. When he retired he received the Mother Seton Award from the diocese.
 Bishop Emeritus Daniel P. Reilly was one of four people who received pro-life awards from the diocese. The bishop received the Gospel of Life Award at a Mass for Life in St. Paul Cathedral. Others who were honored for their pro-life activities were Margaret Dillon of Clinton, Paul Tighe of Worcester and Nancy Clark of Worcester. Mrs. Clark and Mr. Tighe received the Mother Teresa Award and Miss Dillon, a senior at the Trivium School in Lancaster, received the Ruth V.K. Pakaluk Award.
St. John’s Parish, in a partnership with the city of Worcester, continued providing shelter for homeless people whenever the temperature dropped below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and/or there was a snowfall, as happened in March. Cots and blankets were set up in the church basement. Richard Gonzalez, who was in charge of the shelter, headed a group of 70 volunteers who monitored the sleeping areas.
        
APRIL

  About 1,200 men packed the Plourde Recreation Center at Assumption College for the 17th annual Worcester Catholic Men’s Conference. It is said to be the longest-running diocesan Catholic men’s conference in the country.
Four seniors were honored at the 10th annual Adopt-A-Student dinner in Mechanics Hall. They are Brittany Gibbons, St. Bernard Central Catholic High School, Fitchburg; Makia Brown and  Naomi Watkins, both Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School, and Rebecca Gilchrist, St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School. Two Holy Name seniors received four-year college scholarships. They are Joshua Corrigan, to Assumption College, and Alexis Rondeau, to Anna Maria College.
Sister Mary Dion, SP, died April 8 in her 73rd year of religious life. She was born in Worcester and graduated from the St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing in 1943. She entered the Sisters of  Providence the next year. She served in hospitals in Holyoke and Springfield. At St. Vincent Hospital she became supervisor of anesthesiology and also taught at Quinsigamond Community College. She also was director of the hospital’s School of Inhalation Therapy.
Father George Hogan, national circus chaplain, celebrated Mass at Worcester’s DCU Center for performers and others in a unit of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, on Easter Sunday. Father Hogan, appointed circus chaplain by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Worcester was one of the last stops for the circus. Owners said the circus, known as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” would close in May after 145 years of existence.
Notre Dame Academy inducted four athletes into its Hall of Fame:  Marie Dougherty Gould, Class of 1983, field hockey, basketball, softball; Ellen McGuirk Dobson, Class of 1988, field hockey, basketball, softball; Meghan Guiney Allison, Class of 1994, field hockey, basketball;  Breanne Wojnarowicz Roderick, Class of 1997, field hockey, basketball, track and field. Also inducted were: Patricia Neville Mulford, Class of 1965, cheerleader coach, teacher for 18 years, and Ed Savage, softball coach, teacher for 41 years.
Bishop McManus celebrated a Mass in St. Paul Cathedral to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Audrey Marie Santo. Known as “Little Audrey,” she lived in a non-moving, non-speaking state after, at age 3, she fell into her family swimming pool on Aug. 9, 1987. She died April 14, 2007. There were unexplained occurrences in her home, such as oil appearing on statues, chalices and patens, and hosts with what appears to be blood on them. Evidence is being gathered to support a move for her canonization.
Bishop McManus approved an Our Lady of Fatima shrine in A Shower of Roses religious shop in West Boylston as a site where Catholics could earn a plenary indulgence during the year by following certain requirements. Pope Francis granted such indulgence opportunities during the 100th anniversary year of the appearance of the Blessed Mother to three children who were tending sheep in Fatima, Portugal.
Robert Pike received the Jubilarian Award from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for 50 years of volunteer service to the society.

MAY

The Milford Catholic Elementary School Board announced that the 42-year-old school would be closed at the end of the school year unless parents could work out a plan to increase enrollment by June 16.
Bishop McManus announced that Father Steven M. LaBaire would be pastor of St. Stephen Parish, effective July 1, while continuing as pastor of Holy Family Parish. The two parishes were not merged. The churches are across from one another on Hamilton Street, Worcester. Mass times were adjusted to accommodate the change.
Father Charles Aboody, 83, vocations director for the Melkite Church in America, died May 29 in McLean, Va. He was born in Worcester and worked in his family’s restaurant business before serving in the U.S. Navy. He was a parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Worcester. He was ordained a priest in 1962 and served in Lawrence, Boston and later, as pastor of his home parish.

JUNE

Bishop McManus ordained a priest, two permanent deacons and one transitional deacon and consecrated the Diocese of Worcester to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at St. Paul Cathedral. Henry Ramirez Pinzon was ordained a priest. He is associate pastor at St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish, Clinton. Javier Julio De Arco was ordained a transitional deacon. Paul F.X. Covino and Stephen T. Kohut were ordained permanent deacons. The bishop said he dedicated the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the request of people in the diocese to observe the 100th anniversary of the Blessed Mother’s appearance to three children at Fatima, and to follow the example of Bishop Francis Tobin, of Providence, Bishop McManus’s home diocese, who did so earlier.
Teachers in the four Central Catholic schools said they were considering a strike vote because of what they called insufficient compensation. The teachers said they were not getting consistent step and cost-of-living increases.
    
  Two schools in the diocese announced they would not open in the next school year. Milford Elementary School was not able to raise $300,000 or increase enrollment by enough to keep the 42-year-old school running. St. Anthony School in Fitchburg closed, reportedly because of decreased enrollment, financial difficulties and demographics.
Eileen George, known for her healing ministry locally and across the world, was remembered in a service in St. John Church in Worcester. She died May 14, at the age of 90. Her ministry was called Meet the Father Ministry. She was a member of St. Brigid Parish in Millbury.
Father J. Normand Tremblay, 89, senior priest at St. Joseph Parish in Charlton, died June 23. He was born in Southbridge and was ordained a priest June 4, 1953, in Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Southbridge by Bishop John J. Wright. He was assistant to the director of Catholic Charities, chaplain at the McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, Leicester; director of Our Lady of the Way, Worcester, and director of the Southbridge office of Catholic Charities. He later served as pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, Southbridge, and St. Anthony of Padua, Dudley.
Bishop McManus dedicated a new altar at St. Martin Mission Church in the Otter River section of Templeton. The altar, baptismal font, ambo and tabernacle were designed by Robert LaMieur of Holy Cross Parish, Templeton. St. Martin is a mission of Holy Cross.
Assumptionist Father Dennis Gallagher, vice president for mission at Assumption College, was named Provincial Superior of the North American Province of the Augustinians of the Assumption. He oversees Assumptionist communities in the United States, Quebec and Mexico.
The diocese marked the 10th anniversary of the Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies and Office for Vocations. Some diocesan seminarians live in the house, the former Holy Name of Jesus Parish rectory, while they study.

JULY

David Perda, Ph.D., chief research and accountability officer for Worcester Public Schools, was named superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Worcester by Bishop McManus. He succeeded Delma Josephson, Ph.D, who served in the post since 2009. He began his duties Aug. 7. Mr. Perda earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island, his master’s degree from Boston College and his doctorate in educational policy from the University of Pennsylvania.

AUGUST  

Msgr. Michael Rose, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Shrewsbury, led seven parishioners from his parish and one from St. Mary of the Hills Parish in Boylston on a mission trip to St. Michel Parish in Haiti, a parish twinned with the Shrewsbury parish. There they met the pastor of St. Michel, who led them on a tour of the area to see the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew, and the efforts of the parishioners, aided by money from the Shrewsbury parish, to rebuild.
St. Joseph Parish in North Brookfield celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding with a series of planned events. Pope Francis sent a papal blessing and Bishop McManus celebrated Mass. Father Richard A. Jakubauskas, pastor, researched the parish history and recounted it to parishioners at the Mass. Afterwards parishioners enjoyed a chicken dinner under a tent on church grounds.
 The annual Partners in Charity Appeal topped its $5 million goal for the second consecutive year. The fund drive had received $5,030,150 by Aug. 16, according to Michael P. Gillespie, director of Stewardship and Development. The drive ended Aug. 31, the end of the fiscal year. He said there were 17,031 gifts; the average gift was $295. In September, he updated the amount to  $5,124,756 in gifts and pledges; $79,906 more than the previous year.




   Local Kenyans hosted a national gathering of their countrymen in what organizers said was an evangelization effort. The sixth annual Swahili Mass was organized by the Kenyan Catholic Community in America. Archbishop Emeritus Peter J. Kairo of Nyari, Kenya, celebrated the Mass at St. Peter Church, Worcester. Bishop McManus attended. Mayor Joseph Petty presented a key to the city to the archbishop. After Mass, worshipers walked down Main Street carrying banners and a statue of the Blessed Mother.
Sister Ann Belliveau, a Sister of St. Anne, died Aug. 25. She was 89 and in her 71st year of vowed religious life. She and colleagues introduced music therapy as a study and a degree at Anna Maria College.


SEPTEMBER

In a letter to the diocese, Bishop McManus asked that parishes take up a second collection at Masses for aid to the victims of Hurricane Harvey that struck Houston, Texas, and surroundings. He said the diocese would make the first $10,000 donation to give thanks for the Partners in Charity Appeal surpassing its $5 million goal.
Diocesan schools opened on time after the Diocesan Educators Lay Teachers Association and the Central Catholic Schools administration came to an agreement over a contract. The teachers had protested the lack of a contract by marching in front of the Chancery building on Elm Street in June. The new two-year contract provides a 1 percent raise to present salaries and a $1,537 step increase for the 2017-2018 school year. It also made provisions for continuing health care coverage. The new contract affects about 100 teachers.
Staples, a national office supply store, gave a $3,500 grant to St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School to help provide a new study center for the school. The money will be used to buy furniture, Kindles and a new 3D printer.
Bishop McManus and Cardinal Chibly Langlois of the Diocese of Les Cayes, Haiti, renewed the 27-year covenant between the two dioceses at a Mass and celebration at St. Joseph Church of Holy Family Parish, Worcester. Many Haitian residents of the area took part in the Mass, traditional prayers, singing and dancing.
Holy Name Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School announced it will team with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Vionx and National Grid in a two-year research project to study an effective way store the electricity generated by the school’s wind turbine. The study will involve students in grades 7 through 12 as part of the school’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum.
The EWTN Global Catholic Network held a Family Celebration at the DCU Center that drew about 2,000 people. Bishop McManus celebrated Mass. There were talks, children’s programs and opportunities to meet EWTN hosts who take part in television programs.
Milford Catholic Elementary School, which closed after attempts to increase enrollment and raise money to keep it going failed, donated leftover supplies to local educators, the diocesan Haitian Apostolate and Catholic Charities in Boston, school officials said. Some desks and chairs were kept in case the situation at the school changes.
The diocese launched a new Communications Ministry for parish evangelization. Bishop McManus, in a presentation to about 75 diocesan priests and other parish leaders, said it is “a new beginning as a diocesan community” and an opportunity to reach out, especially to those not receiving the Church’s message. The ministry is a combination of The Catholic Free Press, the diocesan TV Ministry and the Office of Communications.
Bishop McManus asked parishes to take up second collections during Masses to aid victims of Hurricane Irma in Florida and the Caribbean. Donations from the people of the diocese for Hurricane Harvey relief reached $252,015.75, according to Paul G. Schasel, director of the diocesan Office of Fiscal Affairs.
 The Class of 1952 from St. Francis of Assisi Grammar School, Fitchburg, honored Father C. Romeo Lamothe at its 65th reunion. Father Lamothe, at 96 the oldest priest in the diocese, was assigned a curate at St. Francis a few months before the class graduated. “It was my first class,” he said. “For some reason we hit it off.” He celebrated Mass at the reunion with Msgr. Richard E. Collette, 90, who once served at the parish, and Father Emerito Ortiz, the current pastor.

OCTOBER

Bishop McManus urged that people pray the rosary daily for the conversion of sinners, especially those promoting abortion and physician-assisted suicide. The bishop celebrated Mass sponsored by the Knights of Columbus State Council at St. Paul Cathedral. The Council sponsors a Mass in each diocese each year to promote respect for human life.
The Worcester Diocese, in collaboration with the St. John Paul II Foundation and the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, sponsored a medical ethics conference at Assumption College to discuss end-of-life issues.
Notre Dame Academy named Kathryn Woodson Barr,  head of school. She is the school’s first lay leader. She was unanimously selected by the Notre Dame Board of Trustees. She succeeds Sister Ann Morrison who retired after 42 years.
  St. Joseph School in Webster celebrated its 125th anniversary with a Mass with Bishop McManus. Msgr. Anthony S. Czarnecki, pastor of St. Joseph Basilica Parish, welcomed the bishop and other dignitaries and paid tribute to the Felician Sisters who taught at the school when it opened in September 1882. Felician Sisters still are at the school.
Bishop McManus deconsecrated Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Mulberry Street. The bishop had previously merged Mount Carmel and Our Lady of Loreto parishes. The Mount Carmel Preservation Society appealed the merger to the Vatican. The Congregation for the Clergy of the Holy See at the Vatican denied the appeal, leading to the bishop’s action. The Preservation Society said it would continue to try to preserve the church.
At the annual Mass for Retired Religious in St. Paul Cathedral, Bishop McManus presented awards to the Sisters of St. Benedict Center, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to Sister Ann Mary Cobb, 96. Sister Cecilia Cannon, superior of Sisters of St. Benedict Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, accepted the award for the whole community.
Our Lady of the Angels Parish closed the celebration of its 100th anniversary.

NOVEMBER

Bishop McManus refused to hear an appeal by the Mount Carmel Preservation Society of his ruling to deconsecrate the church on Mulberry Street and release it to “profane but not sordid” use. Mauro DePasquale, president of the preservation society, said the society will pursue all options to preserve the church building.
Students at St. Bernard Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg packed 22,222 bags of food for the United Way to distribute to the needy. The project was organized by Olivia Rampello, Emily Malone and Kara Boissoneau, members of the junior class, who raised $7,500 to buy the food and enlisted the student body to pack it.
The Knights of Columbus Council #12691, Christ the King Parish, raised $5,597.45 and presented it to Catholic Charities Worcester County to buy disposable diapers for needy families. The money was enough to buy about 43,000 diapers.
 The St. Paul Catholic Schools Consortium marked its 10th anniversary by presenting awards at a dinner in Leominster. The consortium helps support four elementary schools: St. Leo and St. Anna in Leominster, St. Bernard in Fitchburg and Holy Family Academy in Gardner and St. Bernard Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg. The Young Alumnus Award was presented  to Michael J. Nicholson of Gardner for extraordinary service to the community. The St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award was presented to Jeff and Karen Pelletier for exemplary service in support of youth and Catholic education.
 The Vietnamese community marked 40 years in the Worcester Diocese with a Mass and reception at Our Lady of Vilna Parish.
An Eagle Scout, who is a senior at St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School, built a stable for a Nativity display at Our Lady of the Valley Elementary School, Uxbridge. Kevin Wagner, a member of Troop 21 in Millville,  built the stable as his Eagle Scout project. Father Thomas G. Landry, pastor of St. Peter Parish in Northbridge, one of the parishes served by the school, blessed the stable and Nativity scene.

DECEMBER

Tracy Casey, an adjunct professor at Anna Maria College in Paxton, set up a display of hundreds of T-shirts in the college’s student center to raise awareness about different types of violence and to advocate for victims. Ms. Casey, who teaches forensics, victimology and criminal justice, said she wanted to help her students practice advocacy.
Victor Alonso Sierra Lopez of Santo Domingo, Antioquia, Colombia was ordained a transitional deacon in St. Paul Cathedral. After earning his bachelor’s degree and studying theology in Colombia, he was invited by Bishop McManus to study for the priesthood for the Worcester Diocese.
Sister Katherine Byrne, OSB, 100, who helped to establish a religious house called Our Lady of Light with later help from the Maronites, died Dec. 11. She also counseled expectant mothers, for which she received the Mother Teresa Pro-Life Award from the diocese.
The Holy Cross Varsity Club board of directors voted in favor of their alma mater keeping the name Crusader for its athletic teams. A controversy had arisen when some people objected to the name because of the massacres and pillage that occurred during the Crusades.
Franciscan Father Wayne Berndt, 63, a Fitchburg native, was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Naha, Okinawa, Japan, by Pope Francis.  He attended St. Joseph Elementary School, St. Bernard Central Catholic High School and Fitchburg State College. He entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in New York, was ordained a priest in 1983 and served thereafter as a missionary in Japan. He will be ordained a bishop in February.

2017 Photo Album