'Blessed . . . but robbed' S ean Hug hes remembers his , wife , killed by terrorists
By Kamille Nixon . "I feel blessed for the wife she was, but robbed for the mother she would have been , " says St. Vincent de Paul parishioner Sean Hughes when he speaks of Melissa, the woman he married a year ago and the children they prayed for. His mind is filled with thoughts of what might have been: The dogs they planned to buy, Toby, a male yellow lab, and Tabby, a female golden retriever. The Christmas gift he'll never give her: a rendering of the church in Napa where they were married in August of 2000. The gradu ate school plans she won ' t help him finish. A thousand little things fill the San Francisco apartment they shared until terrorists took her life Sept. '11. He 's told the stoiy too many times and he is surprised there is still someone who hasn't heard it. Melissa Hughes ' voice was broadcast on national news programs in a haunting answering machine message: "Sean , it's me. I just wanted to let you know I love you and I' m stuck in this building in New York. A p lane hit the building or a bomb went off , they don 't know. But there 's lots of smoke, and I just wanted you to know that l'love you always." Melissa called Sean at home and on his cell phone just after the attacks. There is no phone in the couple 's bedroom , so Sean didn't hear the p hone ring. He didn 't know about the horrendous situation until after he woke up and she had already gone missing. Within a few days Sean appeared on several national news shows in a desperate search for his wife. In the wake of the fruitless search lay yet another devastated famil y, this one in Melissa 's hometown of West Springfield, Mass., and a young widower who states flatl y, "I don ' t know where I go from here. " Sean and his father-in-law are working with the Junior League of San Francisco , for which Melissa performed a great deal of charitable work , to establish an endowment fund to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of West Springfield , Mass., and for scholarships to professional women seeking higher education . Contributions to this fund will go toward Junior League programs th at were special to Melissa, according to the Web site: www.jlsf.org .. In addition to her Junior League work, Melissa served the San Francisco community BLESSED , page 16
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The restored St. Peter Church.
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St. Peter's: Restored, renewed
The restoration of San Francisco 's St. Peter Church has been honored with an annual national award from the Interfaith Forum on Religious Art and Architecture , a group associated with the American Institute of Architects. The church, almost destroyed in a 1997 fire, was rededicated June 30, 2000, after a restoration project that included extensive consultation with parishioners, Father John Talesfore, director of the archdiocese 's. Office of Worship, said, Christian Brother William Woeger, the liturgical designer for the project , led parishioners throug h a process called "If These Walls Could Talk" to discover "what the building meant in their lives and to identify the elements of the building that are precious to the community," Father Talesfore said. The process also included consulting with the parishioners on changes needed to fit the liturgical needs of the 21st century, Father Talesfore said. San Francisco 's Architectural Design Group was the design team for the project. Father Daniel Maguire was pastor during the restoration process. Father Fabio Medina is now pastor.
-THE STORY IN PICTURES , page 11-
Catholic campaign aids homeless , immigrants , Latinas By Kamille Nixon community programs within the Archdiocese of San Francisco that Ten emphasize helping the less fortunate improve their lives will receive a total of $215,000 from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. CCHD, the 31-year-olddomestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the U.S. Catholic bishops, is funding "community organizing " and "economic development" grants to local groups. The campaign 's mission is two-fold , according to CCHD officials: financially supporting low-income grassroots organizations through an annual appeal; and combining faith and justice through Church teachings to bring a greater sense of solidarity with the poor. An annual collection in U.S. parishes supports the Campaign. This year's collection will take place in parishes throughout the Archdiocese on Nov. 17 . and 18. One-fourth of the collection stays in the Archdiocese for local grants , ' according to Melanie Piendak, Archdiocesan CCHD coordinator. The local grants were part of about $10 million in CCHD allocations across the country. The funds will go to 317 community-basedprojects around the nation. CCHD, page 16
The CCHD 's p overty awareness camp aig n featu res a TV spot highlig hting the number of poor peop le in the United Sta tes.