05.31.19

D iocese

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F all R iver , M ass . † F riday , M ay 31, 2019

Christopher Duffley performed at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River before students and teachers from every school in the Diocese of Fall River as part of a special “Celebrate the Beauty of Every Child” Mass with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. on May 17.

(Photo by Dave Jolivet) May 31, 2019 †

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Attleboro native Ryan Healy to be ordained to the priesthood June 1

By Kenneth J. Souza Editor

kensouza@anchornews.org

ATTLEBORO — As he prepares for his ordination to the priesthood this weekend, Transitional Deacon Ryan Healy expressed his thanks and appreciation to all who “have assisted or prayed for me up to this point.”

“I am certainly nervous to take this next big step but I feel a great sense of peace and reassurance that I am fulfilling a calling and vocation from the Lord,” Healy recently told The Anchor. “The journey up to this point has truly been a work of God.” Healy will be ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., during an 11 a.m.

Mass on Saturday, June 1 in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River.

“I am confident in the excellent training and

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formation that I have received from the faculty of St. John’s Seminary in order to take up the mission that will be entrusted to me by Bishop da Cunha to share in his ministry to teach, govern, and sanctify the holy people of God,” Healy said. “Although I am aware that one can never be perfectly prepared, I look forward to growing and learning in the many years to come.”

Ryan Joseph Healy, 27, is a native of Attleboro and St. John the Evangelist Parish, where he attended Sunday Masses with his parents, Richard and Christine, and his sisters Jennifer and Meghan.

After being ordained to the transitional diaconate on May 19, 2018, he spent the last year serving with and learning from pastor and diocesan vocations director Father Kevin Cook — first at Holy Family

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Parish in East Taunton, and more recently at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk.

“Both parishes have vibrant, faith-filled communities which I was very pleased to serve in,” Healy said. “I have particularly enjoyed preparing and delivering homilies at Mass — it has allowed me to articulate many of the things I have learned in the seminary. It has also been a tremendous joy to celebrate Baptism and to be God’s instrument as new sons and daughters are added to the Church.

“I have especially enjoyed learning from Father Cook. His guidance and priestly examples have inspired me deeply to enter into ministry with passion and devotion to the flock entrusted to my pastoral care.”

Healy first discerned a calling to the priesthood when he was 13 years old.

“A close friend, who came from a very devout family, invited me to attend a summer youth retreat with him called the Steubenville East Youth Conference, which for many summers was held on the grounds of La Salette Shrine in Attleboro,” Healy said. “It was here that the faith was presented to me in a new and engaging way, where I witnessed so many peers on fire with a love for Jesus Christ, and where I first heard the Lord’s call.

At the end of each conference is a talk encouraging religious vocations, which instantly attracted me to the idea of becoming a priest. This desire has consistently remained

with me throughout high school and college, and eventually compelled me to follow the Lord’s call to enter the seminary.”

Having attended public schools in Attleboro for his elementary and middle school years, Healy enrolled in Bishop Feehan High School thanks to the “financial sacrifices of my family.”

“At Feehan, I learned how to be a Christian disciple from my teachers in the theology classes, my active involvement in campus ministry, attending morning Mass before school, and participating in the Steubenville conferences each summer,” Healy said.

“During my freshman year I also began working in the Religious Education Office of my home parish with Mrs. Meg Keenan, which was a transformative part of high school for me.”

Although he remained confident about eventually entering the seminary, Healy first enrolled at the Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

“There I encountered a culture like none other, where the students put God first in their lives, with the majority attending daily Mass, and living out radical discipleship,” he said. “I learned much from the witness of many friends and studied philosophy and theology, equipping me to confidently answer a call to the priesthood.”

After successfully applying to the Fall River Diocese, Healy continued his studies at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Rhode Island, taking courses at Providence College, where he graduated in 2015. He completed his formation at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton.

Over the years, Healy has been blessed with the guidance and example of many priestly role models here in the diocese, including Msgr. Daniel Hoye, Father Richard Roy, Father Thomas Costa, Father Richard Wilson, and Father Riley Williams.

“During my first years of college and entrance into the seminary, I enjoyed the tremendous support of Father Wilson and Father Williams who were assigned at my home parish,” Healy said. “They were most encouraging of my choice to enter the seminary, involving me in many aspects of parish life. I looked forward to each weekend in college 8 Turn to page 16

Five diocesan priests to retire from parish ministry

By Kenneth J. Souza Editor

kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — After years of devoted service to the Diocese of Fall River, five priests will be retiring from parish ministry, although — like most retirees today — they will all remain active to some degree.

Effective June 26, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., accepted the request to retire of Msgr. Edmund J. Fitzgerald, Father Timothy J. Goldrick, Father Kevin J. Harrington, Father Arnold R. Medeiros, and Father Joseph F. Viveiros.

Looking back on his ministry, Msgr. Fitzgerald recently said that each of his assignments “had its own special characteristic” and that he found all of them to be “enjoyable and challenging and rewarding.”

Msgr. Edmund J. Fitzgerald Born and raised in Taunton, Msgr. Fitzgerald was ordained May 18, 1968

by Bishop James L. Connolly and was first assigned as parochial vicar at Holy Name Parish in Fall River.

In 1974, he was appointed director of the Pastoral Care Department at Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River and, three years later, director of the diocesan Department of

Pastoral Care for the Sick.

“Holy Name (in Fall River) was my very first assignment as a newlyordained, and it brought me into a world that had a lot of the things that I got involved with later on,” Msgr. Fitzgerald told The Anchor. “There was a school there and I was involved with that, there was a hospital there and I was a chaplain at that, and then with the nursing homes, which ultimately I ended up having a great deal (to do) with all of the Catholic nursing homes. So it prepared me for that.”

Since 1988, Msgr. Fitzgerald has served as director of the Diocesan Health Facilities, overseeing the diocese’s five nursing homes.

“I’m grateful to the diocese that they have five facilities that they own and are able to put them at the service of so many of our vulnerable elderly, especially patients with Alzheimer’s, who are in their last days of life and others who need the protective care in their aging process,” Msgr. Fitzgerald said. “I think it’s a tremendous witness to our faith. At every stage in life there are certainly pastoral moments, and the elderly need them as well as any other age.”

Msgr. Fitzgerald will retire as pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Somerset, where he has served since 2006. He previously served as pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Westport from 1988 to 2006.

“St. John’s Parish in Westport was my first pastorate, and that was a long assignment and a most fruitful one Spiritually for me and, hopefully, for the people,” he said.

Msgr. Fitzgerald will

moving into the Cardinal Medeiros Residence for Retired Priests on the campus of Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River — a facility he helped bring to fruition and one that is “a tremendous gift of the diocese to its more senior priests.”

“The bishop not only accepted my request to go live there, but he also appointed me as the director of the Cardinal Medeiros Residence,” Msgr. Fitzgerald said. “We have an excellent supervisor there, who really handles the day-to-day operations and many of the other things. But the bishop asked if I would serve in this role with the priests.”

Msgr. Fitzgerald said he is looking forward to living and working with his brother priests and, like many of his fellow retirees, that he anticipates filling in when needed.

“I certainly will be willing to help out, God willing, if somebody needs a Mass said or other things,” he said. “I would be glad to help them.

I want to make sure that I challenge myself in retirement, rather than just resting in it.”

Like Msgr. Fitzgerald, Father Goldrick will also be moving into the Cardinal Medeiros Residence and he is “looking forward to living in a community of brother priests.”

“These days, most diocesan priests live alone in their rectories, but the priesthood is communal by its very nature,” Father Goldrick told The Anchor. “We share together in the priesthood of Jesus Christ.”

A frequent and awardwinning columnist for The Anchor, Father Goldrick

said he expects to keep busy after retirement, and he may soon be resuming his popular contributions to the diocesan newspaper.

Father Timothy J. Goldrick “Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht is an old Yiddish saying,” he said. “It translates as: ‘Man Plans, and God Laughs.’ The majority of priests in the retirement residence continue to serve as needed in a variety of parishes in Fall River and beyond.”

Born in New Bedford, Father Goldrick was ordained May 13, 1972 by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin and was first assigned to St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham. He later went on to serve at Immaculate Conception Parish in Taunton, St. Margaret’s Parish in Buzzards Bay, St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford, St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth, St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown, and St. Theresa Parish in South Attleboro.

He was first appointed parochial administrator at St. Rita Parish in Marion in 1992. Two years later, he became pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet in 1994.

From there, he would serve as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in North Dighton, and supervised its transi-

tion to the newly-named St. Nicholas of Myra Parish.

In 2012 he was named pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Falmouth, where he has served until his retirement.

Looking back over his years of ministry, Father Goldrick said there is much upon which to reflect.

“What I have accomplished over the years first comes to mind, but doing means nothing compared to being,” he said. “Inevitably, my fondest memories revolve around presence.

A priest experiences the extraordinary grace of being invited to be with those who have reached significant life transition points — both physical and Spiritual — birth, death, conversion, Marriage, illness.

“These are the moments marked by the Sacraments of the Church. A priest, representing Christ and the Church, is at the hub as the wheel of life turns. What one does and what one says is, in the end, unimportant.

What is important is being present. The message of presence is this: ‘the Lord is with you.’ The priest carries this message in person to those who long to hear it.”

Like many of his fellow retirees, the one thing he won’t miss is the routine of filling out paperwork and attending endless meetings.

“Priests have always had multiple responsibilities, but, in my opinion, the unending round of unproductive meetings is undoubtedly the bad side of the Good News,” he said.

And just as he has done throughout his ministry, Father Goldrick is ready to roll with the changes.

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May 31, 2019 †

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Five diocesan priests to retire from parish ministry continued from page three

“I was raised in a Sacrament/Institution model of the Church, but ministered in a Servant model of the Church,” Father Goldrick said. “These days, there seems to be evolving a Cooperate model of the Church. Three models of the Church in a single lifetime requires a lot of flexibility, so I go with the flow. As the Church changes, so must I.”

Father Kevin J. Harrington Having similarly served at numerous parishes and in various apostolates over the years, Father Harrington recalled his work with the Hispanic community throughout the diocese and, like Father Goldrick, his stint writing a column for The Anchor between 1979 and 1998 as among his fondest memories.

“I loved working with the Hispanics throughout the diocese and writing a column for The Anchor,” Father Harrington said.

Born in Wareham, Father Harrington graduated from Providence College in 1972 before entering the seminary.

“I seriously considered applying to become a Dominican priest when I was at Providence College,” he recalled.

After graduating from St. Mary’s Seminary in Bal4

timore, Md., Father Harrington was ordained May 10, 1975 by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin. His first assignment was at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro.

He subsequently served at St. Joseph Parish in Attleboro, St. Mary Parish in North Attleboro, St. Joseph Parish in Taunton, St. Mark Parish in Attleboro Falls, and St. Patrick Parish in Fall River.

In 1993 he returned to St. Joseph Parish in Attleboro as a first-time pastor. He would also serve as parochial administrator at St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, as pastor at Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Parish, as pastor of St. Hedwig Parish, and his current assignment as pastor at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, all in New Bedford.

Looking ahead to retirement, Father Harrington said he hopes to be able to have “additional time available to pray and to reflect” on his ministry.

“I won’t miss the phone calls and the door bells,” he said. “A retired priest told me you soon will. We’ll see.”

Even though he sometimes wonders if he chose the right path, Father Harrington said he is “sure that God was with me every step of the way.”

Among the highlights of his 44 years as a diocesan priest, Father Medeiros said he’ll always remember his interactions with parishioners.

“The fondest memories, or highlights, for me are when I interacted with parishioners in the most joyous times and the saddest times of illness or death, whether sudden or prolonged with a loved

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one,” Father Medeiros said.

“When I shared people’s joys or sorrows, I pray and hoped it helped.

“I also want to say that one of the highlights of my ministry has been the example of saintly people and

Father Arnold R. Medeiros their love of the Church.”

Born in Capelas, Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel in the Azores, Father Medeiros emigrated to Fall River with his family and was initially a member of Santo Christo Parish in the city.

He was ordained to the priesthood on May 10, 1975

by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin and was first assigned to St. George Parish in Westport.

He later served at St. Anthony Parish in Taunton, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Taunton, and St. Elizabeth Parish in Fall River.

He was named a firsttime pastor at St. Mary’s Parish in Norton in 1995.

He became pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Wareham in 1998, and then became pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth in 2009, where he has served to the present day. The following year, he also briefly served as joint pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pocasset, until Father David C. Frederici was appointed

pastor in 2013.

Of the many responsibilities that he’s had to take on over the years, Father Medeiros said he won’t miss “the unexpected surprises of having to maintain church and parish buildings.”

Although he has no regrets, Father Medeiros did say in hindsight he would have hired a property manager to take care of all the maintenance and upkeep of the parish buildings so that it would “leave the pastor with only priestly duties.”

After retirement, he plans to continue to live in Falmouth and “help Msgr.

Steve Avila wherever needed in the three linked parishes.”

An avid baseball fan, in retirement Father Medeiros said he is looking forward to relaxing a bit and doing some traveling and more reading and, most importantly, “attending the Red Sox spring training for more than just one week,” he said.

Like Father Medeiros, Father Viveiros was born on the island of São Miguel in the Azores, and later emigrated to Fall River and attended St. Elizabeth Parish in the city.

He graduated from BMC Durfee High School in Fall River and prepared for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary in Kentucky and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Md., from which he graduated in 1974.

He was ordained May 11, 1974 by Bishop Daniel A. Cronin and was first assigned to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in New Bedford.

He later served as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in Fall River, St. John the Baptist Parish in New Bedford, St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Fall River, and Santo Christo Parish in Fall River.

Father Joseph F. Viveiros In 1994, Father Viveiros returned to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in New Bedford, where he was named a first-time pastor.

In 1995, he was appointed pastor of St. Dominic Parish in Swansea, where he has served until his retirement.

Father Viveiros has also served in pastoral ministry at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, as director of the Deaf Apostolate for the diocese, and as director of the Apostolate for Persons with Disabilities. He was chaplain for the Guild for the Blind from 1995 to 2007, and also was chaplain for the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Fall River.

Like his fellow retiree, Father Goldrick, Father Viveiros is known to be fond of Christmas and collects Nativity scenes and creches from all over the world. He also started observing the Hispanic tradition of Las Posadas at St. Dominic Parish in Swansea. These staged reenactments recalling the pilgrimage of the Holy Family from Nazareth to Bethlehem, were very popular among parish youth.

At press time, Father Viveiros was unavailable for an interview due to illness.

All are asked to keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a happy and healthy retirement.

Annual diocesan Catholic Charities Appeal, ‘See All the People,’ surpasses $2 million at halfway point FALL RIVER — The 78th Annual Catholic Charities Appeal, which supports the many agencies assisting those in need throughout the Diocese of Fall River, has reached its halfway point. As of press time, the Appeal has just passed the $2 million mark, with one month remaining in the annual campaign.

Each year, the Appeal invites parishioners of the diocese and community supporters to bear witness to the good works that all make possible, together, through their generous support. This year’s theme, “See All the People,” is

symbolic of the countless people who have benefitted from the agencies and apostolates of our diocese committed to serving anyone in need.

This year people have the opportunity to see a series of videos on specific ministries receiving much-needed support

through gifts to the Appeal. The series continues this week with a video dedicated to the Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), a program of Catholic Social Services.

The OPD assists persons with disabilities, their families, and caretakers throughout the diocese

of Fall River. They serve people of all ages and all types of disabilities, through case management, advocacy, referral and information services, benefits applications, and more.

The video features Jerry Smith, left, who was paralyzed in a car accident in his 20s and turned to the OPD for help. A webpage telling Jerry’s story, along with statistics for the Office for Persons with Disabilities and the video, can be viewed on the Appeal website: catholicfoundationsema. org/jerry.

The website is updated

regularly, so please visit it for more Appeal news and highlights in the weeks ahead.

Contributions to the Catholic Charities Appeal may be made either through a one-time donation or through monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual pledges. Donations may be mailed to the Catholic Charities Appeal office, 450 Highland Avenue, Fall River, Mass. 02720, made online at givefrdiocese. org/cca19, or dropped off at any parish in the diocese.

Please contact the Catholic Charities Appeal office at 508-675-1311 with any questions.

Statement of the Fall River Diocese on the removal of a Fall River pastor FALL RIVER — At the conclusion of Masses last weekend (May 25-26, 2019), parishioners of Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River were informed that their pastor, Father Bruce Neylon, has been removed from active priestly ministry because of a credible allegation of misconduct that is inconsistent with standards of ministerial behavior and in direct violation of the Code of Conduct for priests in the Fall River Diocese and the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., made the decision to remove Father Neylon after an investigation into an allegation from an individual who said that Father Neylon had sexual contact with him on numerous occasions in the early 1980s when he, the complainant, was approximately 14 to 15 years

old. The diocese has never received any other allegations against Father Neylon.

As is procedure, the diocese engaged the services of a former Massachusetts State Trooper to conduct an independent investigation.

A report of the investigator’s findings was provided to the Fall River Diocesan Review Board, which followed with its own review of the facts.

The Review Board, which

includes nine lay and clerical members with legal, judicial, law enforcement, and social work backgrounds as well as a victim of abuse, met several times on this difficult matter.

After serious consideration of all relevant information, including Father Neylon’s denial of the allegation, the board determined the allegation to be credible, warranting his removal. In cases like this, both diocesan

policy and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People require that the accused cleric be removed from ministry.

The matter has also been referred to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

“I know this is distressing information, first and foremost to Holy Trinity Parish, but also to the wider diocesan community of faith, and I want to assure all that

my prayers are with them,” Bishop da Cunha said. “At the same time, I wish to extend my prayers to this individual who came forward and to all survivors who have endured abuse.”

Father Neylon’s removal took effect immediately. A priest who is removed from active ministry is not permitted to exercise public ministry nor present himself as a priest in public settings.

May 31, 2019 †

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Editorial

St. Justin, Martyr

Tomorrow (Saturday), the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Justin, Martyr. Although he was killed more than 1800 years ago, his words, life and death can speak to the people of today an important message.

In regards to Christian charity, Pope Benedict XVI in his 2005 encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, wrote in No. 22, “As the years went by and the Church spread further afield, the exercise of charity became established as one of her essential activities, along with the administration of the Sacraments and the proclamation of the word: love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential to her as the ministry of the Sacraments and preaching of the Gospel. The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word. A few references will suffice to demonstrate this. Justin Martyr († c. 155) in speaking of the Christians’ celebration of Sunday, also mentions their charitable activity, linked with the Eucharist as such. Those who are able make offerings in accordance with their means, each as he or she wishes; the bishop in turn makes use of these to support orphans, widows, the sick and those who for other reasons find themselves in need, such as prisoners and foreigners.”

St. Justin reminds us that what we are about right now — the Catholic Charities Appeal — is something as essential to the Church as the Sacraments and the proclamation of the Gospel. Charity is not some “extra.”

It is something for which all Christians (and all human beings) have a responsibility. We cannot say we love our neighbors if we do nothing to help them.

The Church has come to recognize that elements of truth can exist outside of the Catholic Church. In a 1997 document from the Church’s International Theological Commission entitled “Christianity and The World Religions,” it notes (in Nos. 41-42), “The semina verbi, ‘seeds of the word,’ can be found outside the limits of the visible Church and specifically in the different religions; this motif is frequently combined with that of the light which enlightens all men and with that of the preparation for the Gospel (Ad Gentes 11, 15; Lumen Gentium 16, 17; Nostra Aetate, 2; Redemptoris missio, 56). The theology of the seeds of the word stems from St. Justin Martyr. Faced with the polytheism of the Greek world, Justin sees in philosophy an ally of Christianity since it has followed reason; now this reason is found in its totality only in Jesus Christ, the Logos [the Word of God] in person. Only Christians know the Logos in its entirety. But the whole human race has participated in this Logos. Hence from the beginning there have been those who have lived in accordance with the Logos, and in this sense there have been ‘Christians’ even though the knowledge they have had of the seminal Logos has only been partial.

There is a great difference between the seed of something and the thing OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 63, No. 11

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itself. But in any case the partial and seminal presence of the Logos is a gift and a Divine grace. The Logos is the power of these ‘seeds of truth.’”

We also have a responsibility to properly receive the Sacraments. St. Justin wrote in this regard, “No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of Baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.”

Pope Francis, in his 2013 encyclical on faith, Lumen Fidei, in the very first paragraph, makes reference to this saint. “The pagan world, which hungered for light, had seen the growth of the cult of the sun god, Sol Invictus, invoked each day at sunrise. Yet though the sun was born anew each morning, it was clearly incapable of casting its light on all of human existence. The sun does not illumine all reality; its rays cannot penetrate to the shadow of death, the place where men’s eyes are closed to its light.

‘No one — St. Justin Martyr writes — has ever been ready to die for his faith in the sun.’ Conscious of the immense horizon which their faith opened before them, Christians invoked Jesus as the true sun ‘whose rays bestow life’ [from St. Clement of Alexandria]. To Martha, weeping for the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus said: ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ (Jn 11:40). Those who believe, see; they see with a light that illumines their entire journey, for it comes from the risen Christ, the morning star which never sets.”

As Christians, we are called by Christ to help people who feel that they are in darkness to know that they are not alone — that Christ is there with them. Christ is there with them directly in their prayer and through good people who accompany them in very difficult times. We ask Christ for the light we need to be able to effectively accompany these sisters and brothers of ours.

St. Justin himself discusses how an encounter with a believer helped him to come to Christ. “When he had spoken these and many other things, which there is no time for mentioning at present, he went away, bidding me to attend to them; and I have not seen him since. But straightway a flame was kindled in my soul; and a love of the prophets, and of those men who are friends of Christ, possessed me.”

The believer had closed his dialogue with Justin with these words, “Pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.”

Christ wishes to bestow this wisdom upon everyone — but we have to be open to receiving this wisdom and open to what it will demand of us. Let us ask St. Justin to intercede for us, so that we may receive this wisdom and live it.

Daily Readings † June 1 - June 14 Sat. June 1, Acts 18:23-28; Ps 47:2-3,8-10; Jn 16:23b-28. Sun. June 2, Ascension of the Lord, Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3,6-9; Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23; Lk 24:46-53. Mon. June 3, Acts 19:1-8; Ps 68:2-3ab,4-5acd,6-7ab; Jn 16:29-33. Tues. June 4, Acts 20:17-27; Ps 68:10-11,20-21; Jn 17:1-11a. Wed. June 5, Acts 20:28-38; Ps 68:29-30,33-35a,35bc36ab; Jn 17:11b-19. Thurs. June 6, Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps 16:1-2a,5,7-11; Jn 17:20-26.

Fri. June 7, Acts 25:13b-21; Ps 103:1-2,11-12,19-20ab; Jn 21:15-19.

Sat. June 8, Acts 28:16-20,30-31; Ps 11:4-5,7; Jn 21: 20-25. Sun. June 9, Pentecost Sunday, Vigil: Gn 11:1-9 or Ex 19:3-8a,16-20b or Ez 37:1-4 or Jl 3:1-5; Ps 104:12,24,35,27-30; Rom 8:22-27; Jn 7:37-39. Day: Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:1,24,29-31,34; 1 Cor 12: 3b-7,12-13 or Rom 8:,8-17; Sequence Veni Creator Spiritus; Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 14:15-16,23b-26. Mon. June 10, 2 Cor 1:1-7; Ps 34:2-9; Mt 5:1-12. Tues. June 11, Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3; Ps 98:1-6; Mt 5:13-16. Wed. June 12, 2 Cor 3:4-11; Ps 99:5-9; Mt 5:17-19. Thurs. June 13, 2 Cor 3:15—4:1,3-6; Ps 85:9ab,10-14; Mt 5:20-26. Fri. June 14, 2 Cor 4:7-15; Ps 116:10-11,15-18; Mt 5:27-32.

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The answer that women and families seek

ay 31 is the Feast of the Visitation of the Lord in which, among other things, we ponder the in utero interaction between Jesus and John the Baptist. Mary, a few days pregnant with her Creator, visits her elderly cousin Elizabeth, six-months pregnant with the forerunner of the One through Whom all things were made. John, before his vocal chords had developed to be the voice crying in the wilderness, testified to Jesus by making his mom’s womb a peritoneal trampoline, leaping with joy. Jesus, before His human fingers and hand had even formed, nevertheless blessed His cousin, sanctifying him for his mission of preparing Jesus’ way.

It’s an extraordinary mystery, one that is particularly significant for those in Pro-Life work. The Sisters of Life, for whom I am privileged to celebrate Mass six days a week, name all of their outreach centers helping pregnant women choose life — in New York, Toronto, and Philadelphia —“Visitation” Missions. They seek to live, and show the Church how to live, both sides of this Visitation mystery.

Jesus taught clearly that everyone who received a child in His name, receives Him, and that whatever we do to the least He takes personally (Mt 18:5; 25:40), and so the first side of the mystery is to help women come to embrace the fruit of their womb as a blessing, as Mary received Jesus in the world’s most famous (humanly) unplanned pregnancy.

The other side of the mystery is that they, like Mary, go out to care for modern Elizabeths, pregnant women in need, helping them in so many practical ways during pregnancy and beyond so that the women may eventually feel their children kicking and leaping within — and one day jumping into their

arms with joy.

Like the Annunciation, the Visitation is a feast on which we can and should ponder the deeper meaning of human life in the womb.

It’s also an opportunity for us to see in greater relief what happens when that prenascent life encounters violence rather than love.

Last Saturday, Pope Francis gave us another extraordinary discourse on abortion when greeting participants in a Vatican Conference dedicated to the theme, “Yes to Life!

Care for the Precious Gift of Life in Fragile Situations.” Bringing together 400 experts from 70 countries, it was sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the Knights of Columbus and the Italian foundation Heart in a Drop, which was formed in 2015 to promote scientific research and the growth of a culture that protects the life of mother and child before conception, during pregnancy and after birth.

Pope Francis spoke plainly about the “throwaway culture” that considers children diagnosed with various malformations and pathologies “incompatible with life,” and that often leaves them, in places with ready access to abortion, “condemned to death.” Francis emphasized, however, that “no human being can ever be incompatible with life, not due to his age, his health conditions, or the quality of his existence. Every child that enters a woman’s womb is a gift, which changes the history of a family, of a father and a mother, of grandparents and siblings.

And this baby is in need of being received, loved and taken care of.”

He stated that every time a woman discovers that she is pregnant, she becomes aware of a mystery within, of

a “presence, growing within her, pervading her whole being, making her not only a woman but a mother.” He marveled at the “intense, crisscrossing dialogue” established between mother and child from conception that fosters a “mutual adaptation, as the little one grows and develops.” That cross-talk, however, can change, he said, when the child is diagnosed with a serious condition that endangers his or her

life, robbing the mother and father of serenity and feeling powerless.

At the same time, he stressed that children in the womb with such conditions are “little patients who not rarely can be cured with pharmacologic, surgical and extraordinary care interventions” and, when they cannot, can be placed in perinatal hospices that “provide essential support to families that accept the birth of a sick child.” Pope Francis summoned doctors and nurses to give “competent accompaniment” that affirms the “Sacred value of human life” and takes responsibility for those little patients and their family members.

In the very trying situation of children who are destined to die immediately or soon after birth, whose care “might seem a useless commitment of resources and further suffering for the parents,” Pope Francis said it is rather an opportunity to bring familial love to fulfillment. “To take care of these children helps parents, in fact, to work through their mourning and think of it not only as a loss but as a stage on a path

followed together. That child will remain in their life forever. And they will have been able to love him. Often those few hours in which a mother can cradle her child leave a trace in the woman’s heart, which she never forgets.”

This approach is in stark contrast, he said, to the culture of waste that justifies abortion for such children in fragile circumstances under the euphemism of “prevention.” It’s really, he stated, part of an “inhuman eugenic mentality” toward children with disabilities. Opposition to abortion, in these circumstances and in every situation, he underlined, is not principally a thing of faith, but “pre-religious” and simply “human.”

He said two questions that clarify the issues at stake are: “Is it licit to eliminate a human life to solve a problem?” and “Is it licit to hire a hitman to solve a problem.” He answered by saying that it’s never permitted to “do away with a human life or hire a hitman to resolve a problem?” Everyone sees these truths clearly with regard to those who have been born.

He wants us to see it just as clearly with regard to those who will grow into kids and adults if they are not assassinated.

He then gave a powerful example from his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires of how “abortion is never the answer that women and families seek.”

“There was a 15-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who became pregnant, and her parents went to the judge to ask permission for her to abort. The judge, an upright and serious man, studied the matter and said: ‘I want to question the girl.’ ‘But she has Down Syndrome, she doesn’t understand,’ [the parents replied]. “No, no, have her

come,’” the judge responded.

“The 15-year-old girl went, sat down, and began to talk with the judge and he said to her: ‘Do you know what is happening to you?’ ‘Yes, I’m sick. They told me that I have an animal inside that is eating my stomach so I must have surgery,’” the girl said.

“No, you don’t have a parasite that is eating your stomach,’ [the judge retorted]. ‘Do you know what you have there? A child!’ And the Down’s girl said: ‘Oh, how beautiful!’ With this, the judge didn’t authorize the abortion. The [girl’s] mother wanted it.”

The pope went on to give the rest of the story. “A girl was born. The years passed.

She studied, grew up and became a lawyer. From the moment this girl became aware of her history, she used to call the judge on her birthday to thank him for the gift of her birth. The judge died and now [the daughter of the girl with Down Syndrome] has become a prosecutor.”

“Abortion,” the pope reiterated based on the story, “is never the answer that women and families seek,” and he thanked those families, those moms and dads, who have “accepted fragile life” and who support others in such situations, saying their “witness of love is a gift for the world.”

In contrast to the throwaway, eugenic inhumanity that undergirds the abortion of handicapped children and others, this warm, welcoming culture of parents and medical professionals to kids in fragile situations manifests a culture of love. It’s the only adequate answer to another human being, however young, however disabled. It’s the culture that Christians find in the mystery of the Visitation.

Father Landry can be contacted at fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

May 31, 2019 †

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B

(Roman?) Catholic — Part Seven

esides the three surviving Western Rites of the Catholic Church (Roman, Ambrosian, Mozarabic), there are more than 20 Eastern Rites, or as many prefer to be called, Particular Churches, each with its own hierarchy, history, Liturgy, traditions and laws.

The greater number of the particular churches belong to the Byzantine tradition (Albanian, Belorussian, Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Italo-Albanian, Macedonian, Melkite, Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian, Slovakian, and Ukrainian).

All of these Byzantine churches share a common aspect of history. By the time of the ninth century, tensions between the Eastern and Western halves of what had been the Roman Empire were so tenuous that a schism occurred in 867 with the Patriarch of Constantinople, Photius, as the principle architect. This schism lasted only four years, but it set a precedent. By the time of the 11th century, the East and the West were separated by distance, language, politics, and an understanding of theology.

The year 1054 saw a rift between East and West with another Greek, Patriarch Michael Cerularius, as the man of decision. While the mutual excommunications of nearly 1,000 years have been lifted, full reconciliation has not yet been achieved such that Catholic and Orthodox should be one church.

The Catholic Church recognizes the Apostolic Succession of these Orthodox Churches and respects their clergy, laws, Sacraments and worship as legitimate. Under certain defined unusual or 8

extreme circumstances, it is possible to receive Sacraments from each other’s clergy.

Each of the particular Byzantine Churches had a minority that remained Catholic, or returned to Catholic union in the course of time. Of these, the largest is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It is the second largest particular church in the Catholic Church after the Roman Rite.

The history of the Ukrainian people is fraught with a series of interventions by other states and this continues even today with the efforts of Russia to dominate them. For political reasons, Stalin distrusted them and tried to eliminate the threat by exporting food and seed to Russia: millions died of starvation. By this artificial famine, the Great Leap Forward in China and the extermination camps of Nazi Germany, three men —Hitler, Mao, and Stalin — killed nearly 100,000,000 people. The adage is true: power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

After the Second World War, Russia again became wary of Ukrainian Catholics and exported their priests to Siberia, or imprisoned them and tried to force the lay people to become members of the Russian Orthodox Church. This caused another wave of emigration from the Ukraine, and many came to the United States. It was an earlier wave of immigrants who came to the Fall River area in the first years of the 20th century. They settled in the area near the Polish settlers, just south of South Park and worked in the local

† May 31, 2019

mills and factories.

These Fall River Ukrainians came from the area around Lvov. By 1914, the new arrivals had formed a community and built their church on Center Street. The first resident pastor was Rev. John Zaharko. This little church recently celebrated 100 years of service to the community.

In the early years, there was no Ukrainian hierarchy in the United States, so these Eastern Rite Catholics were under the jurisdiction of the local Roman Rite bishop.

Thus it was that the Roman Rite Bishop of Fall River was praising the virtues of his Ukrainian priest’s wife at his funeral.

Now, St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church is a member of the Ukrainian Eparchy of Stamford, Conn., established in 1956.

There is no current resident pastor, so the needs of the parish are served from St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Church in Woonsocket, R.I. My first assignment after ordination in 1960 was to a parish in Taunton. One of the families living in the territory of the parish was the Dran family, Ukrainians.

I had to explain to the other children that Mary Dran would not be receiving Confirmation with them because as an Eastern Catholic, she had received Confirmation at the time of her Baptism.

The Dran family later moved

to St. John Parish in Fall River.

Always a small community, in 1916 St. John only had 199 members. Yet, in spite of the small size, this community supplied 110 men for our armed forces during World War II; two did not return home. Over the years this small parish has been able to remain financially solvent due, in large part, to the interest from a generous endowment from a parishioner, Olga Hoffman.

The physical arrangement of the church, as well as the conduct of the Liturgy, is quite different from the experience of the ordinary Roman Rite Catholic. Much of the Liturgy is conducted behind a screen known as the iconostasis, and the language may be English, Ukrainian, or Old Slavonic.

Because of these differences, it is advisable to have a parishioner as a guide for your first visit to St. John Parish.

Call and identify yourself as a Roman Rite Catholic who would like to visit and learn more. The Maronite pastor in Fall River tells me that he has many Romans coming to Mass at St. Anthony of the Dessert on a regular basis.

They are even learning some of the hymns in Syriac.

Worldwide, the Ukrainian Catholic Church has about 4.5 million members.

Outside of the Ukraine, there are three other jurisdictions in Western Europe and two in Poland. In the western hemisphere, there are five eparchies in Canada, four in the United States and three in South America.

Father Martin L. Buote is a retired priest of the Fall River Diocese and a frequent contributor to The Anchor.

Jazz men in black sweep East Taunton: A Vatican III review

By Dr. Joseph Doolin Special to The Anchor

EAST TAUNTON — It takes a while to get over it.

Like coming into the sunlight from a darkened room. But once your visual/aural senses are adjusted to four men in black suits and Roman collars playing jazz, you realize that they are, in fact, accomplished musicians.

Two hundred-plus people filling East Taunton’s Holy Family Parish Center on the Friday evening going into Memorial Day weekend learned that when Vatican III, a jazz-funk fusion quartet, performed.

For those new to the genre, seminarian Matthew Laird (on saxo-

phone) provided Jazz 101, in which he instructed the audience that during jazz performances they are expected to interact with the musicians by grunting and other visceral means of demonstrating appreciation and encouragement. Like a call-andresponse. He also discussed the differences between rock and jazz, the former known for its intensity, the latter for its “cool.”

Most of the evening, however, was music, food, fellowship, and fun.

There were pieces by Coltrane, Gillespie, and other composers, as well as a Vatican III original by Father Matt Gill, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Assumption parishes in Centerville and Osterville. He is also a leader in

Vatican III at Holy Family Church in East Taunton. (Photo by Janet Plonka) the Hispanic Apostolate in the midCape area.

Father Gill, whose piece is entitled, “If You Give a Man a Piece of Cheese ...,” is the group’s bass guitarist. His solo within this set was enthusiastically received.

Perhaps it was his positioning on the stage, perhaps it was the space taken up by his drum kit, or maybe the sheer energy expended, but drummer Father Patrick Fiorillo seemed to hold the show together.

The parochial vicar at St. Paul’s in Cambridge and Harvard undergraduate Catholic chaplain never missed a beat without appearing to work up a sweat. And, he was wearing ear plugs during the performance.

As we know it today, jazz traces its century-old origins to a fusion of African and European influences, blending African feelings and sensibility with European harmony and use of instruments. Both influences stress improvisation. New Orleans was an incubator of the art form in the early part of the last century.

Many jazz fans associate performances with some expected props.

Perhaps containers of what could be construed to be liquid refreshment, maybe a cigarette drooping from a curled lip, or funny-looking hats that could double as muffs. But the most important prop expected is attitude.

Only the saxophonist seemed to be riffing without sheet music, and the only hat was a cross between a porkpie and fedora on the electric guitarist. However, all four of the fine gentlemen of the cloth displayed appropriate attitude. From Larry Valliere’s proud rhythmic strut and virtual plucking of the strings, to

Father Fiorillo’s Energizer-bunny nonchalance, to Matt Laird’s sturdy bounce, to Father Gill’s carefully positioned elbow — they all had that jazz musician’s attitude.

A test of the audience-holding quality of Vatican III’s show could well be read in the two children in the row ahead of this reviewer. As experienced parents are wont to do, the six-year-old boy was separated from his 11-year-old sister by both father and mother. The boy did a minimum of squirming, spent some time shooting pictures of the group on his phone, but was otherwise a thorough little gentleman for the two-hour concert. His sister did not pull out her phone until intermission, seemed involved in the music, and was not observed complaining. Once.

The ladies of Holy Family Parish provided bountiful refreshments at the break. The audience had to choose between the role of groupie and chat with the musicians, and mingling in the food aisle while enjoying work of many domestic chefs.

In attendance was pastor Father Richard Wilson, and Anchor editor Ken Souza, who professionally coordinated light and sound. Father John Perry, Father Gill’s pastor, led a delegation from Cape Cod’s Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of Assumption parishes.

Father Perry will host the group’s next gig at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville on Friday, July 26.

Be there or be square!

A parishioner of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Osterville, Dr. Joseph Doolin is the former Secretary for Social Services for the Archdiocese of Boston.

May 31, 2019 †

9

Right and below, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., ordained nine men to the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Fall River during a Mass celebration on Saturday, May 18.

The nine new deacons are Richard Bisson, Keith Caldwell, Gary Donahue, Kevin Gingras, David Harum, George Hults, Tony Pimental, Paul Spearin, and Matt Sweeney.

(Photos by Deacon Alan Thadeu and John Kearns)

10

†May 31, 2019

Diocesan students ‘Celebrate the Beauty of Every Child’ by noting that every life is given a purpose by God

By Dave Jolivet

JolivetDB@comcast.net

FALL RIVER — It was a celebration befitting a cathedral whose namesake is St. Mary, Our Lady of Assumption, our Heavenly mother who always has open arms for all her children, beginning more than two millennium ago, with the Child Jesus.

More than 800 students along with teachers, school staff, diocesan education officials, diocesan priests and Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., filled the cathedral in Fall River on May 17 for a Mass to “Celebrate the Beauty of Every Child,” followed by a joyous, inspirational concert by singer-songwriter Christopher Duffley, an autistic teen-ager who became blind shortly after birth, and is blessed with the gift of perfect pitch.

Schools from every elementary, junior high school and high school in the diocese were well-represented, evidenced by the large caravan of yellow buses that

converged on the Fall River church.

The nearly three-hour event concentrated on how despite each person’s personal obstacles, everyone is the same in the eyes of the Lord. There was an emphasis on what society would call “disabilities,” yet it’s often the case that those considered disabled don’t view it that way. They are as able as anyone as much as they can be.

The true disabilities are those who cannot see past others’ differences and not seeing just how able others truly are.

The youth of today seem to be much more tolerant and accepting than those of past generations — at a time when tolerance and acceptance are more needed now than ever.

Bishop da Cunha concentrated his homily on that day’s Gospel, John 14:1-16 where Jesus tells His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me …

I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through

Me.” He told the children, “God wants to be with us.

When your hearts are in trouble, when you are suffering, when you have difficulties remember Jesus told us, ‘I will be there for you and with you.’

“But we have to remember the other part. We have to treat each other with the same respect, dignity and value God gives us. No matter where we come from; no matter the color of our skin; no matter the language we speak; no matter what financial status or educational status we have, we are all created by God with the same value and dignity. And when we treat each other with that respect and recognition of that value, we will live in a better world and our lives will be much better and more peaceful.”

Following the Mass, as students reenergized on snacks, the winners of the Catholic Schools Alliance’s essay contest were announced, with both coming from Espirito Santo School in Fall River.

Fourth-grader Ella Raposa, left, and eighth-grader Chantelle Miranda, both students at Espirito Santo School in Fall River, were selected as winners in the recent diocesan-wide “Celebrate the Beauty of Every Child” essay contest sponsored by the Catholic Schools Alliance.

(Photo courtesy of Espirito Santo School) Fourth-grader Ella Raposa drew a picture of Jesus with welcoming open arms. She said, “Don’t judge people by the way they look, because God loves them the way they are.”

Chantelle Miranda, an eighth-grader wrote an essay titled, “How do I see the beauty in all God’s children?”

With traces of emotion creeping in, school principal Andrew J. Raposo read the essay before the capacity congregation. Quoting Miranda, he said, “The idea that being different is unfavorable is a construct built by society that we as children of God are obligated to completely tear apart. God made us in His image and we need to respect ourselves and others the way God intended. The imperfections God gave His children sometimes stick out, but this does not mean God grants us permission to point them out or belittle others.”

Miranda, who had lost a hand in an accident at a young age admitted, “Through life, I have met people who do and don’t see the light that God has lit in my soul, and have had both positive and negative experiences with people.” She said the negative people affected her and she “began to question if God perhaps ‘went wrong’ with me, and that I was not seen as one of his children.”

The eighth-grader said that she did realize God made her the way He intended and that “I wish that I never doubted God in the way that I did but I can’t help but be thankful that I did because now I truly see the beauty in all God’s children.

Now as a strong Christian, I can only hope that those who saw me as unfortunate or useless can now see that those who are different are not damaged or broken, but 8 Turn to page 13

May 31, 2019 †

11

M

The corpse raiders

ost people recognize the importance of obtaining consent before retrieving organs from the bodies of deceased persons. They also understand the necessity of showing respect for those bodily remains following death.

Recent news stories have chronicled the troubling story of a funeral home in Colorado clandestinely taking body parts out of corpses and selling them to medical supply companies.

One family was horrified to learn that their mother’s head, arms, pelvis, and parts of her legs had been harvested without their knowledge or consent. They and others are now suing the company. The funeral home had been selling body parts to places as far away as Saudi Arabia, and returning containers of ashes to the families that did not contain any actual trace of their loved ones.

The public outcry following these revelations, and the subsequent FBI investigation and legal prosecution of the funeral home directors, reminds us how easy it is to transgress important moral boundaries when we fail to respect the remains of the deceased.

Indeed, legal measures can remind us of our duties towards the dead, whether through laws that criminalize grave robbing, for example, or those forbidding the use of executed persons’ bodies for research.

A few years ago, Chinese officials were timing the capital punishment of their prisoners in order to harvest their organs as soon as well-paying foreigners had arrived in Chinese hospitals to receive those transplant12

ed body parts. International pressure quickly mounted to ban the practice.

While it is clear that we shouldn’t kill others for the purpose of obtaining their organs or body parts, it should be equally clear that when an intentional act of killing has already taken place, and a cadaver is available, valid informed consent is still required prior to harvesting bodily tissues.

All ethically sound research involving human subjects is predicated upon informed consent, which needs to be given either by the donors themselves before they die, or by their duly appointed proxy, acting on behalf of, and in the best interests of, the deceased individual.

When it comes to extracting cells or organs from the corpse of a deceased child at an abortion clinic, however, these ethical requirements for consent cannot legitimately be satisfied.

Some have been tempted to argue that aborted children “would have consented” to organ donation if they had been given the chance, since those organs are no longer needed by them after death. But if the justification for harvesting fetal organs is alleged to be the implied consent of the child, this has to be characterized as a false, even violent, presumption.

The activity of harvesting tissues under these circumstances would only exacerbate the original evil act that terminated the child’s life. Taking cells or tissues without consent would be

† May 31, 2019

a callous extension of the original desecration of his or her bodily life.

Additionally, it is important to recognize that even if the mother of an intentionally aborted child were to sign the dotted line saying she granted her permission for the baby’s cells and organs to be donated,

that consent would necessarily be null and void.

Because she arranged for the taking of the child’s life, she already categorically demonstrated that she does not have the child’s best interests in mind. From the ethical vantage point, she disqualifies herself from being able to provide valid consent on behalf of her now-deceased child by the very decision to have the abortion in the first place.

While the action of taking bodily tissues without

consent would be a lesser evil than the act of killing, this does not lead to the conclusion that we can therefore permit or encourage fetal corpse raiding at abortion clinics simply because we have some good use in mind, like pushing forward the frontiers of biological knowledge, or producing a new vaccine or even developing an important therapy for a serious disease.

Wherever cells from directly aborted fetuses are used in research or product development, alternative and ethically non-controversial cell sources should instead be pursued, using, for example, cells obtained from routine surgeries like the removal of an appendix, or foreskin removal during newborn circumcision, or fetal remains following a spontaneous miscarriage, after valid informed consent is able to be properly obtained from the parents.

Consent given after the natural loss of a pregnancy

would be analogous to granting permission for an organ donation from a couple’s naturally deceased newborn.

Even though significant scientific breakthroughs may have occurred in the past using illicitly gained cells and tissues from direct abortions, this cannot ethically sanitize this approach to tissue procurement, nor justify the continuation of the practice in the future.

In fact, outlawing the use of the remains of abortion victims by scientists and researchers would be a small but highly important first step towards showing proper societal respect for the many unborn children who unjustly perish in abortion clinics today.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.

See www.ncbcenter.org

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, June 2 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father James M. Fitzpatrick, pastor of St. Louis de France Parish in Swansea

Sunday, June 9 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Craig A. Pregana, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Parish in New Bedford

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, June 2 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from St. Anthony Church in Pawtucket, R.I.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass

on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, June 9 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church in Providence, R.I.

Diocesan school students ‘Celebrate the Beauty of Every Child’ continued from page 11

was born at a mere one pound, 12 ounces, with traces of cocaine in his tiny system. He developed an eye condition that would quickly take away his sight, and he was autistic.

His aunt, Christine Duffley and her husband Steve, from New Hampshire tracked Christopher down and bonded with him. They prayed for an answer Justin Luis Reis, a senior at Bishop Con- as to what was nolly High School in Fall River, gives a to be done with witness of what receiving a Catholic the boy and education has mean to him over the they received a last four years. After being bullied strong confirmafor years in public schools, Reis was tion from God welcomed warmly by fellow students, that they should faculty and staff, and became known adopt him.

Before Chrisas “The Mayor of Connolly,” because topher ever spoke of his positive outlook and his great interest in the arts and sports at school. a word, he sang at four years old.

(Photo by Dave Jolivet) And it was disperfect in the eyes of God.” covered that he had perfect Raposo told The Anchor, pitch.

“I am amazed at the amount Christopher has utilized of courage and faith that Chhis special gifts before audiantelle has. It [her accident] ences of every kind across has never stopped her from the country including special living her life. She is a mature needs groups, schools, and young lady, very bright, and has sung the National Anlets nothing get in her way. them twice at Fenway Park She is grounded by her faith and one NASCAR event and in God, as well as caring sang during Pope Francis’ parents who guide her.”

2015 Philadelphia visit.

With such an uplifting He currently is a sophoand powerful start, the stage more at Holy Family Acadwas then set for Duffley to emy in Manchester, N.H. take hold of the hearts of Performing along with his many at the cathedral. trusted drummer and road Duffley, who turned age manager, David St. Germain, 18 just days after his Fall the young man quickly imRiver appearance, was born plored the students to get on in Florida in 2001 at only 26 their feet and “worship our weeks. His biological mother great Lord and Savior togethused drugs through her er” with the song “Here I am pregnancy and Christopher to Worship.”

Following a couple of inspirational songs, Duffley addressed the audience already captured by his talent and sincerity.

“I can’t see you,” he shouted. “I shouldn’t be staying here today. In fact I shouldn’t be standing anywhere. I shouldn’t be standing here today … but I am!” eliciting great applause from the students. “From the moment I was born the medical staff valued me so much that they took incredible steps to save me.”

Duffley told the students the story of his early days and how an aunt from New Hampshire tracked him down in foster care to make contact with him. He told his audience how surprised his aunt was with his blindness and other medical conditions, and how she and her husband Stephen, agonized over what to do with young Christopher, “through many tears and hours of prayer.”

“Together, with her husband it came down to this,” Duffley continued, “they believed that every life is created in the image and likeness of God. I was family. How could she leave me behind?

“Trusting in God’s plan for my life, Christine and Stephen Duffley welcomed me into their home when I was 15 months old. And in case you’re wondering, my siblings (four, ages one to nine at the time) did take a vote and it was a landslide decision. They wanted me too.

Well our family of six became seven,” again prompting great cheers from the students.

He went on to say his aunt “trusted in God’s plan for her life, not her plans. And she realized that, like with her 8 Turn to page 14

May 31, 2019 †

13

Diocesan students ‘Celebrate the Beauty of Every Child’ continued from page 13

other children, God would be in control.”

Duffley also told the students that he banged his head, repeated everything he didn’t like, didn’t like loud noises, and didn’t like to touch unknown things. But he added, “I knew every part of the Mass by three years old. Isn’t that interesting?

And I sang any song I heard. Isn’t that weird?”

Duffley was diagnosed with autism at age five, but music was already a large part of his life. He said his mom and dad decided to use music therapy to get him to communicate. “I love music, why not try music therapy. Maybe it would get me to have a real conversation. Well, it worked! As you can probably see I can now have a conversation with you.”

“My parents always focused on what I could do, not what I couldn’t do,” he added. And through music therapy it was learned he had perfect pitch and had “unlimited music potential.”

He shared that his parents taught him the song, “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” to show that God loved him that “though I couldn’t see with my physical eyes, I could see with my heart.”

During the concert, Justin Luis Reis, a senior at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River who has battled various physical ailments all his life, was invited to give a witness of what receiving a Catholic education has mean to him over the last four years.

After being bullied for years in public schools because of his disabilities, Reis was welcomed warmly by fellow students, faculty and staff, and became known as “The Mayor of Connolly,” because of his positive outlook and his great interest in the arts and sports at school.

Reis brought attention to two mottos at the school: “Find yourself here,” and “Not only be hearers but doers of the Word.”

“Bishop Connolly is one of the best places for a young person to find themself,” said Reis. “This is 14

† May 31, 2019

exactly what happened . When I attended a public school I was bullied a lot.” Of his first day at Connolly Reis said, “Everyone was accepting and respectful of one another. Bullying is taken seriously.

“At Connolly you learn to be proud of who you are. God commands us to take care of each other they way Jesus took care of people.

I have a great love for my Catholic faith.”

Reis referenced a 1962 speech by President John F. Kennedy when he was requesting support for the U.S. space effort to land a man on the moon.

A great admirer of JFK, Reis said, “The line that stands out to me is: ‘We choose to go to the moon before the end of the decade [with Reis pouding his fist on the podium as JFK had] … not because it is easy, but because it is hard.’ Both myself and President Kennedy were willing to face challenges that would come our way. And we were up to those challenges.”

“Justin Luis Reis is a wonderful young man,” Connolly principal Christopher Myron told The Anchor. “Justin is our resident saint who will be missed at Connolly. He has worked diligently in all aspects of the school and shared his gifts in fine arts and athletics. He is not only an inspiration but he is a faithful servant of Jesus.”

Upon Duffley’s return he told the students, “Here I am on a mission to share with you that every life matters. No matter what problems you are going through.

Amen?”

A great “Amen” resounded through the cathedral from the hundreds listening in awe.

He next performed “Stand By Me,” saying, “It’s a song about what Justin just talked about, friendship.”

Before concluding his concert, Duffley told the students, “My message is simple. Remember to open your heart to let God use you. Even though it may be hard, He needs you and I to share His love with the world.”

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., processes into St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River on May 17 to celebrate a special “Celebrate the Beauty of Every Child” Mass. More than 800 students from schools across the diocese attended and witnessed an inspiring and upbeat concert following the Mass

by Christopher Duffley, a blind and autistic teen-ager who shared his story and his wonderful musical talents. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

F ocus

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C hurch Y outh Bishop Stang High School students and faculty celebrated ‘Dude Be Nice Week’ from April 29 - May 3 by doing kind deeds for one another all week in memory of Matt Benoit, a member of the class of the class of 2006, who passed away suddenly during his senior year. The Student Council also had a tropical dressdown day and collected money to donate to the Matt Benoit Scholarship Fund. Members of the Student Council Executive Board presented a check to Matt’s mother, Robin Benoit, in the amount of $1,055 to provide scholarships to incoming freshmen and graduating seniors.

Pictured at left, from left, are Carlo Acosta, Laurenne Wilkinson, Robin Benoit, Emma Pimentel, Luke Cambra, and Myles Forgue.

(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Golden)

Below, two third-grade students from Holy Name School in Fall River recently crowned Mary during a Mass to celebrate the month of Our Blessed Mother. (Photo courtesy of Jayme Chippendale)

Bishop Feehan High School recently announced its top-ranked students in the Class of 2019, headlined by a trio of young women who have excelled inside and outside the classroom during their four years on the school’s Holcott Drive campus. The top three students are: Valedictorian Megan McFarland, Attleboro; Salutatorian Nicole O’Brien, Wrentham; Tree Dedicator (third in class) Eleanor Kominiarek, North Attleboro. Pictured above, from left, are Feehan President Tim Sullivan ‘87, Megan McFarland, Eleanor Kominiarek, Nicole O’Brien, and Principal Sean Kane. (Photo courtesy of Gina Simoneau)

May 31, 2019 †

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Attleboro native Ryan Healy to be ordained a priest June 1 continued from page two

seminary, coming home on Sundays to serve in the parish with Father Wilson and Father Williams. The support of each of these priests has been integral to reaching this stage of my journey.”

There will be one other important priest present at his ordination — his uncle, Father Patrick Healy, O.M.I., who will be vesting him as he did for his diaconal ordination last year.

Ordained in 1947, Father Healy is a missionary priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He served as a missionary in Japan for several decades, as a U.S. Army chaplain during the Vietnam War, and later as a chaplain at West Point.

“He has been a huge role model of the priesthood to me in these past few years,” Healy said.

“The day of my ordination will be his 98th birthday.

I am so grateful that he will be there and that he can join me for this great day of celebration. The following day, when I will celebrate my first Mass, is actually the 72nd anniversary of his priestly ordination! Although he has experienced some health setbacks recently, he continues to be fervent in carrying out his ministry as a priest.”

Healy will celebrate his first Mass at his home parish of St. John the Evangelist Church in Attleboro on Sunday, June 2 at 1 p.m.

“This has been my home parish for my whole life, where I was baptized,” he said. “The community of St. John’s has been a source of constant support and 16

encouragement over these years of seminary studies. I am looking forward to celebrating that day with many members of the parish. Already, there have been so many who have come forward to help with the preparations.”

Although he hasn’t been given his first assignment yet, Healy looks forward to meeting with Bishop da Cunha and beginning his priestly ministry.

“Certainly I would be happy to carry out priestly ministry anywhere, but it would be a great joy for me to serve in a parish where there is a local Catholic school — to get to know the families and be able to assist in passing on the faith to our young people in a parochial school setting,” he said. “I look forward to being able to learn as much as I can from whichever pastor I am assigned with, and joyfully contributing to the parish community I am called to

† May 31, 2019

serve.”

Although he is the sole ordinand for the diocese this year, Healy expressed great joy over the prospect of the more than a dozen other seminarians currently studying and who will hopefully follow in his footsteps.

“It has been such a great joy to witness the growing number of vocations in the diocese which I see as the fruit of the hard work of Bishop da Cunha and the Vocations Office,” Healy said. “The Lord of the harvest has heard the prayers of so many in bringing the men that we have currently have in formation to study for the Diocese of Fall River. Let’s pray that God continues to raise up many more faithful men to serve His people.”

Ryan Healy’s ordination to the priesthood will be streamed live on the diocesan Facebook page beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 1.

Visit www.facebook. com/fallriverdiocese.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests and deacons during the coming weeks

June 1 Rev. James A. Ward, Former Pastor, St. Peter, Provincetown, 1911 June 3 Most Rev. James J. Gerrard, DD., Auxiliary Bishop of Fall River 1959-1976; Retired Pastor, St. Lawrence, New Bedford, 1991 June 4 Rev. Louis J. Terrien, O.P., Dominican Priory, Fall River, 1920 Rev. Jose P. d’Amaral, Parochial Vicar, Santo Christo, Fall River, 1949 Rev. George Daigle, Pastor, Sacred Heart, North Attleboro, 1979 June 5 Very Rev. Thomas J. McLean, V.F., Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Hyannis, 1954 Rev. Msgr. Louis Prevost, Retired Pastor, St. Joseph, New Bedford, 1970 June 6 Rev. Cornelius J. Keliher, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1993 June 8 Rev. John S. Czerwonka, Assistant, St. Stanislaus, Fall River, 1961 June 9 Rev. Timothy J. Calnen, Pastor, St. Joseph, Woods Hole, 1945 Rev. Joseph S. Larue, Pastor, Sacred Heart, North Attleboro, 1966 June 10 Rev. William H. Curley, Pastor, SS. Peter & Paul, Fall River, 1915 Rev. George A. Meade, Chaplain, St. Mary’s Home, New Bedford, 1949 June 11 Rev. Msgr. Augusto L. Furtado, Retired Pastor, St. John of God, Somerset, 1973 Rev. Richard J. Wolf, S.J., Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River, 1986 June 12 Rev. Thomas H. Taylor, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Taunton, 1966 June 13 Rev. Edward F. Donahue, S.J., Boston College High School, Dorchester, 1974 June 14 Rev. Msgr. George E. Sullivan, Retired Pastor, St. Joseph, Fall River, 1980 Rev. Msgr. Joseph A. Cournoyer, Retired Pastor, St. Michael, Swansea, 1982 Rev. James H. Coughlin, S.J., Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn., 1992 Rev. Justin J. Quinn, Chaplain, Madonna Manor, North Attleboro, Former Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Fall River, 1996

First-ever convocation aims to revitalize Cursillo movement in diocese

By Kenneth J. Souza Editor

kensouza@anchornews.org

EASTON — A first-ever Cursillo convocation will be held in the Fall River Diocese on Saturday, June 22 at Stonehill College in Easton.

This first-of-its-kind gathering will be an opportunity for people who have previously lived a Cursillo retreat weekend to rekindle that experience and for those who are curious to learn more about it, according to Claire McManus, director of the diocesan office of Faith Formation.

“We’re going to have tables set up where you can get information,” McManus told The Anchor. “You know, I want to live a Cursillo, but how do I go about doing this? They’ll be connected with somebody who will help sponsor them.

The purpose behind that is to help the person so they just don’t go and there’s no connection and they forget about the experience. It’s a person who will walk with you.”

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or waynepowers@ anchornews.org

Cursillo is a three-day weekend retreat experience that includes talks, or rollos, given by priests or laypeople. The major emphasis of the weekend is to ask participants to take what they have learned back into the world, on what is known as the “fourth day.” The method stresses personal Spiritual development, as accelerated by weekly group reunions after the initial weekend.

The Cursillo, which is Spanish for “short course,” was once a great catalyst for the laity to bring into their parishes the joy and exuberance that comes from an encounter with Christ and His Holy Spirit, and it was also a powerful tool for evangelization, according to McManus.

“We’re going to have a panel discussion with some people who remained active in their parishes after they lived Cursillo,” she said. “This is part of what we’re trying to do. When the Cursillo movement was really big in the diocese, those were the people who were the backbone of our

parishes. Now, some of them have gotten older and we’re trying to revitalize them. We want them to hear first-hand: ‘This is the way it was for me, now I just can’t get enough of giving back and living that fourth day.’”

The Cursillo revitalization perfectly aligns with Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha’s “Rebuilding in Faith and Hope” plan for the diocese.

“For quite some time we’ve been talking about how we can revitalize the Cursillo movement in the diocese, because years back they were very active in many of the parishes, and many of them still are,” Bishop da Cunha told The Anchor. “But there is a need to reconnect, to reawaken, to rekindle that enthusiasm and that fire that they all come away from the Cursillo with and we wanted to take advantage of the benefits that they can bring to the ministry of our diocese.

In meeting with some of the leaders in the Cursillo movement, I suggested that we would hold a convocation and they all thought it was a good idea.”

“The people who are in leadership at the Holy Cross Retreat House — Jim Lane, Jim Orcutt, Brian Concannon, and (the late) Father Joe Callahan — all went to visit Bishop da Cunha,” McManus said. “(Chancellor) Kevin Kiley helped to facilitate this meeting, and both the bishop and this group wanted to revitalize Cursillo in the diocese. It had been very active back when the retreat was held at La

Salette Shrine and the last lay leader of the Cursillo movement in the diocese was Deacon Frank Lucca.

“Part of the conversation was: how can we get these people who used to live Cursillo and are not active in the monthly or weekly meetings anymore?

How can we get them going again? So we decided to call them together — that’s the convocation.”

As director of Faith Formation and someone who lived a Cursillo herself, or a cursillista, McManus was perfect to lead the charge.

She formed a committee with the aforementioned key players and added into the mix Mary KeoughAnderson, Diane Cheevers, music ministers Mark Carey and Tim Grant, and Steve Sypett, who represents St. Basil’s Salvatorian Center in Methuen.

“A lot of the people who have lived Cursillo have lived it in different places — at La Salette, at Holy Cross Retreat House, but also up at St. Basil’s,” she said. “So we asked for a representative from St. Basil’s to come down and sit on the committee so that the word can be spread to the people up there as well.”

Initial meetings were held in November, and plans forged ahead for the upcoming June 22 convocation in the athletic center at Stonehill College, which is where the last three diocesan Lenten retreats have been held.

“We don’t want it to look like a conference,” McManus stressed. “We want it to look different, so we didn’t bring in a big keynote

speaker, but we’re asking some people who have lived Cursillo to talk about how it changed their lives and how they have gone on to live their fourth day in a significant way in contribution to their parish or to their community.”

Jim Orcutt, who cofounded the well-known My Brother’s Keeper ministry in the diocese after he and his wife lived a Cursillo weekend, will open the convocation by sharing his story.

“We’re also going to give the people who attend (a chance) to kind of relive the experience of Cursillo,” McManus said. “So they’ll sit at a table and share a moment when they felt close to Christ.

“That’s a very important part of it. It helps you to stay connected to your faith by being with other people who are open about talking about how Jesus did this for them … and it just helps you in your faith journey to have like-minded members with you.”

Information tables will also be available for former cursillistas who would like to get a reunion group going, along with vendors selling items and groups such as Catholic Social Services and My Brother’s Keeper for those who might be interested in living their “fourth day” with one of the organizations.

“I should add that music is a very important part of Cursillo,” McManus said.

“So if you like to sing, you’re going to do great. If you don’t, you’re going to sing anyway.”

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Around the Diocese The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet on June 7 at St. Joseph Church on North Main Street in Fall River. The celebration of Mass begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. The Mass celebrant will be Father Jay Mello, pastor of St. Michael and St. Joseph parishes in Fall River. Following the Mass, club members will gather in the church hall for a hot meal prepared by White’s of Westport. After the meal there will be a presentation by William McClure, who will speak about Contemplative Prayer. All members and guests are welcome to participate in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at 5 p.m. prior to the Mass. New members are always welcome. The June 7 Mass and meeting will be the last get-together for the summer. The next First Friday Mass and meeting will be October 4. For more information, contact Norm Valiquette at 508-672-8174.

To honor the memory and mission of Venerable Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., Holy Cross Family Ministries invites all for an annual Celebratory Mass and Special Blessing for Families on Sunday, June 9 at the St. Joseph Chapel, 500 Washington Street in North Easton from 2 to 3 p.m. with Bishop William A. Wack, C.S.C., from the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla. The event is free and handicap-accessible and is open to all. For more information, call 508-238-4095.

At 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, organist Natsumi Malloy will perform a concert in her second recital at St. Anthony of Padua Church in the North end of New Bedford. Trained at both Berklee and the New England Conservatory, as well as at the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo, she is a pianist, concert organist and a composer. This is the closing event for music at St. Anthony’s concert and recital series for 2018-2019 to raise funds for the church’s unique and historic Casavant French Romantic pipe organ, Opus 489. A suggested donation of $10 will be collected at the door, and there is an opportunity to support the organ fund with the ongoing “Adopt an Organ Part” program.

Parking and a free shuttle is available from 2 to 5 p.m. from the St. Killian Church parking lot, corner of Ashley Boulevard and Earle Street. For more information or directions, please contact St. Anthony’s rectory at 508-993-1691.

The King’s College London Choir is returning to the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, 327 Second Street in Fall River, on Friday, June 21 for a 7:30 p.m. concert. A reception will follow and tickets will be available at the door.

A special silent retreat will be held on Saturday, June 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation, 3012 Elm Street in Dighton. The day will include: Mass, Prayer, Reflections, Quiet Time and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call Donna Costa, M.A., Lay Associate of the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation, e-mail streetsofgold531@hotmail.com or call 774-644-5878. Free will offering and lunch included.

A Divine Mercy Cenacle group meets every Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, 306 South Street in Somerset. Meetings are held in the parish center, except for holidays.

Meetings include formation on the Divine Mercy message from the “Diary of St. Faustina,” readings from the Bible and “Cathechism of the Catholic Church,” and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. All are welcome. For more information call 508-6461019 or 508-672-1523.

St. Anthony of Padua Church on Bedford Street in Fall River will host a recitation of the Holy Rosary and Litany with the Divine Mercy Chaplet every Monday evening at 6:15 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, call the rectory at 508-673-2402.

To submit an event for consideration in The Anchor’s “Around the Diocese” listing, please send the information by email to kensouza@anchornews.org.

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Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ASSONET — St. Bernard’s Parish will have Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar at the conclusion of 9 a.m. Mass and the church will be open all day, concluding with evening prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds 6:30 p.m. Mass followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy Adoration at 7:15 p.m. every Wednesday evening.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John the Evangelist Church, North Main Street, Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph’s Adoration Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street, Sunday-Thursday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 12 a.m., and Saturday 12 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every First Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending at 5 p.m.

DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Mary’s Church, 783 Dartmouth Street, every First Monday of the month, following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with evening prayers and Benediction at 5 p.m.

East Freetown — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower).

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of Padua Church, on the corner of Bedford and Sixteenth streets, has Eucharistic Adoration accompanied by music and prayer every first Wednesday of the month from 6-7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursdays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Friday at 8 a.m.

FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel.

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

FALL RIVER — St. Joseph’s Church has a Holy Hour every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m., with Benediction at 6:45 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Michael’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday following the 7 a.m. Mass, with Benediction at 4:30 p.m.

HYANNIS — St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, 347 South Street, Hyannis, has Eucharistic Adoration from noon to 3 p.m., daily Monday through Friday.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Each First Friday Mass ends with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration continues until Benediction at 5 p.m.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration is held every Thursday, with Confessions, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church. Please use the side entrance.

NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession.

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel Fridays from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 4 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 4 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street.

NORTH EASTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Immaculate Conception Church Chapel on the first Wednesday of the month beginning after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, until 6:40 p.m. Those wishing to make a monthly commitment can sign up on the parish website at www.icceaston.org or call the parish office at 508-238-3232.

ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m.

Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m. The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m.

Mass.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass until 9 a.m.

Taunton — The Chapel of St. Andrew the Apostle, 19 Kilmer Avenue, Taunton, will host Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Taunton — St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Taunton will host Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 9 a.m. Mass and the St. Jude Novena, until 11:30, ending with Benediction. It will take place at Holy Rosary Chapel during the summer months.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church takes place 9 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall.

† PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION † East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

First Cursillo Convocation set for June 22 continued from page 17

For McManus, the wonderful thing about a Cursillo is you never know what to expect.

“A couple of years ago I sponsored my two sonsin-law, and when they were on their Cursillo, the lead singer for the Dropkick Murphys was there,” she said. “That’s the thing — you’ll meet people from all walks of life, and you never know who you’re going to meet on a Cursillo or when you go to a reunion.

“It’s very interesting because you go in there not really knowing what’s going on. You might know a little bit, but there are people there who are just like you.

Until you hear their story and then you say, ‘Wow, that person has had an incred-

ibly difficult life and look at how they’ve pulled themselves out of this and now they’re trying to deepen their faith.’ It can be very inspiring and very emotional.”

McManus said Bishop da Cunha is really hoping that the Cursillo Convocation will be the start of something important for the diocese moving forward.

“I’m looking forward to being with them on June 22 and seeing the enthusiasm of these people and to see them all make another reawakening in their faith,” the bishop said. “I think their enthusiasm for the ministry and for the apostolate will greatly help evangelize our parishes and our diocese. I’m really looking forward to a new beginning

of the Cursillo movement in our diocese.”

The Cursillo Convocation will be held on Saturday, June 22 in the Ames Sports Complex at Stonehill College, 320 Washington Street in Easton, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is just $20 per person in advance or at the door and includes lunch and snacks. Registration required by June 15.

A closing Mass will be celebrated at 4 p.m. by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. The program will also include a memorial tribute to Father Joe Callahan, C.S.C, Spiritual Director of the Holy Cross Retreat House in Easton, who went home to God on Easter Sunday.

For more information or to register, visit www. fallriverdiocese.org.

† O bituary †

Alexander “Joe” V. DiMarzio, grandfather of Father David Pignato FOXBORO — Alexander Veno “Joe” DiMarzio, 97, died peacefully on May 19 at the Doolittle Home in Foxboro. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

He was born in Boston on April 27,1922, one of 13 children of the late Cesare and Irene (Jackson) DiMarzio. He was educated in Foxboro Public Schools. He and his wife Ruth were married in Mansfield on Feb. 1,1941.

He proudly served his country in WWll for the U.S. Army 1060th Engineers in the Pacific Corridor.

“Joe,” as he was called around town, was a calibrator for the former Foxboro Company and retired in 1983 after 43 years of service. He was a lifelong communicant of St.Mary’s Church in Foxboro and was a member of the VFW and Foxborough Cribbage League.

“Joe” was also a call firefighter for the Foxboro Fire Department for 21 years. He became a familiar sight at the Fireman’s Field Days every August.

He is survived by his beautiful wife of 78 years, Ruth (Bell) DiMarzio, and his daughters, Carol Pignato and her husband David, Linda Penney and her husband Frank, Patricia Cummings and her husband Alan, all of Foxboro.

He leaves seven grandchildren: Joseph Pignato, Father David Pignato, Lisa Lancaster, Carrie Chester, Jason Penney, Steven Penney and Allison O’Connor, and 11 greatgrandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Roger DiMarzio and sisters Amelia Brooks and Camarena Peterson and his 49 nieces and nephews who called him “Uncle Veno.” He was brother to the late Gugliemo, John, Norgio, Dino, Fermino, Yolanda McAuliffe, Irene Bouchard, Nancy Richards and Virgilia Gordon.

A Funeral Mass was celebrated May 25 at St. Mary’s Church, followed by burial at St. Mary’s Cemetery, both in Foxboro. Donations in his memory may be made to the Foxboro Discretionary Fund, P.O. Box 636, Foxboro, Mass. 02035.

May 31, 2019 †

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