Delegates of diocesan Hispanic Ministry will carry their five pastoral priorities for serving the needs of the ever-growing Hispanic and Latino populations as previously proposed to the national gathering of V Encuentro from Thursday, Sept. 20 to Sunday, Sept. 23 in Grapevine, Texas.

At the recent Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom held at the State Department in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a declaration encouraging the global community to stand up for religious freedom. Known as the Potomac Declaration, it is a statement of principles on the meaning and value of religious freedom.

The faith community of St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Paterson welcomed Bishop Serratelli on July 22. The Bishop served as main celebrant and homilist of the 10:30 a.m. Mass for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

ishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit on July 29 to Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Dover where he served as main celebrant and homilist of the 10:30 a.m. Mass in Spanish for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit on July 28 to Our Lady of Victories (OLV) Parish and the Shrine of St. Jude in Paterson where he served as main celebrant and homilist for the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During his visit, the Bishop blessed a new and as-yet-unnamed chapel in the church.

The Catholic community of St. Brendan and St. George happily reports a marriage made in heaven as it celebrates this year the 5th anniversary of the merger that brought together the parishioners of St. Brendan, Clifton, with the parishioners of St. George, Paterson. Since the merger, a multicultural faith community has been established that has cast a wider net by welcoming other ethnic populations, including members of the Portuguese and Filipino communities.

The generosity of the faithful of the Paterson Diocese made the 2017 Bishop’s Annual Appeal (BAA) a record-breaker with $4.688 million in pledges — the largest amount raised in Appeal history and an increase of $266,000 more than 2016, which also had broken previous records. The largest area of growth for the 2017 Appeal was online, which experienced a 50-percent increase in the number of donors and a 100 percent increase in the amount contributed using that method to make a pledge.

Starting Friday, Aug. 3, and continuing every Friday for nine weeks until Sept. 28, the faithful are invited to participate with Catholics nationwide in a weekly moment of prayer for the legal protection of human life.