The community of the Church of Christ the King in the New Vernon neighborhood of Harding Township on March 6 welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated 6:30 p.m. Mass as part of the parish’s Wednesday Night Lenten Mass Series, celebrated by visiting priests of the Paterson Diocese.

At St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, children favor the holy over the haunted when choosing Halloween costumes for the annual All Saints Vigil Mass and party. Instead of portraying ghosts or witches, many children dress as saints. Some girls look like religious sisters. Many boys dress in priests’ clothing like St. Margaret’s priests: Father Duberney Villamizar, pastor, and Father Dailon Lisabet, parochial vicar.

This Lent, Catholics of the Paterson Diocese and beyond have an extraordinary opportunity to view the Shroud of Turin, the linen burial cloth that bears the imprint of the crucified Christ. Our Lady of the Magnificat (OLM) Parish in Kinnelon has mounted a powerful display with several large-scale photographs of the shroud in the narthex of the church.

When was the last time that you heard an inspiring “conversion story?” If it has “been a while,” or even if you have heard one recently, if you haven’t heard Sister Josephine Garrett’s story (raised Southern Baptist, became Catholic after college, and then was called to Religious Life), I strongly encourage you to hear her tell it on the most recent episode of the Revive podcast.

On March 2, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated the monthly Mass and Rosary Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Morris­town. Several priests serving the Paterson Diocese concelebrated the Mass, including Father Duberney Villamizar, St. Margaret’s pastor.

The 54th annual Murray House Dinner Dance was hosted by Catholic Charities and the Murray family on Feb. 18 at The Brownstone in Paterson.

How do you have a “spiritual conversation?” Father Paul Manning and Maria Moncaleano join Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Jai Agnish, diocesan director of communications, to discuss the interim phase of the Synod on Synodality and new listening sessions.

Has anyone seen Alice? Legend has it she was a ghost of a little girl who haunted the mansion of the former Bayley-Ellard High School in Madison, now the St. Paul Inside the Walls evangelization center. Father Paul Manning, former St. Paul’s executive director, must have encountered Alice — right? Stay tuned for his answer on an upcoming episode of the podcast Coffee with Kupke, now in its second season.

Early in their relationship, Maura Rasmusson and Eric Van Eck wasted no time mapping out their dreams for the future — faith life, career goals, marriage, and family size. The couple met on a Sunday in 2021 after the 11 a.m. Mass for young adults at St. Paul Inside the Walls, the evangelization center of the Paterson Diocese in Madison.

In my column last week, I mentioned that our diocese will be offering “Listening Sessions” as part of the “Interim Phase” of the Synod on Synodality. I wish to return to this topic and, especially, to this “invitation” to each member of the Church. The invitation is also offered to those who may find themselves “outside” the Church or on the “margins” of the Church and/or society.

The Paterson Diocese celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Permanent Diaconate during a convocation on Feb. 17 at All Saints Academy in Parsippany. The local Church also honored the hundreds of permanent deacons of the diocese for answering Jesus’ call to “Follow me” into an ordained ministry of service since the establishment of the diaconate in 1974.

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (FSSP) of Morris County hosted the 42nd anniversary of the annual blessing of the tri-color Irish flag at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mountain Lakes on Feb. 25. This traditional celebration marks its members’ faith and commitment to their religious beliefs and Irish heritage.

During this year’s Rite of Election on Feb. 18, 123 catechumens from faith communities in the Paterson Diocese moved a step closer to receiving the sacraments of initiation — baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist — in their respective parishes during the upcoming Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, March 30.

The Office of Child and Youth Protection of the Paterson Diocese is looking for volunteer facilitators to conduct ongoing awareness sessions to help employees, volunteers, and parents of the diocese prevent child sexual abuse.

For the latest episode of Beyond The Beacon, Father Jared Brogan joins Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish to discuss the significance of going to confession and more. Father Brogan is the director of the Office of Divine Worship and Master of Ceremonies for the Diocese of Paterson.

This Lent, local faithful are invited to share their vision for the future of the Church with their fellow Catholics during three interim phase listening sessions to be held in the diocese — part of the broader Church’s Synod on Synodality process, which will conclude at the Vatican in October.

In 2018, New York City launched the initiative She Built NYC. It was an effort to commission a public monument to honor women who made historic contributions to New York City. A commendable effort in a city whose monuments overwhelming honored men. When the public was asked to nominate women, Mother Cabrini (Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, M.S.C.) won by a landslide. Yet, New York City ignored the results and commissioned statues for seven other women.

As I thought about the topic for my column this week, my original plan was to write about a new movie called “Cabrini,” which tells the story of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (also known as “Mother Cabrini”), which will debut in theatres across the country on Friday, March 8.

The community of St. Mary’s Assumption Parish in Passaic on Feb. 14, the first day of Lent, welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who concelebrated a Mass for Ash Wednesday.

On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14, the first day of Lent, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated Mass in the chapel of St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson.