More Good News

Bishop Kevin Sweeney was the main celebrant and homilist for the Diocese’s sixth annual Firefighters Red Mass on Oct. 13 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. The Mass honored a firefighter who died in the line of duty and five active duty firefighters who died in the past year. Concelebrating the Mass with the Bishop were Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar of special projects, and Father Brendan Murray, a retired diocesan priest who has served as a fire chaplain.

On Palm Sunday, Dan Venezia, a personal trainer, life coach and former pro baseball player, landed in the hospital, gasping for breath and trying to hold on to hope in God while fighting his toughest — and deadliest — opponent: COVID-19. A parishioner of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, he engaged in the fight of his life using his own “playbook” with strategies to strengthen his spirit, mind and body — in that order — to help defeat this fearsome enemy.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Joseph’s Rest Home in Paterson run by the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood on Oct. 12. The facility is home for elderly women, who are surrounded with a warm and homelike atmosphere under the care of the sisters. During the visit, the Bishop celebrated Mass in the chapel that was attended by the Precious Blood Sisters and residents of the healthcare facility. Sister Alphonsa Kunnel marked her 50th jubilee in religious life at the Mass.

Engaged couples that participate in Pre-Cana in the Diocese gain practical insights and approaches to build a strong marriage, such as knowing your spouse’s “love style,” in the context of the Seven Virtues in “Life Skills for Married Couples” — part of the Diocese’s marriage preparation program. Last month, Jill Cherrey, a Pre-Cana facilitator at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization in Madison with husband, Jim, led a seminar by videoconference to train or refresh Pre-Cana ministers in parishes and at St. Paul’s in the diocesan program. The Office of Family Life sponsored the event.

In seven years since opening its doors, the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women has touched the lives of countless women, who once felt they did not have a voice but now feel empowered. With more than 10,000 visits to the center, located in the former rectory of St. Nicholas Church in Passaic, according to the center’s mission statement, “the center exists to provide a place for women of Passaic to meet, share and grow in a peaceful and safe environment.”