Vivere Christus Est Awards

PATERSON  In recognition for the outstanding service they provide for their parishes, communities and the world, Bishop Serratelli honored 103 individuals, couples and families at this year’s diocesan Vivere Christus Est Awards on Sept. 8. This was the 10th year the ceremony has been held to honor the laity.

At the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here, family, friends, priests and well-wishers filled the cathedral to standing room only and witnessed as the Bishop presented each one of the 103 honorees with this special award that acknowledges on a diocesan level the value and importance of the laity in the Church. The medal given to each of the awardees has the phrase “Vivere Christus Est” on it — Latin for “To live is Christ.”

In his opening remarks, the Bishop told those in attendance, “We gather today in our Mother Church of the Diocese with joy to honor those who serve Christ and serve their brothers and sisters so well. Not only do we give thanks to them, we thank almighty God for providing us with such generous, such compassionate, such self-sacrificing faithful in our Diocese.”

As tradition with past ceremonies, the Gospel reading during the service was from Matthew, which proclaims Christians should answer the call to be “the salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.”

During the ceremony, two parish pastors delivered the homilies. Father Joseph Garbarino, pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton and Father Brando Ibarra, pastor of St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Paterson, gave the homilies, in English and Spanish, respectively.

Father Garbarino said, “Today celebrate the one-way street that is God’s love. God’s love comes to us, God our creator, God our origin and then we journey with God along the path of life, up roads, up streets, up mountains, around valleys, in an alley, up and down with Christ as our companion and as companions to one another in Christ. We find our way leads us home to God from who you come. We gather to celebrate the special people recognized today who have been most excellent companions on the journey to their brothers and sisters because you first walked closely with Christ. You have traveled in God’s way, which is the way of love.”

Following the homilies, the Bishop blessed the awards. Then, Sister of Christian Charity Joan Daniel Healy, diocesan chancellor/delegate to religious, and Starli Castanos, a diocesan seminarian, called the names of the recipients to come forward and receive their medal from Bishop Serratelli.

Honorees received the brass medal, three inches in diameter, embossed with the diocesan crest on the obverse and a portrait of St. John’s Cathedral in Paterson and the words in Latin, “Vivere Christus Est” on the reverse. The medal was enclosed in a cherry-wood box, accompanied by a personal scroll of recognition in English and Spanish.

At the end of the service, the Bishop thanked the priests and pastors who collaborate together to do good in the world. Bishop Serratelli noted the number of the priests at the ceremony, which he said was the most since the award ceremony’s inception.

After the ceremony, the Vivere Christus Est recipients gathered with one another and the Bishop for a reception at the Bishop Rodimer Center next to the cathedral. There, the recipients received their certificates and were able to take a photo with the Bishop.

The Bishop told them, “May God continue to strengthen you in the days ahead when our country is facing so many difficulties. This is the time for all Catholics to be strong; this is the time to stay faithful to the Lord and to the Church and to be unabashedly and courageously Catholic.”