Hello and welcome!
Last Saturday, I went to Pittsburgh for the profession of solemn vows of three of our friars, Brother Connor, Brother Ryan and Brother José Antonio.
It was held at St. Augustine’s Church, the old German parish in Pittsburgh, where our province has held all of our ordinations and professions for over a hundred years.
It was a very sizable gathering of friars from all over our province. Our province extends to Puerto Rico, so we had a number of Puerto Rican friars come to be with us.
Of course, it’s a time of great rejoicing when these young men make this final commitment to live the Capuchin vocation.
Sunday, I went to Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Marshfield for the celebration of their 75th anniversary.
It was a very joyful celebration. We were, of course, joined by the pastor, Father Paul Aveni, the vicar, Father Will Sexton, as well as several priests who had worked there in the past.
There was a great spirit among the parishioners, and it was a great joy to celebrate this special occasion with them.
Parish anniversaries such as this are always an opportunity to thank God for all those who went before us and made so many sacrifices to establish these communities of faith. Now, it’s our responsibility to transmit the faith to future generations and to ensure that these parishes are thriving faith communities for those who are coming after us.
On Tuesday, I went to visit Barbara Roche, who had just celebrated her 96th birthday the day before. Barbara and her family have been great friends of the archdiocese for many years, supporting the missions of Catholic Charities, our Catholic schools, and many more. In fact, my association with the Roche family goes back to well before my time in Boston. When I was in the Virgin Islands, her brother-in-law, Father Roche, was a Columban Father who would come to visit us there.
It was wonderful to visit her and wish her a happy birthday.
Wednesday, I went to St. Mary’s in Chelmsford for the funeral of Deacon Bob Dzuris.
We were, of course, joined by many members of his family, including his wife Doris, his sister, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We were also joined by Regional Bishop Robert Hennessey, Father Frank Silva, who was involved very early on with the deacon formation program, and Deacon Chris Connelly, the director of our Permanent Diaconate program. Deacon Bob was very involved with the Knights of Columbus. So, there were also many Knights present at the Mass, as well.
Deacon Bob had a very interesting life. In addition to being a devoted husband, family man and business owner, he was involved in many different works of mercy, such as the House of Hope in Lowell and serving as a chaplain at Lowell General Hospital.
We know he will be greatly missed by all those whose lives he touched.
Then, that evening, I went to St. Brigid Parish in South Boston for a farewell dinner for Brother Jim Peterson, who first came to the archdiocese to work in Canonical Affairs 17 years ago.
Now, he has been named Chancellor of the Diocese of Portland by the new Bishop of Maine, Bishop James Ruggieri, and he will be living with the Capuchin friars in Maine. After so many years, we’re sorry to see him go, but we know that his talents and abilities will be put to good use in his responsibilities as chancellor. And we are confident that he will be back to visit us in Boston with a certain frequency!
Until next week,
Cardinal Seán