91 individuals, couples, families honored for service to the Church

PATERSON  In recognition of their outstanding service to the Church and the world, 91 individuals, couples, and families were honored with the Vivere Christus award by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who presided at the ceremony in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here Oct. 17.

Family, friends, fellow parishioners, priests, and religious, filled the cathedral to capacity to witness the Bishop presenting each one of the 91 honorees, nominated by their parishes, 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 Latin phrase “Vivere Christus Est” on it, which means, “To live is Christ.” Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli created the award in 2009 and more than 1,000 have been honored in the Diocese since then with the award. Bishop Serratelli attended the ceremony and delivered the homily this year. Last year, the award ceremony was postponed due to the pandemic. The Diocesan Office of Wor­ship coordinated the ceremony.

In his opening remarks, Bishop Sweeney said, “Today is a beautiful day for the Church in our Diocese. For the first time in two years, after all that we been through and all that we continue to go through, we come together for this Vivere Christus Awards prayer service and ceremony. It is a beautiful day because as each name is called, we see a Diocese that is alive, that is growing, that is a community of faith. It is a great joy for me as Bishop to celebrate the Vivere Christus Awards.”

As tradition with past Vivere Christus ceremonies, the Gospel reading proclaimed was from St. Matthew, which proclaims Christians are “the salt of the earth” and “light of the world.”

Bishop Serratelli, whose episcopal motto is the name of the award, said in his homily, “Today all of you who will receive from the hands of our Bishop the Vivere Christus Award receive a tangible sign of our gratitude for your kindness, your charity, your giving of your gifts, and the giving of yourselves in service in so many ways to our parishes, our schools, our institutions, and charities in our Diocese.”

Following the homily, Bishop Sweeney blessed the awards. Sister of Christian Charity Joan Daniel Healey, diocesan chancellor/delegate to religious, and Miriam Perez of St. Nicholas Church in Passaic, called the names of each of the recipients and their nominating parish to come forward to receive their medals from the Bishop.

At the end of the service, the Bishop said, “To all of our award recipients, we know what goes into being chosen for an award such as this — a loving generosity, faith in action, a symbol of hope, so we thank you and congratulate you today. Keep up the good work, we still need you to do all that you do. We know it comes from your heart, it comes from your faith, and this is just a small way to say, ‘thank you.’ We also thank our parish leaders especially our pastors and priests and parish leaders.”

After the ceremony, the Vivere Christus Award recipients gathered for a light reception at the Bishop Rodimer Center at the cathedral. There, the recipients received their certificates and they were able to take photos with the Bishop.

Throughout the Diocese, honorees were noted in their individual parishes’ bulletins detailing the service they do to make a difference.

At Resurrection Church in Randolph, Apryl Tomaino and Marie Waldron were the 2021 recipients from the parish. For 18 years, they served the parish’s Vacation Bible School, which began with about 40 people and has grown to 300 participants. They assisted the parish’s director of religious education, Lorraine Sandariato, with a remote learning experience during the pandemic and in the summer assisted with the health and safety measures for 150 participants for indoor and outdoor in-person activities.

Also honored was Peter Babits of St. Paul Parish in Clifton, who has served the parish in many roles for many years. He is a lector, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, one of St. Paul’s counters of weekly Mass collections, and a member of the Lazarus Ministry that assists families at funeral Masses. He is also an active fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus, Regina Mundi Council 3969.

In the bulletin, it stated, “Peter selflessly shares his talents with the St. Paul’s family community and his generosity has been a great blessing for our parish community. There has never been a time in which a favor has been asked of him that he has refused.”

Another recipient for the Vivere Christus Award was Ella “Pat” Bolio, who is the parish sacristan of St. Lawrence Church in Chester. She assists the priests and the deacons with preparing for Masses, baptisms, and weddings. She is there in church on Saturday and holy days to assist visitors to the church with a welcome, answers their questions, and takes care of their needs. In the parish bulletin, it stated, “During the current pandemic, she has been fastidious with keeping our church virus free. We are most grateful to Pat for her faithful and humble service to God and to others.”

Honorees of the 2021 Vivere Christus Est award