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On Saturday, Aug. 13, Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in the Highland Lakes section of Vernon where he celebrated Mass to mark the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. The parish’s Rosary Society coordinated the event. Father Julio Barrios, pastor, concelebrated the Mass and Deacons Jerzy Chciuk and Bill Aquino assisted at the Mass.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated a Mass for the Feast of the Assumption on Aug. 13, two days early, in St. Michael Church in Netcong. At the end of Mass the Bishop blessed a statue of Our Lady of the Assumption which led a procession through the streets of Netcong — part of St. Michael’s celebration of Feast of the Assumption, which is observed on Aug. 15.

The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of North Haledon, also known at the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, received the perpetual vows of three religious sisters, during a Mass on Aug. 5 at St. Anthony Church in Hawthorne, presided at by Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney. The Salesian Sisters are: Sister April Cabaccang, Sister Katie Flanagan, and Sister April Hoffman.

A helmet and vest can save a life, and Father Oleksii Holchuk is grateful for his community’s ongoing support that makes saving Ukrainian lives possible. Father Holchuk emigrated from his home country to the United States six years ago. Once he arrived, he began to serve at Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Ascension Cathedral here. The parish, he said, has collected donations to send overseas for years, but not in as significant a way as they do today.

Pat Convey of Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Parish in Sparta puts the finishing touches on cooking one of her signature dishes, shrimp scampi, for her and her husband. This particular evening, she makes and packages up two extra helpings for dinner later — not for members of her large family but for the two priests, who serve the Sussex County parish.

Ben Weiss, 16, of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Flanders witnessed something while volunteering at the Mount Olive Food Pantry last week that touched his heart. A young boy, who was helping pick out food with his family, got so excited the pantry had his favorite cereal, that he hugged the box.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney joined newly ordained diocesan priests, seminarians, and young men, who are discerning their vocation, on Aug. 5 for a Mass and barbecue, sponsored by the diocesan Vocations Office and held at St. Lawrence the Martyr Church in Chester. The event included evening prayer and Mass, a barbecue cooked and served by members of the Paterson Federation of the Knights of Columbus, and a game of soccer. At the Mass, the Bishop preached about his devotion to St. John Vianney, whose feast day the Church celebrated the day before.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to the Shrine of St. Joseph in Stirling on Aug. 7 to celebrate the 11:45 a.m. Mass in Spanish in its main chapel. St. Joseph Shrine is one of the many mission sites of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians — a Catholic order of priests and brothers, established by Father Thomas Judge.

Priests and brothers of the Society of Divine Voca­tions have been introducing the growing faith community at the Sanctuary of Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit here to the spirituality of St. Justin M. Russolillo since the order reopened the sanctuary in 2019. St. Justin, founder of the order, also known as the Vocationists, said that everyone is called to be a saint.

Priests and brothers of the Society of Divine Voca­tions have been introducing the growing faith community at the Sanctuary of Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit in Branchville, to the spirituality of St. Justin M. Russolillo since the order reopened the sanctuary in 2019. St. Justin, founder of the order, also known as the Vocationists, said that everyone is called to be a saint.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney commemorated a century of faith of St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln Park — a “small parish with a big heart” — during a noon Mass on July 31 in the church. In recent years, the evangelizing spirit of this parish has grown — from welcoming different ethnic groups to expanding its spiritual devotions and social-justice outreaches to enable the faithful to minister in different and creative ways.

Most Catholics long for Jesus and care for the Church. This is the key message in a new report published by the Diocese of Paterson, said Father Paul Manning, the Vicar for Evangeli­zation for the diocese. “If there were unanimity expressed in our diocesan input for the Synod of Bishops 2023,” said Father Manning, “it was an expression of spiritual hunger and a desire for Jesus and a concern for the Church.”

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney celebrated a Mass in honor of St. Cesario, an Italian martyr, on July 23 in St. Michael Church marking the 120th anniversary of the annual Feast of St. Cesario celebrations. Father Michael Lee, pastor, concelebrated the Mass with the Bishop.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney recently appointed Jai Agnish as the new Director of Communications for the Diocese of Paterson. Agnish, an award-­winning multi-media journalist with broad experience across the communications and public relations field, also will serve as editor of The Beacon, the Diocese’s weekly newspaper.

The outside of the second-floor windows in a group home of the diocesan De­part­ment for Persons with Disa­bilities (DPD) was in need of a cleaning. Last week, some of the teens, who volunteered as part of Catholic Heart Workcamp (CHWC), came to the rescue. They took turns leaping up on each other’s shoulders to give those hard-to-reach windows a thorough washing.

Armed with clues, the children in grades k–4 moved as a group, looking for the items along with accompanying puzzle pieces, during a scavenger hunt. It was part of Holy Spirit’s new Vocation Bible School (VBS), held from July 18 to 22. Before the tabernacle, one boy asked, “Is there a puzzle piece in there?” eliciting laughter. He was assured “no.” But the game symbolized VBS’ purpose: to help the children start their journey to piece together the puzzles of their lives and discover God’s plan for them as a priest, religious, married person, or single person.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Good Shepherd Parish here July 14 to celebrate the 5:30 p.m. Saturday night vigil Mass — the first-ever Mass said in Spanish at the parish. Concelebrating the Mass were: Father Yohan Serrano, chaplain to the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry with responsibility for the pastoral care of the Spanish­-speaking and immigrant communities in Sussex County, who resides at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta; Jesuit Father Tom Florek, executive director of the Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network; Father Javier Bareno, parochial vicar of St. Therese Parish in Succasunna, and Father Emerson Francisco, Good Shepherd’s parochial vicar. Father Timothy Dowling, Good Shepherd’s pastor, was unavailable for the Spanish Mass because he was officiating at a wedding. Father Francisco represented the parish at the liturgy.

Fifty-one teens and 21 chaperones from St. Joseph Parish in Mendham traveled to Paintsville, Ky., from June 19 to 25, as part of the parish’s 14th annual Teen Appalachia Mission Trip. The team worked in conjunction with Good Neigh­bors, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that serves the working poor in Johnson County, Ky.

On Pentecost Sunday, the Diocese of Paterson’s Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation launched a new ongoing series of short videos in English and Spanish to familiarize local catechetical leaders and catechists with the latest edition of the new Directory for Catechesis (DC). Published in 2020, the new directory emphasizes the role of catechesis in the mission of evangelization, as set out previously in the teachings in the Gospels, Church documents, and past editions of the DC.

Altar servers carried long rows of candles — either with long wax stems or in small lanterns — into Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) Church here at the beginning of a Mass on July 17 to mark the 175th anniversary of OLMC Parish. These flames symbolized the faith community today, which draws on its rich history in its continuing efforts to answer Christ’s call to become “a light to the world” and live out lives of worship and witness.