Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In response to the need to cancel the Connecticut March for Life, the sponsors of the original March have decided to hold an internet event. Please join us on April 15 at noon.

This webinar event will feature:

• State level presenters discussing current pro-life issues in Connecticut
• Information on lobbying your elected officials
• Time for questions by participants

The webinar will last one hour. If you have a computer or tablet you have all that is needed to participate. You can also dial in by phone to listen to the presentations. Please join us for this first ever pro-life event of its kind in Connecticut.

The program is being moderated by Tom McClusky, Vice-President of Governmental Affairs, from the National office of the March for Life in Washington, D.C. The format of the program has been designed by the National March for Life and is called “Hartford 101: Login to Lobby for Life.”

Panel Members:

• Tom McClusky, Vice-President of Governmental Affairs, National March for Life
• Peter Wolfgang, Executive Director, Family Institute of Connecticut
• Lisa Maloney, President, Connecticut Pregnancy Care Coalition and Director of the Carenet Pregnancy Resource Center in New London
• Cathy Ludlum, Second Thoughts CT, disability organization opposed to Physician-Assisted Suicide

Click here to register for the event.
You will receive information on how to login to the event by email.

DANBURY—Virtual Open Houses for Immaculate High School are open to the public on April 15, April 23 and April 28. Virtual learning days have been ongoing daily for Immaculate students since school buildings were ordered closed in CT, and now Immaculate High School will offer students interested in enrolling or transferring to IHS a virtual program where they can learn about Immaculate’s college-preparatory program.

A Virtual Open House tour is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15 at 9 am, 12 pm and 4 pm. Please visit www.immaculatehs.org/openhouse to register. Additional Virtual Open Houses are scheduled for April 23 and April 28. Participants will meet virtually with administrators, faculty and other staff to learn about Immaculate’s academic, faith-based, athletic, fine arts and STEM programs, student life and more.

Despite social distancing mandates, every IHS student is currently following a regular class schedule virtually. In addition to required class attendance and coursework, students engage with counselors, peer tutors, the school therapist and the school nurse. They also participate in weekly physical education challenges and meet with their extra-curricular club advisors. “Our ability for our teachers and staff to provide a continuous engaging educational experience for our students daily exemplifies our school mission and ability to provide exceptional learning opportunities, especially during this time of uncertainty,” said Tom Burns, Director of Admissions. “For over 50 years, Immaculate has provided students with a Catholic education that is innovative and prepares the whole student for college and beyond.” he added.

Immaculate High School encourages students to find success in academics, athletics, fine arts and clubs and is ranked in the top ten of all Catholic high schools in the State of Connecticut by NICHE. One of the more affordable private high schools, Immaculate High School is also among the highest ranked Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Bridgeport and continues to attain the highest SAT scores in the Diocese. Immaculate High School students, a representation of area public, private and Catholic schools, seek academic challenges, discover leadership and engage in progressive learning opportunities and have high success rates: 100% of the Class of 2019 were accepted to colleges and universities of their choice and were awarded college scholarships and grants totaling $27 million.

In addition to a college-preparatory academic program that offers over 33 Advanced Placement classes and a STEAM curriculum featuring advanced technology, a CISCO certification program, renovated science labs and engineering classes and a Certified Nursing Associate program, Immaculate High School has an award-winning Fine Arts program, a student career internship program, athletic teams that have won SWC and State Championships, 44 clubs and a Campus Ministry and community service program that instills faith, compassion and reverence for others. Immaculate High School, founded in 1962, is a private, non-profit Catholic college-preparatory institution serving students from 28 communities in Connecticut and New York.

VATICAN CITY—With people forced to stay home, even during Holy Week, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the archbishop of Turin has announced a special online exposition of the Shroud of Turin, which many believe is the burial cloth of Jesus.

On Holy Saturday, April 11, as Christians contemplate Jesus lying in the tomb, Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia will lead a liturgy of prayer and contemplation before the shroud at 5 pm local time (11 am EDT).

The prayer service will be live-streamed along with live images of the 14-foot-by-4-foot shroud, which has a full-length photonegative image of a man, front and back, bearing signs of wounds that correspond to the Gospel accounts of the torture Jesus endured in his passion and death.

As of April 5, the Archdiocese of Turin said it was finalizing the plans and would publish a list of participating television stations and links to the livestream later in the week.

Announcing the special display, Archbishop Nosiglia said April 4 that he had received “thousands and thousands” of messages “asking me if, in this time of grave difficulty we are going through, it would be possible to pray this Holy Week before the shroud” and ask God for “the grace to defeat evil as he did, trusting in the goodness and mercy of God.”

The archbishop told Vatican News that the online viewing of the shroud could be “much better” than seeing it in person because the cameras will allow viewers to see it up close and to remain at length with the image.

The image of the crucified man on the shroud, he said, “will go to the heart and the sadness of many people who will follow us. It will be like staying with the Lord on the day we await his resurrection.”

By Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY—With a small procession down the vast and empty central nave of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis began the first of a series of Holy Week liturgies celebrated without the presence of the faithful from the general public.

Palm Sunday Mass, the liturgy that begins with a commemoration of Jesus entering Jerusalem among a jubilant crowd, was celebrated April 5 without the usual outdoor procession and blessing of the faithful’s palm fronds.

A small number of pews were set out, with 13 people—each holding a woven palm frond—sitting one per pew; just eight people sang in the choir. The basilica was decorated with a potted olive tree and greenery. Also displayed were the “Salus Populi Romani” (health of the Roman people) icon and what Romans call the “Miraculous Crucifix,” normally housed in the Church of St. Marcellus; over the centuries, both the icon and crucifix have been associated with miraculous interventions to save the city and its people.

Broadcast and live-streamed over a wide range of media, the pope preached in his homily about the betrayal and abandonment Jesus experienced before and during his Passion.

He was betrayed by a disciple who “sold him” and one who denied him, betrayed by people who sang “hosanna” to him and then shouted “crucify him,” betrayed by “the religious institution that unjustly condemned him and by the political institution that washed its hands of him,” the pope said.

Then, on the cross, Jesus asked God “the most excruciating question, ‘Why.’ ‘Why did you, too, abandon me?'”

“Why did all this take place?” the pope asked. “It was done for our sake, to serve us.”

“God saved us by serving us” and by taking upon himself all the punishment for people’s sins “without complaining, but with the humility, patience and obedience of a servant, and purely out of love,” he said.

“The Lord served us to the point of experiencing the most painful situations of those who love—betrayal and abandonment,” he said.

The reason, the pope said, was so “when we have our back to the wall, when we find ourselves at a dead end, with no light and no way of escape, when it seems that God himself is not responding, we should remember that we are not alone.”

Jesus experienced total abandonment, he said, “in order to be one with us in everything. He did it for me, for you, to say to us, ‘Do not be afraid, you are not alone. I experienced all your desolation in order to be ever close to you.'”

“Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us, ‘Courage, open your heart to my love. You will feel the consolation of God who sustains you,'” Pope Francis said.

Inspired by the Lord’s example of love and service despite the cost, the faithful are also called to “refuse to betray him for whom we were created and not abandon what really matters in our lives.”

“We were put in this world to love him and our neighbors,” the pope said. “Everything else passes away; only this remains.”

“The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious and not to be caught up in those that matter less; to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others,” he said. “For life is measured by love.”

So with the start of a Holy Week with people in their homes, “let us stand before the crucified one, the fullest measure of God’s love for us, and before the God who serves us to the point of giving his life, and let us ask for the grace to live in order to serve.”

The pope asked that people reach out to those who are suffering and most in need, and be concerned less with “what we lack, but what good we can do for others.”

“Loving, praying, forgiving, caring for others, in the family and in society, all this can certainly be difficult,” he said. “It can feel like a ‘via crucis.’ But the path of service is the victorious and life-giving path by which we were saved.”

Also marking the day when World Youth Day is celebrated on a diocesan level, the pope called on young people to not be afraid of devoting their lives to God and others and putting “your lives on the line.”

“Dear friends, look at the real heroes who come to light in these days: they are not famous, rich and successful people; rather, they are those who are giving themselves in order to serve others,” he said.

“Life is a gift we receive only when we give ourselves away, and our deepest joy comes from saying yes to love, without ifs and buts. As Jesus did for us,” he said.

Before praying the Angelus, the pope recalled how young people from Panama were supposed to have handed over the World Youth Day cross to a delegation from Lisbon, Portugal, which will host the event in 2022. That ceremony now will be held November 22, the feast of Christ the King.

The pope also greeted all those who had followed the Mass through the media and asked families and individuals who cannot participate in Holy Week liturgies in person to pray at home even with the help of the internet and other means.

Be spiritually close to those who are sick, their families and those who are selflessly taking care of them, the pope said, and praying for the deceased, he said, “everyone is present in our heart, our memory, our prayer.”

By Carol Glatz  I   Catholic News Service

CNS photo by Paul Haring

ROME (CNS)— Google searches for “prayer” have surged worldwide in step with the surge of emerging cases of COVID-19, according to a European researcher.

The rising interest in seeking information about “prayer” on Google “skyrocketed during the month of March 2020 when COVID-19 went global,” wrote Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and executive director of the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics and Culture.

Using Google Trends data on internet searches for “prayer” for 75 countries, she said she found that “search intensity for ‘prayer’ doubles for every 80,000 new registered cases of COVID-19.”

The findings were part of a preliminary draft study titled, “In Crisis, We Pray: Religiosity and the COVID-19 Pandemic,” released online March 30 for public comment. The working paper was to be updated with new data “regularly,” she wrote.

Bentzen, who authored a paper in 2019 looking at the impact natural disasters had on “religiosity,” said she wanted to study whether the COVID-19 crisis was impacting “one of the deepest rooted of human behaviors—religion.”

Specifically, she said she wanted to know whether the pandemic “has intensified the use of religion” globally, given that the coronavirus has affected more than 200 countries to date.

The data-timeline showing “search intensity on ‘prayer’ is flat before a country registers its first case of COVID-19,” and then drastically rises after the first case is registered in a country for all regions of the world, including Muslim majority nations, she wrote.

“The increases in prayer intensity documented here are the largest the world has experienced since 2004, the earliest date for which the Google Trends data is available,” she wrote. Google Trends measures keyword searches as a share of all total searches so any increase in internet activity doesn’t skew the data.

Bentzen concludes that “we humans have a tendency to use religion to cope with crisis. The COVID-19 has proven no exception.”

“The rise in prayer intensity supersedes what the world has seen for years” and may likely continue to rise as the crisis worsens, she added.

In response to Bentzen’s request for comments, some researchers cautioned against her assumption that “an increased share of Google searches for religious terms thus reveals an increased demand for religion.”

One U.S. professor of sociology said the data only proved that more people were googling “prayer” and, without knowing people’s motives or background, it was not necessarily evidence of “an increase in religiosity.” The searches could “very well be the people who would normally have attended religious services but now can’t,” so rather than representing a net increase in a “demand for religion,” it may reflect a growing need to access resources and services online.

But whatever the motives or reasons for the surge in searches, the online demand is real and massive with some Catholic outlets already responding to the huge increases they have seen on their own platforms.

James L. Rogers, chief communications officer at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told Catholic News Service that, as of March 23, “mentions for the USCCB on Twitter increased 2,783% and the number of Facebook followers increased 172%, the second straight week of triple digit increases.”

“Correspondingly, the number of incoming messages to our Facebook account increased 177%. Many of the messages were prayer requests or advice on prayers,” he wrote by email April 3.

Rogers said it made him think of the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family “and how prophetic its focus on the domestic church now seems.”

“Practical advice for how best to start or strengthen the prayer space in your own home does seem to me to be driving a lot of the traffic. That’s why our social media has tried to focus on simple ideas that anyone could try to get them started,” he added.

John Grosso, director of digital media at the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut—one of many states with active stay-at-home executive orders—told CNS by email he has seen “an online tidal wave of new social media followers, website views, email newsletter sign up, video views and podcast listeners.”

There are a lot of “new names” appearing on their social media and he is hearing from new people, he wrote.

“I am anecdotally hearing many stories from people who said they have not been in church, to church or connected with their church in some time, but something about this pandemic drew them in,” he added.

Responding to the Bentzen research, he said just because the word “prayer” is being searched more does not mean that people are “behaving” more religiously.

However, “online traffic is most certainly up in religious circles. Whether that is because we cannot meet in person, or because we are attracting new or returning Catholics is anybody’s guess. Personally, I think it is a bit of both.”

He said he uses a third-party company that analyzes all of their social media, website and email commentary “and helps us identify trends and thus we can tailor our message.”

Grosso also interprets the data, “identifying key trends based on the time period and then making sure we are messaging appropriately.”

For instance, if a keyword identifier says “prayer” has been referenced a number of times, he takes a random sample to get some specific details and “get a sense of what they really want and where they are asking—social, web, otherwise.”

Then he will try to offer various options: post a video of Bishop Frank J. Caggiano talking about prayer practices; make prayer practices his podcast topic for the following week; request the bishop write a blog-reflection on prayer; or offer links on the website to various prayer practices.

He said he tries to “take a deeper dive into (data) because keywords tell a story” and not project his own thinking or make too narrow an interpretation of a general topic.

With the COVID-19 crisis, he said, “the best thing I can do is allow the data points to represent our constituents, their wants, their needs, their asks. I then do my best to balance that with the messaging” the diocese wants to share with the faithful.

FAIRFIELD—True to its Jesuit mission, Fairfield’s faculty, staff, and students continue to serve those in need and on the front lines during this unprecedented time.

When the Connecticut Food Bank recently reached out to Fairfield University for a donation, they intended to collect a monetary one. Director of Alumni Relations Janet Canepa ’82 received the call and consulted with Assistant Vice President Jim Fitzpatrick ’70, M’72, P’08 and Fairfield’s General Manager of Dining Services, Duane Gornicki.

Gornicki oversees the University’s emergency food supply, which has to be rotated continuously, and consists of three days-worth of food—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—for 3,000 students who typically live on campus.

“When the semester came to an abrupt halt, I had no place to utilize it. We have a lot of expirations that were coming up in May, June, July and we were going to lose the food. This was an opportunity to help.”

At a time when the global pandemic has hit Connecticut hard, food insecurity for those in need has significantly escalated. Statewide, many food banks have been trying to keep up with an increase in demand for supplies, to provide food not only for individuals and families who were receiving items prior to the COVID-19 health crisis, but for new clients as well.

Gornicki suggested that Fairfield donate its emergency food supply, and was immediately directed by the Connecticut Food Bank to contact a volunteer coordinator at Columbus House in New Haven. “It’s a significant amount of food,” Gornicki said. “She was so moved, she just broke down and cried.”

Nine Columbus House facilities located throughout New Haven County will benefit from approximately $60,000 worth of food items. Fairfield has also continued its long-standing tradition of preparing and delivering meals to Prospect House in Bridgeport every Friday and Sunday.

The Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies’ alumni, students, and faculty are serving on the front lines in a variety of health care settings in many communities. The Egan School has donated personal protective equipment and supplies to area health care facilities. Dean Meredith Kazer, PhD, APRN, FAAN said, “We’ve received numerous requests from our clinical partners and are responding to this pandemic with all available school resources.”

As health care workers and hospitals are overwhelmed by the lack of critical personal protective equipment needed to safely tend to ill patients, faculty and staff from the Biology and Chemistry departments, including Molecular Lab Supervisor Lenka Biardi, Associate Professor Jim Biardi, PhD, and Chemistry Lab Manager Dorothy Sobczynski, PhD have collected many lab supplies: exam gloves, N95 respirators and masks, biohazard disposable bags, hand sanitizer, syringes, and needles.

“These supplies come from departmental lab stocks, as well as on-going donations from many individual faculty research labs,” said Professor Shelley Phelan, PhD, chair of Biology, “and are being donated to local hospitals and organizations in conjunction with coordinated efforts by the College of Art and Sciences dean’s office.” Biology Lab Coordinator Chris Hetherington and Associate Professor Shannon Gerry, PhD collected supplies that were donated to N.Y. Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

“Fairfield will continue to reach out and respond to community needs as they arise during this global pandemic,” said Vice President, Marketing and Communications Jennifer Anderson ’97, MBA’02. “Fairfield has been contacted by Enterprise Rental to allow their high volume of rental returns to be parked in University lots, and by the State of Connecticut for use of our Field House and Alumni Hall as hospital overflow spaces. We will work with the State if it is deemed those spaces are needed.”

In addition to feeding our neighbors, helping to equip health care workers, and responding to state and community needs as they arise, the University community has also united in support of one another with a full roster of virtual events to cultivate the Jesuit value of cura personalis or care of the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—including Daily Mass, which is being celebrated and shared virtually on weekdays at 12:10 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am.

Click for original article.

FAIRFIELD—Sacred Heart University’s Alumni Association is hosting weekly discussions on Facebook Live for parents, educators and administrators about successfully homeschooling children during this time of self-isolation.

Michael Alfano, dean of SHU’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education, moderates the talks with education professionals every Thursday at 11 am on alumni’s Facebook page. Discussions will provide guidance and reassurance, as well as tips and strategies for educating children. This week’s chat features Albert Sackey, principal of Nathan Hale Middle School in Norwalk and Maureen Ruby, assistant superintendent in the Brookfield public schools.

Last week, Alfano hosted the first Facebook Live discussion, “We Are All Homeschooling Now,” with Fran Rabinowitz ’72, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, and Evelyn Russo, director of curriculum for Orange public schools. Both administrators answered questions from parents and educators who were looking for guidance about effectively teaching children at home.

Key takeaways from the talk:

• Develop a schedule and routine for children. Russo recommended setting up a place in the home that’s designated specifically for learning.
• Implement a buddy system. If there are older children in the household, let them help younger siblings with work, Russo said.
• Allow children to be independent learners and work on assignments on their own, Rabinowitz advised. “It’s important to let them struggle to find the answer,” she said.
• Have fun. Both administrators counseled parents to have the children use toys, watch educational TV shows and read books, saying these are all ways they can learn.
• Remember: “Perfect is the enemy of good,” Rabinowitz said throughout the chat. Teachers, students and parents are all in this together and learning as they go.

About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers more than 80 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 385 Colleges–2020 Edition, “Best in the Northeast” and Best 252 Business Schools–2019 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theater. www.sacredheart.edu

NEWTOWN—St. Rose of Lima Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Donna Rahtelli travelled to all 17 of her students’ houses yesterday, April 1, to put a Math lesson in chalk on their driveways.

“Parents are telling us that the children were thrilled to look out their windows and see their beloved teacher and now they are hard at work solving the problems,” says Laura Moulder of the advancement office.

“The administration, faculty, parents and students are working enthusiastically at distance learning,” explains Moulder. “Parents are so pleased with the tireless and creative efforts of teachers to keep students engaged. We are all in this together, with God by our side!”

St. Rose of Lima Catholic School is a Christ-centered community committed to academic excellence in an atmosphere that nurtures the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical and moral development of each child. The dedicated staff partners with families to prepare students to be responsible leaders in a global society by fostering integrity, service and respect. By creating a sense of family where all are welcome, they encourage each child to develop his/her gifts and to become Christ’s compassionate heart and hands in the world. They center their community of learning around the four core values of respect, integrity, academic excellence and service. Their spirituality is fostered through their close connection with St. Rose of Lima church. Students attend weekly Mass and are blessed by the continual presence of Msgr. Robert Weiss and the other parish priests.

(For more information on St. Rose of Lima school, visit their website at: www.stroseschool.com.)

NORWALK—During this time of uncertainty, many of our parishes are stepping up to meet a need wherever that may be. St. Matthew Parish in Norwalk recently raised money for parishioners who expressed a need.

Through Our Sunday Visitor, which serves Catholics and Catholic organizations globally through publishing, offertory and communication services, St. Matthew’s raised $1,350 in less than 10 hours.

“This is an unprecedented time,” said Monsignor Walter Orlowski, pastor of St. Matthew’s. “I knew parishioners were struggling. Many have lost their jobs, have been laid off, and are in real need.”

On the OSV giving site, a message from Msgr. Walter read, “Many families in the parish are struggling, so I have set up this fund to seek tax-deductible donations for parishioners who have lost their jobs, been laid off, or are having a hard time making ends meet during COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Your donations will go directly toward parishioners in real need.”

Pat Krause, project coordinator in the Office of Parish Finance at the Diocese of Bridgeport worked with parish staff to set up the special collection page. “We have 53 parishes that are able to use the direct link for Online Giving Collections with OSV,” says Krause, making it known that most parishes have the ability to use this service for online giving.

Msgr. Orlowski first brought up the idea at the end of one of his live-streamed Masses, and he was immediately impressed with the response. After first establishing the backend of the fund, he then reached out via an email, through social media platforms, website and bulletin announcements.

“Within the first five hours of the site going live, there was just a tremendous response to my call for help,” said Msgr. “Everyone is going through this together. Even though people are worried, even though people are social distancing, people are here for one another. Being the ‘hands and feet’ of Jesus simply means communicating the love of Christ to the people He created. And that’s what people are doing. The people are just magnificent. Our parishioners are a huge blessing to me, to our parish family.”

(For more information visit: stmatthewnorwalk.org.)

By Elizabeth Clyons

SHELTON—Rayna Salemme has a special ministry, a ministry that provides physical healing and spiritual healing. As parish nurse at St. Margaret Mary Church, she offers free consultations and health education at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has upended lives and caused anxiety.

Working with pastor Father Ciprian Bejan, she is available to answer questions about the virus and check up on elderly who are confined or ill. Parishioners have her cellphone number and know they can call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, she said. While her scope of practice is different from that of a home-care or hospital nurse, she serves as a resource and helps people navigate through the healthcare system and can assist with what she calls “whole-person healing.”

She recently assisted an elderly woman who fell and broke her leg. While in the rehabilitation facility, she made regular visits, advocated for her plan of care and safe discharge. Rayna meets periodically with Father Ciprian to check on health needs of parishioners.

Since 2013 she has been the parish nurse at St. Margaret Mary through the Griffin Hospital Community Outreach and Parish Nurse Department. The Parish Nurse Program celebrated its 30th anniversary last year and is the longest running parish nursing program in the world, serving more than 40 churches of different denominations in the area.

“I am an educator and an advocate for the parish, and more than 2000 parishioners have access to my services,” she said. “One of my biggest roles is that of advocate, and I listen to the health concerns of people and offer guidance to available resources. Once a month I complete blood pressure screenings and over several years have provided health education programs on a variety of health concerns and conditions of our parishioners, such as living with a chronic disease, how to manage stress and a fall prevention program.” Recently she assisted three senior women of the parish who sustained terrible injuries as a result of a fall.

“My goal is to keep people out of the hospital and to learn how to incorporate healthy practices that can promote health and wellness of mind, body and spirit,” she said, through preventive care and integrative health and healing.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nurse and help other people, so I feel very blessed to be able to do this. I have always been passionate about my nursing profession and my spirituality to help and guide others.”

She previously was assistant director of nursing at the Lincoln Technical Institute in Shelton and worked in pediatrics at the Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. For ten years, she was family-school liaison for the Shelton Public School System. Rayna currently serves as Vice President of the Board of St. Vincent de Paul of the Valley, a food bank and thrift shop.

In addition to her work as parish nurse, she is a reader and Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister at St. Margaret Mary. Rayna emphasizes the importance of faith in the healing process and says that requires building a strong personal relationship with Jesus, the Divine Healer.

In 2015, she and her husband Lou, who have belonged to the parish for more than 20 years, received the diocesan St. Augustine Medal of Service, which recognizes “unsung heroes” who unselfishly give of their time and talents to build up their parish communities. As a builder, Lou played a strategic role in the church renovation project four years ago. A member of the Men’s League, he also lends his culinary expertise by cooking for people who come to weekly Bingo.

At the request of Father Bejan, both of them were active in the We Stand With Christ capital campaign and served on the parish executive committee.

“We prayerfully considered what they were asking, and we felt fortunate that we were able to give not only of our money but also of our time,” she said.

St. Margaret Mary surpassed its goal of $750,000 and raised more than $1 million and was able to build a much-needed Sacred Heart Parish Center that will benefit the church for years to come by providing a place for CCD classes, youth groups, parish ministries and community organizations.

“We Stand With Christ was based in money, but it is giving to others and to the community. It’s not just about the money but about what the money can do,” she said. “It will help with education, services for people in need, seniors, mothers and children and the working poor.”

She added, “There are many people in our area who suffer in isolation with hunger and health issues. Many are embarrassed or don’t realize that there is someone to help them. As a health care worker, I feel obligated to share my skills and listen to their concerns in order to guide and help them heal. As a Catholic, I feel God has given me the skills to help guide others in need to help them heal physically, spiritually and emotionally. I feel blessed that I can incorporate my profession and faith to help others.”