Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

What an amazing second year in the CAS Grows Garden! Check out our recap of all the fun our classes had this Spring!🌱

Special thanks to our “Garden Lady” Danielle Jahn for all of her hard work and dedication to CAS students.

Rociada, N.M. – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has named Bishop Michael Fisher of the Diocese of Buffalo as the Episcopal Liaison to the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS). Bishop Fisher was active in the Boy Scouts of American (BSA) growing up, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and earning the Ad Altare Dei Catholic Scouting Religious Emblem. Bishop Fisher says that if he hadn’t earned his Catholic Scouting Religious Emblem, he might not have become a priest. He is committed to helping more young people have access to Catholic Scouting and to utilizing Catholic Scouting as youth ministry in the Church.

“Young people today encounter so many challenges when they seek to grow in the faith. Catholic Scouting can help young people find support on their faith journey with peers and faith-filled leaders – while having all the adventure and fun Scouting offers,” said Bishop Fisher. “I am grateful to have this opportunity as Episcopal Liaison to ensure a continued strong connection between the Catholic Church and BSA – this is a time-honored and very valuable partnership.”

“We’re honored to have Bishop Fisher serve as our Episcopal Liaison,” said NCCS Chair John Anthony. “Bishop Fisher is a strong supporter of Catholic Scouting, recognizing that it complements what is being taught in Catholic school and parish faith formation classes and helps young people grow up to be good citizens and faithful Catholics.”

There is evidence that young people involved in Catholic Scouting are more likely to remain engaged in the Church. For example, being involved in Scouting is something many men recently ordained to the priesthood have shared in common. Since 2006, 30 percent of ordinands to the priesthood in the U.S. were active in Boy Scouts growing up, according to a survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

NCCS is a Church committee of concerned Catholic laity and clergy, which is advisory to the BSA and relates to the USCCB through its Episcopal Liaison. NCCS-sponsored Catholic Scouting is the only Scouting program sanctioned by both the USCCB and BSA. Catholic Scouting offers more than 50 Religious Activities as well as a range of Religious Emblems programs. Catholic Scouting supports service projects that help young people learn about the value of volunteering and leadership in service of their community, school, Scouting and the Church. Catholic Scouting welcomes boys and girls starting in kindergarten and features whole family activities.

BRIDGEPORT—Father Christopher Ford has been named Director of Seminarians by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano. The appointment is effective July 1.

He will succeed Father Joseph Marcello, who will be stepping down as Director of Seminarians to focus on his service as Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Trumbull.

“I am immensely grateful for the leadership and spiritual fatherhood Father Marcello has given to our seminarians over the past years. In particular, he has helped shepherd our largest ordination class in ten years through the final years of their formation and preparation,” said Bishop Caggiano.

In appointing Father Ford to the post, the bishop noted that the recent revisions to the Program of Priestly Formation, Sixth Edition, place a significant emphasis on relationship and personal accompaniment in the process of formation (cf. PPF6, no. 91-92).

“Having served as Diocesan Director of Vocations since 2020, Father Ford accompanied many of our current seminarians through at least part of their discernment or application process, and, therefore, has had the opportunity to cultivate personal relationships with the seminarians and is well positioned to succeed Father Marcello in this role. Father Ford will continue in his other assignments.

“Please join me in expressing my gratitude to Father Marcello for the work he has done to accompany our seminarians thus far, and I also ask for prayers for Father Ford and our seminarians as they continue their formation,” the bishop said.

Father Ford was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport on June 1, 2019. A native of Naugatuck, Conn., Father Ford is the youngest of four siblings. He attended St. Francis of Assisi School and Naugatuck High School before graduating from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven in 2011 with a degree in Political Science. Father Ford then worked in the Department of Residence Life at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, while obtaining a Master of Education degree in Evaluation & Measurement from Kent State University (OH) in May 2013. He entered St. John Fisher Seminary in August 2013 and earned his M.Div./S.T.B. degree from St. Joseph Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, N.Y. before his ordination in 2019. Father Ford began his priestly ministry in 2019 at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Danbury.

(For information on the diocesan Office of Vocations diocesan vocations and exploring Religious Life, visit: www.bridgeportdiocese. org/vocations/home.)

Editor’s note: This article originally ran online for The Stamford Advocate on May 18, 2023

By John J. Kennedy

Generally speaking, there is not a lot of good news in post-COVID education reports across the country. According to the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, achievement in reading and math among public school fourth-eighth graders has dropped in nearly every state since 2019. The NAEP shares one bright spot in the U.S. educational landscape — the progress of Catholic schools in general. Our own school, the Catholic Academy of Bridgeport, with over 900 Pre-K-8 students (40 percent non-Catholic) on four campuses in Bridgeport has flourished. What’s happening at this academy could be a roadmap for other parochial schools as they seek to grow and provide even better educational choices for families.

Catholic schools are having “a moment.” In fact, if all U.S. Catholic schools represented were one state, their 1.6 million students would rank first in the nation across the NAEP reading and math tests among comparable fourth-eighth graders.

Wait — Catholic schools? Aren’t we always reading about how they are closing left and right due to enrollment declines and can’t attract good teachers because of meager pay compared to public schools?

Catholic school enrollment grew during the pandemic. The National Catholic Educational Association reports that enrollment in U.S. Catholic schools increased by 62,000 students, about 4 percent, between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years. This was the highest one-year increase on record and the first increase in two decades. Why? For one, Catholic schools remained open for business during the pandemic — over 92 percent of Catholic schools continued to teach in-person, compared to 43 percent of traditional public schools and 34 percent of charters.

These outcomes are particularly impressive given that most Catholic schools do a lot more with less. The average tuition for K-8 Catholic schools is $5,300 (with zero state/federal assistance), about one-third what state governments spend per student in public schools.

Enrollment at the Catholic Academy of Bridgeport has increased 20 percent since the 2020-21 academic year after several years of decline. Academic results and student outcomes remain superior compared with the public schools — in math and English scores and with high school and college matriculation. All this within in a very challenging backdrop in Bridgeport, one of our nation’s poorest communities in otherwise a very wealthy state. Notably, 85 percent of our families cannot afford the annual tuition of $5,200 and qualify for need-based financial aid; 83 percent of students come from families living below the poverty level.

So what can other parochial preK-8 schools learn from Catholic Academy of Bridgeport? While school environments are different across the country and being careful to avoid a “Mission Accomplished” trap, here are five key insights we have found to be difference-makers:

Governance/leadership: Recruiting and retaining a strong board is critical to gain outside perspectives and expertise in fundraising, investments, marketing, educational collaboration, facilities and advocacy. Recruiting a strong executive director to lead the four campuses has been critical to allow the four principals to focus more on their students’ educational formation and less on administrative matters.

Marketing narrative and enrollment training: Conducting research and focus groups with parents and prospects was important to understand the emotional drivers for seeking a better education for their children vs. the local public school options. With this input, the academy developed the marketing theme and tag line of “Something More,” which holds promises differently for each family — safety, caring, faith-based or academic rigor. From this, we developed digital marketing plans to tell our story to varying and specific audiences. We trained our administrative staffs on best admissions practices and enhanced our software to track our growing enrollment pipeline. We learned to build relationships with the broader community to help raise awareness of and consideration for our school.

Teacher compensation — merit pay: Catholic schools do not have to be the poor church mouse. Our executive director developed an innovative program that ties compensation to desired professional and student outcomes while improving teacher salaries, with accountability. Only a handful of schools in the country use such a model, incentivizing mission-driven results with competitive compensation.

Development/fundraising: Catholic schools receive zero funding from the government. So, we must raise close to $3 million each year for financial aid. Bake sales will not do. Our board has developed innovative and consistent fundraising campaigns, attracting many generous individual donors and foundations. We have developed programs for funding, such as “Rising Stars,” which allows donors to provide scholarship funding and follow the progress of an individual or group of students. With our generous, mission-based donors, we have also further grown our endowment as another, more permanent source of scholarship funding.

Advocacy/school choice: While school choice is not yet on the radar in Connecticut, the issue could be a great benefit to Catholic schools. The Wall Street Journal has reported extensively on the momentum of school choice in the U.S. Specifically, 31 states have enacted school choice policies, which empower parents to control how their child’s education is provided. Rather than send their children to a monopoly (often underperforming) school, parents should have access to tools like vouchers and Educational Savings Accounts to allow their children to be educated at the schools of their choice. State money set aside for education should follow the child, not the school system. Parents of parochial school students in more receptive states should advocate for more school choice for their tax dollars.

Amidst the declines in education across the U.S. despite rising public expenditures, Catholic schools continue to do more with less, providing better student outcomes, particularly in our troubled inner cities. The Catholic Academy of Bridgeport’s recent experiences provide learning and insight. There are many tools and techniques that parochial schools can deploy to become an even stronger and more viable education choice for those who value the “something more” they provide.

John J. Kennedy is on the board of Catholic Academy of Bridgeport.

TRUMBULL,—St. Joseph High School is proud to recognize and celebrate two scholar-athletes. Alexa Pino (Class of 2025), named Gatorade Connecticut Girls Soccer Player of the Year and Sean Curley (Class of 2023), selected as a member of the National Football Foundation’s Team of Distinction.

Pino is the sixth Gatorade Connecticut Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from St. Joseph High School. The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

Pino is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. The St. Joes Sophomore led her team to a 21-1-1 record and the Class L state championship this past season. Pino scored 32 goals and passed for 17 assists. A 2022 United Soccer Coaches All-American selection, Pino is a two-time First Team All-State honoree. She concluded her sophomore year with 58 goals and 28 assists in her prep soccer career.

Pino also volunteers locally as part of a fundraising campaign to benefit Al’s Angels and has donated her time on behalf of her school’s Special Olympics Unified Basketball program. She has maintained a weighted A average in the classroom and will begin her junior year of high school this fall.

Each year, the National Football Foundation’s Chapter Network recognizes 79 stellar high school scholar-athletes from across the country for their combined performance on the football field, in the classroom, and in the community. On June 22, the NFF announced that from a pool of 3,500 scholar-athletes identified by a nationwide Chapter Network, they had selected 79 members of the 2023 NFF Team of Distinction, including Sean Curley. The members of the team all played their final high school football season during the 2022-23 school year. As part of the award, all of the honorees will be part of a permanent digital display at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

Criteria to make the NFF’s Team of Distinction include academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement. Each chapter is limited to one honoree, distinguishing them as the top scholar-athlete from all the high schools covered by the chapter.

St. Joseph High School’s scholar-athlete, Sean Curley, was nominated by the NFF DeSantis-McDougall/Fairfield County Chapter (CT). Sean holds a 4.0 grade point average, was the recipient of the Maria Taylor Character Award, and was a member of the National Honor Society and Presidential Honor Roll. Sean will attend Xavier University in the Fall of 2023.

By Joe Pisani

TRUMBULL— One winter night while Angelica Martinez was house-sitting, the homeowner told her there was perpetual adoration in a nearby chapel. She stopped doing her schoolwork and headed there to check it out, and the experience changed her life.

“It was a place of refuge where things made sense,” she recalled. “Even in my heart, it made sense, and it was where I desired to be. I felt at home. I spent so much time there, but didn’t even realize it, because the Lord captured my attention and my heart.”

Angelica’s experiences at the adoration chapel of St. Theresa Parish in Trumbull started her on a path that eventually led her to develop a program promoting perpetual Eucharistic adoration in parishes throughout the diocese, so that everyone can spend time in the presence of the Eucharistic Jesus throughout the day and night.

She was drawn to adoration during a period of change in her life. She had been studying electrical engineering and then switched her major to religious studies, but ended up putting her education on hold in order to help her sister who was confronting a health crisis. The second of 11 children, Angelica took a step back and began to ask herself personal questions like, “What am I spending my time on? Is it geared toward heaven or increasing the comfort in my life?”

She says the Lord “really shook her up” once she began searching for answers, and throughout this process of self-examination, she found herself “falling in love with the Lord.” Shortly before the coronavirus pandemic, she applied to a leadership program sponsored by the GIVEN Institute, which is committed to “activating the gifts of young adult women for the Catholic Church and the world” through training, faith formation and mentoring.

As her project, she decided to put together a plan that would encourage more people to spend time in Eucharistic adoration.

“Everything that happened before the Lord in adoration and all he had done for me, I wanted others to have,” she said. “So I focused on ideas that would bring people to adoration.”

When she attended the GIVEN conference at Catholic University of America in Washington, she met her mentor, Sister Lucy of the Apostolic Sisters of St. John in New Jersey, a contemplative/ apostolic community dedicated to spreading the love of God in the spirit of St. John.

Together, they worked on a plan to help parishes start perpetual adoration chapels that would make the Lord available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“He is available a good bit throughout the diocese already,” Angelica said, “but how about 12 am? There are often times you can’t sleep and are seeking something, so this would let you go for a drive and visit the Lord, if only for a few minutes.”

Most of her time in adoration occurred in the middle of the night, when she encountered other people who came into the chapel for their own special reasons.

“My training came from my time being before the Lord, being there with others who needed him as much as I do,” she said. “They are people who just want to be with him.”

During those nocturnal hours, she began to pray for guidance on her project, and she promised, “Lord, wherever you want to go, I’ll go.” St. Pius X Parish in Fairfield immediately came to mind. She had met the pastor, Father Samuel Kachuba, 16 years before when he was a transitional deacon at St. Mary in Norwalk, and she had been to the Mother of God Chapel at St. Pius X.

“She talked about this desire in her heart to help parishes start perpetual adoration and said that God had inspired this,” Father Kachuba recalled. “We realized we already had so many things in place, including a chapel that’s open 24 hours a day, where Jesus is present, so it was really a question of organizing it and getting things going.”

Today, Angelica is coordinating the effort with a team of volunteers at St. Pius X.

“When Father said, ‘Yes, let’s do it,’ I knew this was the Lord’s gift to us,” she said. “The Lord has humbled me, and he has continued to ask me to just show up, and he will do the rest. I recognize I can’t do anything by myself.”

In her mission to spread perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, Angelica is approaching other parishes, some of which already have adoration during the day.

Angelica says the Lord and Our Lady have led her effort right from the start.

“Wherever the Lord sends me, I will go,” she says. “I am eternally grateful, and I recognize the beauty of what we are building. Now, the Lord will be available to us—his children— at all times in the Eucharist.”

Por Maricarmen Godoy

NORWALK- La agrupación Caballeros de Colón (Knights of Columbus Council 14360) de la parroquia St. Matthew, celebró su décimo desayuno anual honrando la vida y el trabajo pastoral del recién ordenado sacerdote y vicario pastoral, Padre Miguel Betancur Lenis, nacido en Medellín, Colombia, con apenas seis años de vivir y estudiar en los Estados Unidos, de los cuales, la gran cantidad de tiempo los vivió en esta parroquia a la que considera su “hometown” (casa-hogar), razón por la que ahí celebró su “Primera Canta Misa” a finales de mayo.

En el desayuno dominical ocurrido en la celebración del pasado Día del Padre, Chirs O’ Connor, Grand Knight (Gran Caballero), dio la bienvenida a ocho nuevos miembros a los Caballeros de Colón de St. Matthew, agradeció el compromiso de los miembros por apoyar la construcción de un parque de juegos infantiles para las familias de la parroquia (playground), seguir rezando el Rosario cada primer viernes del mes, ayudar con el torneo de golf, premiar a los graduados de la escuela All Saints y apoyar las becas estudiantiles para las escuelas secundarias católicas de la Diócesis de Bridgeport.

El desayuno (communion breakfast) que fue coordinado por el “Caballero” Ron Miller, tuvo casa llena, entre ellos, la familia puertorriqueña Rodríguez, con diez años de vivir en New Canaan, pero registrados en la parroquia St. Matthew de Norwalk.

“Vimos en el boletín que había el desayuno de los Caballeros de Colón y decidimos apoyarlos”, dijo Arlene Torres, abuela de los niños: Mateo, Emma y Olivia Rodríguez; quienes son monaguillos de la misa del sábado a la que acuden Jorge y Khamalya Rodríguez, padres de los menores, que también son miembros activos de la parroquia y ayudantes de la misa de las cuatro de la tarde del sábado.

A la hora que le tocó al Padre Lenis hablar sobre su llegada a St. Matthew, parroquia que se encuentra ubicada en el sector oeste de la ciudad en 216 Scribner Avenue, narró el sacrificio de sus padres Humberto y Myriam Betancur-Lenis, quienes se desprendieron de su hijo cuando apenas él tenía doce años de edad en su natal Medellín, a la hora que decidió ingresar al seminario donde la disciplina fue estricta y por ende su formación escolástica fue marcada para el resto de su vida.

En su discurso, lleno de anécdotas familiares y de vida religiosa, el Padre Lenis contó cómo para llegar a los Estados Unidos primero debió vivir en Chile, España y Roma, no sólo como estudiante sino como formador vocacional y también recibió por parte de Guiseppe Pampena, Caballero de Colón, a nombre de la organización, un cuadro de la virgen de Guadalupe, pintado por el artista colombiano que reside en Stamford, Carlos Arias.

Durante su infancia el Padre Lenis tuvo habilidad por el soccer (fútbol-balompié) y ansiaba con llegar a jugar en el equipo nacional de Colombia. Por eso, cuando el director vocacional de su época le dijo que mientras se formaría en el seminario, podría seguir jugando fútbol, decidió unirse a los adolescentes que estaban postulándose para la vida sacerdotal consagrada.

En ese camino, cuenta el Padre Lenis, tuvo algunas crisis vocacionales no sólo por la disciplina estricta casi conventual que vivía a tierna edad, sino porque sus compañeros empezaban poco a poco a abandonar el seminario. “Éramos más de cien, luego quedamos cuarenta, después quince y al final solo seis”, dijo. Y reflexionó cómo el camino de la perseverancia hacia el sacerdocio pone a prueba la fe y la vocación.

En ese pasaje, narró cómo el director de vocaciones de su época, le dijo que se tome un tiempo y que regresara a su casa para el siguiente paso del seminario mayor (escuela secundaria y college), sin embargo, la formación rígida y la disciplina que tuvo desde los doce años le hizo declinar la propuesta de su maestro de formación vocacional y a pesar de que estaba decidido a regresar a su casa y ya tenía listas las palabras con las que se iba a despedir del seminario, a la hora precisa le dijo al sacerdote, que no se va de regreso sino que persigue su camino vocacional.

A finales de sus veinte e inicios de sus treinta años, el Padre Lenis después de haber estudiado en Roma-Italia, se devolvió para Colombia, en ese entretanto, una parroquiana de la iglesia de Saint Roch en Greenwich, le había contado al Padre Arthur Crosby Mollenhauer que conocía un joven que estaba buscando una diócesis para seguir adelante con su plan de vida de convertir su vocación en sacerdocio.

El Padre Mollenhauer, que también habla perfecto español, se puso en contacto con él y abogó para que ingrese al Seminario St. John Fisher de Stamford donde -paralelamente- estudiaba Teología, para luego ser transferido a la parroquia de St. Matthew en Norwalk donde fue ordenado Diácono mientras finalizaba sus estudios universitarios y vivía de lunes a viernes en el Seminario de Yonkers en New York.

“Por eso, al ser extranjero y no tener una parroquia a la que considere su “hometown” (casa-hogar de infancia), decidió dar su Primera Canta Misa en esta iglesia, donde todo mundo lo conoce, lo abraza y lo ha acogido con amor y respeto.

Como muestra de eso, la familia puertorriqueña Rodríguez decidió acompañarlo al desayuno en su honor con la esperanza de que con su presencia se abra un Ministerio Hispano en la parroquia ante la presencia de nuevos inmigrantes venidos de Latinoamérica.

Pedido que el Padre Lenis cree que deberá ser tratado por el Obispo Frank Caggiano, pero, tomando en cuenta que los sacerdotes hispanos son escasos el camino de un ministerio en español podría no ser prioridad de la parroquia ya que la idea es reforzar la parroquia hispana de St. Joseph-St. Ladislaus con el apoyo de los sacerdotes hispanos que pertenecen a la diócesis. “Por ahora tenemos varios sacramentos que hemos hecho en español como bautizos o unción a los enfermos y también misas especiales”, repuso el Padre Lenis a este pedido de un ministerio hispano.

Para el mes de agosto el Padre Lenis tiene previsto viajar a su natal Medellín-Colombia para oficiar su Primera Canta Misa en su tierra natal, no lo hizo en mayo debido a que por ser extranjero estuvo esperando su Visa de Trabajo como Religioso dando de baja a su visa de estudiante.

BRIDGEPORT- More than 12,000 visitors turned out on the weekend of June 9, for the annual Feast of St. Anthony held at St. Margaret Shrine in Bridgeport.

The event raised a record breaking $200,000 to help fund a visitors center and gift shop and ongoing masonry repairs of the shrine and grottoes on the grounds.

“The festival grows bigger every day. We drew people throughout the region and I’m very grateful for the success of the event,” said Deacon Don Faust, Administrator of St. Margaret Shrine.

The weekend featured Italian food and specialties, music, family fun and carnival rides. Sunday’s festival began with an outdoor Mass and procession.

The St. Anthony Chapel at the shrine is open seven days a week, 24-hours a day for prayer .

(St. Margaret Shrine is located at 2523 Park Ave. Bridgeport, CT 06604-1402. For information on its daily Mass schedule and visiting the shrine, call: 203.333.9627 or email: saintmargaretshrine@gmail.com.  Vist the Website at:  stmargaretshrine.org.)

By Kathy-Ann Gobin

DANBURY – Artwork from a dozen students from Catholic elementary schools throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport are featured in a calendar following a contest sponsored by Veritas Catholic Network.

“It’s a fun unifying event for the schools in the diocese,” said Steven Lee, President and CEO of the network which broadcasts Catholic programming 24 hours a day throughout Fairfield County, as well as parts of Long Island and New York.

Catholic elementary schools in the diocese were invited to participate and create artwork for each calendar month that would reflect their faith and depict something special for each month such as a saint’s feast day or a month-long dedication, such as the Blessed Mother for Mary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for June..

St. Peter School in Danbury was one of three schools that had multiple winning entries featured in the calendar. The artwork of sixth-grader Lucas Da Silva won for the month of June. Da Silva drew the Sacred Heart of Jesus on a backdrop of his handwriting of the words the Lord spoke to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

St. Peter School principal Mary Lou Torre said she is very proud of her students for expressing their faith in such a creative way.

“The students took it quite seriously,” Torre said. “It shows that the students are paying attention during Mass. We have a wonderful art teacher who I believe really inspires our students to want to do art.”

The contest was an extra-curricular activity for the students and they had the opportunity to choose the month they wanted to illustrate.

“I ended up using the contest to demonstrate lessons and techniques,” said Amy Preveza, who is a professional illustrator and an art teacher at St. Peter School.

Preveza said she helped the students with techniques such as the use of shadows that can be seen in the January artwork by fifth-grader Jason Mocha. The artwork depicts the Epiphany and showcases the influence of Van Gogh with the use of swirls for the sky. Mocha’s artwork is also featured on the cover of the calendar.

It was very exciting for the students to develop their ideas and see their artwork published, Preveza said.

“They loved the idea. It is nice when there is a contest element and then they see it published,” said Preveza, who also used the calendar as a teaching tool and celebrated the artwork of students from other Catholic elementary schools in the diocese that participated in the contest.

Assumption Catholic School in Fairfield had student artwork featured in February for St. Josephine Bakhita by eighth-grader Davida Latibeaudiere, in July for Going to Church and Independence Day by first-grader Brendan Fugiel and in September for Padre Pio by sixth grader Josnyel Rivera.

Catholic Academy of Stamford had two winning entries including May for Pentecost by fifth-grader Elise Fernandez and August for the Immaculate Heart of Mary by eighth-grader Adriana Moyano.

Torre said she hopes the publication of the calendar will inspire more students to express their thoughts and ideas through art and welcomes the calendar contest as one way to engage students in their faith and artistic abilities.

Lee agreed and said participating schools really embraced the project.

“We had some really fantastic pieces of artwork,” Lee said. “The creativity and talent of the kids is really amazing.”

The calendars were distributed to participating schools during Catholic Schools Week earlier this year.

“We want to be an instrument of unifying the parish and the community through different activities to bring people together,” Lee said, adding that he hopes to host the calendar contest again this year with entries submitted in the fall for the 2024 calendar year.

More than a handful of schools chose to be sponsors for the calendar this year and Lee hopes participation will increase next year, including sponsorship from local businesses.

“We are hoping to do more with the schools during Catholic Schools Week in the future,” Lee said. “We exist to help the community and Catholic schools are especially important because of the outstanding education they provide.”

Calendars are still available through Veritas while supplies last. The Veritas Catholic Network, is an affiliate of EWTN and broadcasts at 1350 AM and 103.9 FM.

BRIDGEPORT—In a joyful Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano ordained David Klein of Trumbull to the order of Transitional Deacon at St. Augustine Cathedral.

“Become a living sacrament of service. Lay down your life in love,” Bishop Caggiano said to David Klein during his homily to begin the Rite of Ordination. “To love as Christ loves costs dearly, but rewards us infinitely.”

Almost 400 turned out for the Mass including David’s parents Matthew and Sabrina Klein of Trumbull, who served as Gift Bearers, bringing the bread and win to the altar, where David received them.

Bishop Caggiano concelebrated the Mass with diocesan priests and guest celebrants including the Most Rev. James Massa, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn and Rector of St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y, and Father Zbigniew Kukielka, Rector of Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Stamford.

Many friends and families from the Neocatechumenal community in the diocese turned out to support the newly ordained and to show their appreciation by breaking into warm applause three times during the ceremony.

David Klein was vested by Father Richardo Batista Comim, Parochia Vicar of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Bridgeport and the first to be ordained a priest from Redemptoris Mater Seminary.

At the end of Mass the Bishop announced that the David Klein has been assigned to St. Peter’s Parish in Danbury to complete his final year of formation and studies before being ordained to the priesthood.

David Klein began his studies in September 2015, when he entered Redemptoris Mater Seminary, the missionary seminary of the Diocese of Bridgeport. He is now completing his work in Theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY.

The Bishop noted that David’s missionary experience as a seminarian in the Neocatechumenal Way has taken him to every corner of the world.

“You have seen poverty and dignity going hand in hand, and you have seen God’s great mercy,” the Bishop said, noting that Klein has walked with others in many different cultures.

“As your spiritual father I am grateful for all that you have walked and will do so in the years to come,” the Bishop said, thanking David for accompanying others through his missionary service that took him to locations throughout the U.S. as we as the Pacific Islands of Kiribati, Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Wallis, Futuna, and Tahiti.

“No one is ordained to be the housekeeper of the altar, but to bring the bread of life to the elderly, the sick, and the abandoned, and to remind them that they are loved by God,” the Bishop said.

“Am I ready? The answer is, No! No one is. Am I worthy? No one is,” the bishop said to David Klein, “but in the great mystery of ordination and of God’s love,” we all can find the courage to overcome our weakness and limitation and serve others.

Also: click to read / watch Bishop Caggiano’s Homily

The Rite of Ordination begins when the elect stands before the bishop who asks him to declare his resolve to accept the duties and responsibilities of the Diaconate. The candidate promises respect and obedience. The promise is followed by the Litany of Supplication, the Laying on of Hands and the Prayer of Ordination. The newly ordained is then vested with a diaconal stole and dalmatic and the bishop presents him with The Book of the Gospels.

Transitional deacons administer Baptism, dispense the Eucharist, assist at and bless marriages, bring Viaticum to the dying, read scriptures to the faithful, and preside at funeral and burial rites.

Before giving the final blessing, the Bishop once again thanked the Klein family and members of the Neocatechumenal way for the role they played in bringing David to his moment of diaconal ordination, and he urged all present to pray for the diocesan seminarians who “are good faithful, talented young men who are a blessing to our Church.”

The Bishop also thanked Dr. Wililam H. Atwood, diocesan director of Music Ministry, the Ordination schola and The Redemptoris Mater Seminary Choir for providing the beautiful music.

Following the recessional, the bishop and the Rev. Mr. David Klein re-entered the Church to more applause and to have their pictures taken by the many faithful who gathered around them in front of the altar.

David Klein was born on September 22, 1993. He grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut, with his parents and four siblings, and attended Trumbull High School. His father is a native of Bridgeport, and his mother is a native of Italy.

Since 2015, he has studied philosophy and theology as a seminarian for the Diocese Bridgeport. At present, he is in his First Year of Theology, working toward a Masters of Divinity at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY. In 2017, he finished studies in Pre-Theology at Sacred Heart University. He also earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Fairfield University.

The Redemptoris Mater (Mother of the Redeemer) Diocesan Missionary Seminary of Bridgeport was established by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano and opened in Stamford in 2015 on the Feast of Immaculate Conception. It is one of the eight diocesan missionary seminaries in United States sponsored by the Neocatechumenal Way.

Redemptoris Mater Seminary was first located at Sacred Heart Church in Stamford. In May 2020, the seminary moved into the former St. John Fisher Seminary at 894 Newfield Avenue. For information call, 203.588.1785. Visit: https://www.rmbridgeport.org

Photos by Amy Mortensen

By Brian D. Wallace

BRIDGEPORT— On Saturday,  June 17, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano will ordain David Klein of Trumbull to the transitional diaconate for the Diocese of Bridgeport. The Ordination Mass will be celebrated at 11 am at St. Augustine Cathedral.

Ordination as a transitional deacon is the last step before ordination to the priesthood, which typically occurs a year later after additional pastoral, liturgical and educational preparation.

A native of Trumbull and a Fairfield University graduate, David Klein began his studies and formation for the priesthood in September 2015, when  he entered Redemptoris Mater Seminary, the missionary seminary of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Redemptoris Mater missionary seminaries are under the auspices of the Neocatechumenal Way, a charism in the Church dedicated to Christian formation and the New Evangelization inspired by St. John Paul II. Their purpose is to prepare priests for missionary work anywhere in the world.

“My Neocatechumenal community is extremely important to me because they are the backbone of my journey to faith. I am most grateful first for my community and for the gift of the Neocatechumenal Way in my life, which has brought me to the presence of the Lord. I am grateful for the Seminary, which is forming me into a Christian man and has helped me to recognize who I truly am, and to see the immensity of the love the Lord has for me in my weaknesses,” Klein said.

David Klein was born on September 22, 1993. He grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut, with his parents and four siblings, and attended Trumbull High School. His father is a native of Bridgeport, and his mother is a native of Italy.

Since 2015, he has studied philosophy and theology as a seminarian for the Diocese of Bridgeport. At present, he is in his first year of Theology, working toward a Master’s of Divinity at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y.

In 2017, he finished studies in  Pre-Theology at Sacred Heart University. He also earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Fairfield University.

His missionary experience as a seminarian of Redemptoris Mater includes service in Salt Lake City, Utah; St. Louis, Mo.; and Paterson, N.J.  In July 2018, he was sent in mission to the Pacific Islands- Kiribati, Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, and Tahiti. From July 2020, he served in missions in Kansas and Missouri. Most recently he has served at St. Margaret Shrine in Bridgeport.

The Redemptoris Mater (Mother of the Redeemer) Diocesan Missionary Seminary of Bridgeport was established by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano and opened in Stamford in 2015 on the Feast of Immaculate Conception.  It is one of the eight diocesan missionary seminaries in United States sponsored by the Neocatechumenal Way. Recently, Father Ricardo Baptista Comim became the first Redemptoris Mater seminarian ordained for the Diocese of Bridgeport, when he was ordained by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, along with five other diocesan seminarians, at St. Theresa Parish in Trumbull.

Redemptoris Mater Seminary was first located at Sacred Heart Parish in Stamford.  In May 2020, the seminary moved into the former St. John Fisher Seminary at 894 Newfield Ave. For information call, 203-588-1785 or visit www.rmbridgeport.org

BRIDGEPORT—Monsignor Frank C. McGrath, passed away in Naples, Fla., on Saturday,  June 10, 2023 after a brief illness.  He was 78 years of age.

“Monsignor McGrath ministered faithfully to the people of the diocese in many settings as a pastor, a leader of Charismatic Renewal, and a chaplain who had  a particular devotion to providing spiritual support to the men and women of the fire service in our area. He will be much missed and long remembered by many. Please pray for the repose of the soul of Monsignor McGrath and for the consolation of his family,” said Bishop Frank J. Caggiano.

Francis Charles McGrath was born in New Britain, Conn., on July 20, 1944, son of Francis Joseph and Marion McGuire McGrath. He was baptized August 14, 1944, at St. Joseph Church in New Britain.  He made his First Holy Communion and received the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. James Parish in Stratford.

He attended Notre Dame High School in Fairfield and Fairfield University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.  Monsignor McGrath received his priestly formation at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Conn. (Philosophy), and St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore, from which he received an M.Div. .

He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Bridgeport by Bishop Walter W. Curtis at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport on May 9, 1970.

Following his ordination, his first assignment was as Assistant of St. Augustine Cathedral. (1978-1983). In June of 1974, Monsignor McGrath was appointed Diocesan Director of the Charismatic Renewal and Spiritual Director of Cathedral Girls High School while remaining in residence as St. Augustine Rectory.  In September of 1976, he was transferred to St. Cecilia Parish in Stamford while continuing to serve as Diocesan Director of the Charismatic Renewal.

The following year, Bishop Curtis granted Monsignor McGrath a leave of absence to serve as chaplain to the International Charismatic Renewal in Brussels, Belgium, an organization founded in response to a request from Cardinal Suenens to bring the Charismatic Renewal to Europe.  In 1980, this team moved to Ann Arbor Mich., where he served at the Word of God Community and was the first pastor of Christ the King Catholic Center. This parish has produced over 75 vocations to the priesthood and many vocations to consecrated life.

In 1993, Monsignor McGrath returned to the Diocese of Bridgeport, where he was appointed as pastor of the Assumption Parish in Westport. In 1994, he was appointed as Spiritual Advisor to the Charismatic Renewal Services of the Diocese of Bridgeport while continuing to serve as pastor of Assumption.

In 1999, he was name Director of Clergy Personnel with residence at Our Lady of Peace Rectory in Stratford. While working in this job, he took temporary administration of St. Mary Parish in Ridgefield. His next assignment, while once again continuing in Clergy Personnel, was as pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Stratford in 2005. He began his last pastorate at St. John Parish in Darien in 2006.

In 2014, Thomas Monahan, Chairman and Founder of Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Fla., invited Msgr. McGrath to serve as the Chaplain of the School. Bishop Frank Caggiano agreed to this request and in September of that year, Monsignor McGrath began his work in Florida, which he continued through his passing this week.

In 2007, Monsignor McGrath received the great honor of being named Chaplain to His Holiness.

Monsignor McGrath had a particular devotion to providing spiritual support to the men and women of the fire service. He served as chaplain to the Westport Fire Department, the Noroton Fire Department and Rescue 1 in New York City. He spent many hours providing spiritual consolation to those working on the Pile after the collapse of the Twin Towers in 2001.

Monsignor McGrath’s body will be received at Saint Matthew Church located at 216 Scribner Avenue in Norwalk on Monday, June 19 at 3:00 pm. and will lie in repose until 7:00 pm. At 7:00 pm, Mass will be celebrated for the repose of Monsignor McGrath’s soul. The principal celebrant will be Monsignor Robert Kinnally, Vicar General. Bishop Frank Caggiano will celebrate the Funeral Mass on Tuesday, June 20 at 11:00 am. Interment will be the Priests’ Circle of Saint John Cemetery in Norwalk.