By Emily Clark
NORWALK— “You are here as missionaries, to turn challenges into opportunities. God has commissioned you, like St. Paul, to spread his message to the parishes.”
These words, spoken by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, opened the annual State of Diocese address, held on Saturday morning, October 19 at All Saints Catholic School in Norwalk. As a follow-up to the meetings that he hosted last year with clergy and pastoral leaders, the bishop invited all parish trustees, liturgical ministers, and finance council and parish pastoral council members to hear updates on the major initiatives that are either underway or will soon begin in support of The One, leading the faithful towards full Eucharistic Renewal.
Following his opening remarks, the bishop outlined the fiscal state of the diocese, saying, “Financially, (it) is in very good shape because people have been extraordinarily generous.” With a balanced budget for the past eight years, he said the diocese is in a better financial position than it has been in two generations.
Thanks to the success of the We Stand with Christ campaign which raised over $100 million, the bishop said, “We are now in missionary mode,” ready to raise capital and investments for new initiatives.
“It’s an ask of all families,” he added, “to support the one family.”
Two of those new initiatives include last year’s completion of the new Thomas Merton Family Center and the ongoing renovations at Kolbe Cathedral Prep. The Merton Center, Bishop Caggiano said, is the first prototype of its kind, housing under one roof services such as a shelter, food distribution, medical facilities, addiction assistance and more. Such centers will soon be replicated, he said, in Norwalk, Stamford, and Danbury.
Across town at Kolbe lies what the bishop calls a “lifeline to an entire generation,” where every student is given the miracle of a Catholic education along with personal attention and the opportunity for internships.
“I was told ‘you are creating a campus for graffiti’,” Bishop Caggiano recalled. “But there is not a single mark. The students know this is their home.”
Transitioning from financial goals to pastoral ones, the bishop gave a nod to the 33 current diocesan seminarians but acknowledged, “We have a great need to raise an army of young priests. Without priests, there is no Eucharist.”
Director of Seminarians Father Chris Ford admitted that 33 is not enough.
“By 2039, we need to ordain five priests a year, a daunting but beautiful task,” he said. “You’ve heard the saying ‘it takes a village’? Well, it takes a church to raise a priest.”
One new program aimed at doing just that is Vocations Pathway which identifies young men who God may be calling to the priesthood. Specifically, the initiative “Called By Name Sunday” allows people to submit names of men they know personally, which prompted Bishop Caggiano to recall the day his eighth grade teacher Sister Rebecca told him he should be a priest.
“I was called by name,” he remembered.
Reflecting on the significance of The One, the bishop detailed the diocese at a glance, identifying, among other statistics, 74 parishes, 120 active priests, over 3,500 liturgical ministers, and Sunday Masses celebrated in 11 languages.
“Sometimes, we take for granted the mercy of Jesus. When Christ comes through you and me, we work with people—those in ordinary life and those in moments of crisis as well,” he said. “If this renewal works, all the more reason to welcome more into the community, but it can’t be a sea of anonymity or they won’t stay. And it can’t just be the pastor.”
The launch of such programs as the St. Jerome Center for Preaching and Biblical Studies to provide personalized assistance to priests so they may become more effective preachers and the Assisi Center for Environmental Stewardship to support the goals of Laudato Si to engage young adults will support that renewal.
By Easter, the bishop is also committed to opening sites for Perpetual Adoration in every deanery in the diocese, for, as he said, “beauty finds its apex when we sit in the presence of the Lord.”
A question-and-answer session followed the bishop’s remarks and drew comments on formation programs for adults, more ideas on how women can become involved, and even the role of artificial intelligence in matching young adults.
Liturgical minister Don Mohr of Sacred Heart Parish in Greenwich attended the event to bring information back to his ministry.
“I was interested in learning more information about what may happen in the future of our diocese and learn about what else we can do to serve,” he said. “It was a very enlightening program.”
Dr. Patrick Donovan, the director of the Institute for Catholic Formation, elaborated on the importance of these meetings.
“I think it’s great for people who are in the trenches in our parishes and schools to hear directly from the bishop about the state of the diocese and how his vision is implemented for the faithful,” he said. “Plus, it gives folks a chance to respond directly to the bishop and offer their feedback.”
There is hope, the bishop said in closing, for people have taken the challenge to create bridges to individuals.
“We are inviting people to come,” he said. “Even though it’s fall, it’s the springtime of renewal. We’re blossoming.”
