BRIDGEPORT— Physician and priest Fr. Myles N. Sheehan, SJ, MD, will be the featured speaker at the 24nd annual White Mass breakfast set for Sunday, March 26, at 9:00am at St. Peter Church, 104 Main Street in Danbury.
“Pope Francis’ vision of the Church as a Field Hospital: What does it mean to health care providers?” will be his topic at the breakfast, which will immediately follow Mass.
The breakfast and talk will be held at Ridgewood Country Club, 119 Franklin Street in Danbury. Fr. Sheehan is Assistant to the Provincials of the USA Northeast and Maryland Provinces of the Society of Jesus, a role in which he oversees Jesuit health care centers.
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano will be the principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass, which honors healthcare professionals throughout the diocese.
“As a trained physician and priest, Fr. Myles Sheehan’s ministry offers a unique perspective at the intersection of spiritual and physical healing,” said Bishop Caggiano. “We welcome Fr. Sheehan reflections at a time of great change and challenge in Catholic health care and other institutions.”
During the White Mass, two area healthcare professionals will be presented the Father Rufin Compassionate Care Award. The recipients are traditionally drawn from the ranks of physicians, nurses, dentists, healthcare workers or healthcare volunteers in Fairfield County
About Fr. Myle Sheehan
Fr. Myles Sheehan, SJ, former provincial of the New England Province, was named the assistant to the provincial for senior Jesuits in May 2015. He was named provincial of the New England Province in 2009. Among other duties in his role as he maintains ministry in health care related areas, which included caring for aged and infirm Jesuits living in the province health care center and hosting “Aging Gracefully,” a miniseries that addressed the needs of the elderly, which aired on CatholicTV.
Fr. Sheehan was born on April 18, 1956 in Marshfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Thayer Academy, Braintree, Massachusetts in 1974. Prior to entering the Society of Jesus, he completed his undergraduate degree and doctorate in medicine at Dartmouth
College.
Fr. Sheehan joined the New England Province on August 25, 1985 and made his novitiate at St. Andrew House in Boston, MA. After completing his philosophy studies at Loyola University in Chicago, he did two years of post-doctoral studies in gerontology at Harvard Medical School. He earned his M.Div. from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge and was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1994.
On April 22, 2005, he professed solemn vows. Since 1995, Myles has served as a professor of medicine at Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine. In 2000, he added the administrative duties of senior associate dean to his teaching and research responsibilities. As a physician he held certification in internal medicine and geriatrics,
The Fr. Rufin Award is presented to those who exemplify the compassionate and loving care for the sick. It is named after the late Father Rufin Kuveikis, a Capuchin Franciscan and chaplain at Norwalk Hospital for 18 years. He died in 2008 at age 86.
(All healthcare workers and their guests are invited to attend the White Mass. The Mass is also open to the general public.
To make a reservation for breakfast at Ridgewood Country Club,
Contact: Janet Davis
Tel: (203) 416-1636
Email: jdavis@diobpt.org
Cost: $25/person
