Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, the grounds of which are pictured here, will serve as a pilgrimage destination during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV in honor of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, who, said Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of the University, “still captures the hearts and imaginations of the people of God.” Within the Diocese of Metuchen, both the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, and the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Washington, are designated pilgrimage sites. To learn more about the Jubilee Year, including plenary indulgences, see pages 3, 14, 18, 29.
OSV News photo/courtesy Franciscan University of Steubenville
Lent is a time to recognize our need to be nourished by God
Dear brothers and sisters,
It’s that time again. Struggle. Commitment. Perseverance. Planning. Practice. Competition. Defeat. Triumph.
I speak, of course, about the Olympics.
For a few weeks now, the eyes of the world have been looking at the events in Italy to cheer on national teams and to watch some of the world’s best athletes compete for Olympic glory. Whether men or women, younger or older, individually or on a team, there is something that draws us in.
Some of you may remember the old television show, “ABC’s Wide World of Sports,” where the introduction spoke of “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. The human drama of athletic competition.” There is something in us that appreciates the drama.
I believe we’ve been given a gift this year, in that the Olympic games can help us get in the right mood for Lent. More frequently than every four years, every year the Church has us prepare for excess joy of Easter by first practicing discipline and self-denial. Remember the old gym adage, “No pain, no gain?” Christians were living Lent that way long ago.
On Ash Wednesday, the opening prayer of Mass called Lent a “campaign of Christian service.” Think of it. Each Lent, we are athletes who enter the Olympic stadium, surrounded and cheered on by the Communion of Saints of the Church, as we prepare for the events of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Before us, the prize of Easter joy. I’ll admit, not as impressive as medals of gold, silver, or bronze, but remember that Easter Joy comes with chocolate bunnies and jellybeans. Medal or chocolate? I know what my choice would be.
But here’s where Lent differs from the Olympic games. At the end of Lent, there are more than three winners. Each
of us can be victorious in our Lenten devotion, because we don’t really compete against each other. Our triumphs or defeats are not advertised to the world on some scoreboard, but only to our Father in Heaven, who Jesus told his followers sees all things (even the secret things).
Many times during Olympic events, you will hear that athletes have set a new world record, a new Olympic record, or even a new record for their personal best. Don’t worry about massive records. Strive to make Lent a new personal best record for you.
Attendance at an extra Mass, at Stations of the Cross, at a parish Penance Service, regularly using a Catholic meditation App on your phone or tablet, or even a Rosary said at home or in the car can go far to deepen our relationship with God.
Pope Leo’s 2026 Message for Lent asks us to consider the virtues of listening and fasting. In listening to the voice of the Lord, Pope Leo says we should consider how God listens to humanity and especially the poor, the needy, or those without hope. Fasting, he says, opens us to understanding our need for the nourishment that comes uniquely from God.
But even more than refraining from physical food, the Holy Father asks us to consider using Lent as an opportunity to practice refraining from “words that offend or harm others” while striving to “cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities.”
I wish you all a blessed and meaningful Lent. Let’s all pray for each other, and let’s all offer some small Lenten sacrificial offering to the Lord for the intentions of our next Bishop of Metuchen.
On World Day of the Sick, Feb. 11, Very Reverend Jonathan S. Toborowsky, administrator of the Diocese of Metuchen, celebrated Mass at Saint Peter’s University Hospital and prayed with patients, including Carol Ann Lombardo, a member of the Parish of the Visitation, New Brunswick, and parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. —Michael Castronova photos
How to report abuse If you were sexually abused by a member of the clergy or anyone representing the Catholic Church, or you know of someone who was, you are encouraged to report that abuse to local law enforcement, the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency at 1-877-NJ ABUSE (652-2873) or 1-800-835-5510 (TTY/TDD for the deaf), and also the Diocesan Response Officer at (908) 930-4558 (24 hours/7 days a
Pope
sets Jubilee to mark 800th year since St. Francis’ death; saint’s body to be displayed
By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a special Jubilee Year coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
The Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal that deals with matters of conscience, issued a decree published by the Franciscan Friars Jan. 10, declaring a yearlong celebration in honor of the Poverello, or the Little Poor One.
According to the decree, Pope Leo has established that from Jan. 10, following the closing of the church’s Jubilee Year, until Jan. 10, 2027, a special Year of St. Francis may be proclaimed, in which every Christian, “following the example of the Saint of Assisi, may himself become a model of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace.”
Noting previous jubilee celebrations related to the works of St. Francis – such as the eighth centenary commemorations of the first Nativity scene, as well as his composition of the “Canticle of the Creatures” and his receiving of the stigmata – the decree stated that “2026 will mark the culmination and fulfillment of all previous celebrations.”
In its decree, the Apostolic Penitentiary also announced that plenary indulgences will be granted to Catholics “under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father), which can also be applied in the form of suffrage for the souls in Purgatory.”
The indulgence will be granted to those who participate in a pilgrimage “to any Franciscan conventual church, or place of worship in any part of the world named after St. Francis or connected to him for any reason,” it stated.
The sick, the elderly and caretakers unable to leave their homes can also obtain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions “if they join spiritually in the Jubilee celebrations of the Year of St. Francis, offering their prayers to the Merciful God, the pains or sufferings of one’s life.”
In a statement announcing the decree’s promulgation, the Franciscan Friars invited Catholics to take part in the Jubilee celebrations and hope that St. Francis’ example would inspire par-
ticipants “to live with authentic Christian charity towards our neighbor and with sincere longings for concord and peace among peoples.”
May this year of St. Francis “be for each one of us a providential occasion for sanctification and evangelical witness in the contemporary world, for the glory of God and the good of the whole Church,” the statement read.
In a Jan. 10 letter to the ministers general of the Conference of the Franciscan Family, Pope Leo said St. Francis’ message of peace was needed now more than ever.
“In this age, marked by so many seemingly interminable wars, by internal and social divisions that create mistrust and fear, he continues to speak. Not because he offers technical solutions, but because his life points to the authentic source of peace,” the pope wrote.
That peace, the pope added, “is not limited to the relations between human beings,” but extends to “the entire family of Creation.”
“This insight resonates with particular urgency in our time, when our common home is threatened and cries out under exploitation,” he wrote. “Peace with God, peace among human beings, and with
creation are inseparable dimensions of a single call to universal reconciliation.”
Pope Leo concluded his letter with a prayer to St. Francis, asking the saint’s intercession “to give us the courage to build bridges where the world raises up boundaries.”
“In this time afflicted by conflict and division, intercede for us so that we may become peacemakers: unarmed and disarming witnesses of the peace that comes from Christ,” the Pope wrote.
The Pope’s letter was read during a Jan. 10 celebration marking the start of the Franciscan Jubilee Year at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi, which houses the Chapel of the Transit, marking the site where St. Francis died.
Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi, who was present at the ceremony, said the start of the centenary celebration was “an explosion of true joy” that comes from the heart and “from the commitment of each one of us to rediscover Francis in all his dimensions.”
“The wish I make to everyone and to the entire Church is to rediscover this saint of ours, to rediscover Jesus, the only source of joy and peace,” the bishop said.
Among the notable events taking place in Assisi during the Franciscan Ju-
Top left, A statue of St. Francis of Assisi is seen in a garden at Community First! Village in Austin, Texas, Sept. 9, 2021. —OSV News photo/Bob Roller
Above, People gather outside the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, Aug. 21, 2025. The basilica, a major pilgrimage site, houses the tomb of St. Francis. —CNS photo/Lola Gomez
bilee Year will be the first public display of St. Francis’ body.
In October, the Basilica of St. Francis announced that Pope Leo had granted permission to display the saint’s body from Feb. 22 to March 26.
According to the basilica’s website for the historic event, as of December, some 250,000 pilgrims have so far registered for the veneration of St. Francis’ remains.
The overwhelming number of people coming for the public display, the basilica said, is a testament to “the universality of the message of the Saint of Assisi and the timeless appeal of his figure.”
A free but mandatory online reservation system has been set up on the centenary website, available in both Italian and English.
DIOCESE OF METUCHEN ANNUAL REPORT 2024-2025
Letter from Father Jonathan Toborowsky Administrator
of the Diocese of Metuchen
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As Administrator, I present to you the Annual Report of the Diocese of Metuchen. This year it comes to you a bit differently. Rather than our recent tradition of a booklet format, this year we primarily present it here in our diocesan newspaper. For those you know who do not receive the paper, please let them know it is also available in digital format through our diocesan website (www.diometuchen.org) and on our social media platforms.
Like the format for this year’s report, this whole past year was “a bit different.” As Catholics we mourned the loss of Pope Francis and rejoiced at the election of Pope Leo XIV. Closer to home, we are still a “Vacant See,” since the transfer of Archbishop Checchio to the Archdiocese of New Orleans last November. I hope you join me in offering prayers of gratitude for his years of service to the Church of Metuchen, while also asking the Lord to assist him in his new ministry in the years to come. Finally, we marked the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of 2025.
Since his transfer last November, I’ve been honored to serve as the Administrator of our Diocese, grateful for both the counsel of the College of Consultors and the daily labors of our hard-working diocesan staff. While it is true that some things are temporarily suspended when a diocese has no bishop, the bulk of the work goes on. Whether here at the diocesan center, in the various services provided by Catholic Charities in various locations, at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, in our many Catholic schools, or even in our Catholic Cemeteries, all of our departments do their best to be of service and make themselves available to you.
Most especially, we strive to be a resource and assist as best we can in the parishes of our Diocese. The parish is where, so to speak, “the rubber hits the road,” the “vineyard of the Lord,” and I’m grateful for the work done day after day by the priests, deacons, religious, lay staff, and volunteers in the 89 parishes throughout Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, and Warren counties. Besides the diocesan programs, so many parishes do great work (many times unseen) to bring the Gospel message to the people of their locality (and even a distance away, given today’s technology).
Most especially, I’m thankful for the trust you place in our parishes and in the Diocese of Metuchen by providing us with the financial resources that sustain our programs. Through your weekly contributions that support your parishes and your annual gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, great things happen and will continue to happen.
May the Lord continue to bless you in the days ahead, and may I ask you to please join me in asking Christ the Good Shepherd to send us a new shepherd after His own Sacred Heart.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Very Rev. Jonathan S. Toborowsky Administrator
At a glance
The Diocese of Metuchen proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ, celebrates the sacraments and exercises His works of mercy so that all might participate in His salvation and discover the lasting joy of a relationship with Him.
The Diocese of Metuchen encompasses the New Jersey counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren. Below is a view of our mission in the Diocese of Metuchen in 2025.
Healing, Truth and Hope: a pastoral response to past abuse
Through our procedures, through our outreach, and through our prayers, the Diocese of Metuchen continues to work to prevent abuse and to facilitate healing for survivors of abuse.
The Diocese of Metuchen has:
• 0% of credibly accused priests in public ministry *Any accused priest is subject to an extensive and thorough investigation under the scrutiny of Law Enforcement and the Diocesan Review Board, consisting of a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, a former Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice of NJ, a former County Prosecutor, a Superior Court Judge, medical and psychiatric professionals, educators and other qualified professionals.
• 24/7 availability to report abuse
• 6,965 adults who were background checked and trained to recognize and report signs of suspected abuse *Number reported from July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025 and includes priests, deacons, candidates for ordination, educators, employees and volunteers working or ministering to children and young people.
• 21,148 Children who received age-appropriate training to guard against abuse
*Number reported from July 1, 2024June 30, 2025 and includes Catholic school students and students in parish religious education programs.
• 90 Parish background coordinators to facilitate background checks
• 25 School background coordinators to facilitate background checks
• $4.7 Million paid in settlements since the founding of the diocese in 1981; $1.27 Million of that was paid through the independent victim compensation program
*No gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, to Catholic Charities, to Catholic Schools, nor monies given for a specific ministry or apostolate are used to fund settlements. The total funds paid reflects all settlements through June 30, 2025.
More information about the measures in place to prevent abuse in the Diocese can be found by visiting: diometuchen. org/healing
How to report abuse
If you suspect abuse by a member of clergy, an employee, or a volunteer for the Catholic Church, please:
• Immediately notify local law enforcement
• Notify the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency by calling 1-877-NJ ABUSE (652-2873) or 1-800-835-5510 (TTY/TDD for the deaf), available 24/7
• Contact the Diocese of Metuchen’s Director of Child and Youth Protection by calling (908) 930-4558 or visit diometuchen.org/healing to file a report.
How to report abuse by a Bishop:
In response to Pope Francis’ Motu proprio, Vos estis lux mundi, or “You are the light of the world,” the U.S. Bishops launched the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting service, which ensures all levels of Church hierarchy are held to the same level of accountability. A similar independent reporting structure had already been established by Bishop James F. Checchio in the Diocese of Metuchen. Complaints of sexual abuse and related misconduct by bishops can be submitted to the independent service by visiting ReportBishopAbuse.org or by calling (800) 276-1562.
This third-party service does not replace existing reporting systems for complaints against Bishops, priests, deacons, religious brothers or sisters, or lay persons working or volunteering for the Church, which were established in 2002 with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The reporting of sexual misconduct by anyone in diocesan ministry should continue to be reported in accordance with the Diocese of Metuchen’s child protection policy outlined above.
“The implementation of the Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting service reaffirms the commitment of the Episcopacy to live according to the Gospel and to place themselves under the same high standards applied to their priests, deacons, and lay personnel,” said Anthony P. Kearns, Chancellor for the Diocese of Metuchen. He further said, “This service is another step forward in ensuring accountability is maintained on all levels and is the latest in a long history of actions taken by the Diocese of Metuchen to ensure protection of all of the faithful.”
Catholic Schools Week across the Diocese
Catholic Schools Week across our Diocese, which took place Jan. 25 to Jan. 31, was a joyful celebration of faith, learning, and community. Throughout the week, our schools came alive with special liturgies, service projects, academic showcases, and spirited activities highlighting the gifts of our students, faculty and staff. These pages capture those moments in photos and story – smiles, prayer, teamwork, and achievement – reflecting the vibrant mission of Catholic education that
Young people in several Dioce san schools received a special treat last month, in the form of assemblies that blended skateboarding and faith.
Students at Holy Savior Academy, South Plainfield; St. Matthias School, Somerset, and St. Francis Cathedral School, Metuchen, enjoyed assemblies featuring Brother Gabriel Cortez, a Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate Conception hailing from Bloomington, Indiana. For more than two decades, Brother Gabriel has traveled the country using his athletic skill to share messages of faith with young audiences.
His visits to local schools included not only basic skateboarding tricks, but also tricks and jumps over teachers and students.
“One of the lessons he taught was perseverance and determination – not giving up. He talked about how falling down is a big part of skateboarding, that you fall more than anything else,” said Eva Tripodi, principal of Holy Savior Academy. “He did a basic skateboarding trick and fell. He tried over and over again, (and) each time he fell. Then he asked the children if he should give up. The children responded with a ‘no’.”
Brother Gabriel applied that same lesson to faith, and life in general – encouraging the students to always keep trying, no matter how many times they might fall, or fail.
come back next school year to visit us.”
The latest visits to diocesan schools came about after principal Eric Harper and fifth grade teacher Adele Szczecina from Saint Matthias School met Brother Gabriel at a festival over the summer.
“After seeing him share his faith through his talents, I immediately knew he would have a powerful and positive impact on our students,” said Harper. “The students were deeply moved by Brother Gabriel’s message of faith, perseverance, and commitment. They learned that God can work through their interests and talents, and that faith can be lived out in everyday life.”
Harper said that the assembly was a hit among his students.
“The assembly was filled with unforgettable moments. Brother Gabriel emphasized powerful themes such as never giving up, perseverance, and taking a leap of faith. He connected with students by incorporating everyday activities like skateboarding into his message of faith,” he said. “Highlights included Brother Gabriel jumping over Sister Maria, our first-grade teacher, and our pastor, Father Tom Lanza, which brought joy and excitement to the entire audience.”
Saint Matthias students also participated in a schoolwide coloring contest ahead of his visit, with the challenge of
coloring an image of their church for a chance to win a skateboard. The winner of the contest, eighth grader Ava, was thrilled to be selected.
“I loved watching Brother Gabriel skateboard and seeing how he shared his faith in such a fun way,” she said. “Winning the skateboard from the coloring contest made the day even more exciting.”
Seventh grade student Colton was also moved by the assembly and rolled away with a memento of his own.
“I really liked when Brother Gabriel did his skateboarding tricks,” he said. “I was surprised when he gave me a skateboard because I wanted one like his. He gave me a Saint Joan of Arc skateboard, and it meant so much to me.”
For Brother Gabriel, his hope behind visits like these is to foster “a greater desire for heaven within the hearts and minds of the students.”
He described his time visiting the Diocese of Metuchen to be “nothing less than spiritually edifying, nourishing and exhilarating,” and emphasized how he blends different themes into his messages of faith – “by highlighting the unity between faith and sports, body and soul, intellect and will, matter and spirit.”
He added, “I would love for the students and the children and youngsters to know that in times of darkness they don’t have to be afraid because the light of the moon, namely the Immaculate heart of
left, Brother Gabriel jumps over Sister Maria Derecola, School Sister of St. Francis, who teaches 2nd grade, in St. Matthias School. Above right, the phrase Ego sum lux mundi written on the bottom of Brother Gabriel’s skateboard translates to “I am the light of the world.” —Courtesy photos
Mary will never forsake them, but will always lead them to God.”
Principal Kathleen Dalton said that his visit to St. Francis Cathedral School was also a hit.
“Brother Gabriel used his gift of skateboarding to evangelize the children,” said Dalton. “They were engaged and entertained, but most importantly were taught about the love of Christ.”
Sister Mary Elizabeth McCauley, S.C.C., a second-grade teacher there, said that the school enjoyed meeting Brother Gabriel.
“After he showcased his daring skateboard moves in the CYO, he visited our classroom and we prayed a Hail Mary together,” she said. “My second-grade students also taught him a special prayer that we say each day to honor Our Lady. The children were very excited to see and meet a ‘real Brother’.”
Fifth-grader Francesca Antonio wrapped it up with her observation: “I thought it was cool how he balanced religion and fun,” she said.
Above
Assumption Catholic School, Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy
Catholic School , PerthAmboy
between students, families, educators and the community. —Courtesy photos
events including 5th grade career day, Kindergarten career day, 8th grade class ring ceremony and, not pictured, Vocation Appreciation honoring PACS Teacher of the Year, Michelle Diaz, and the PACS Winter Ball. —Courtesy photos
SaintsPhilipandJamesSchool,Phillipsburg
St. Bartholomew School, East Brunswick
ue of the Madonna was given as a gift from Mother Maria Pacis, Mother General of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on the first day of school on Sept. 9, 1964. The photo is of the students on the first day of school. The stole belonged to the founding pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish and School, Msgr. J. Morgan Kelly. The chalice and paten were given to Msgr. Michael Alliegro in memory of his father on the day of his Ordination. —Courtesy photos
Officers from the Phillipsburg Police Department were invited to Sts. Philip and James School for a special visit during Catholic Schools Week. Students and faculty were able to wear their favorite team jerseys in exchange for donating cans of soup, while Student Council Officers and Representatives made special visits to the elementary classrooms to spend some time with their buddies. Father Gilbert Starcher, vocations director, and Sister Anna Nguyen, delegate for Religious,’ came from the Diocese to visit for a talk about vocations.
—Courtesy photos
Immaculate Conception Schools, Somerville
Church of the Immaculate Conception schools recognize faculty with Lux Dei Awards.
In a fitting conclusion to Catholic Schools Week, Feb. 4, the Church of the Immaculate Conception schools recognized Kimberley Brickley, kindergarten teacher at Immaculate Conception School, and Kristin Camiolo, history teacher at Immaculata High School, with the annual Lux Dei, or “Light of God,” awards.
Now in their third year, the Lux Dei Awards are selected by school administrators from nominations, submitted by families and colleagues, that highlight educators who reflect the mission and values of Catholic education.
Brickley, a graduate of both Immaculate Conception School and Immaculata High School, has taught kindergarten at the school for 11 years. Welcoming children for what for many is the first year of formal school, Brickley was described by Principal Katie Parsells as “a calming, welcoming presence every morning, especially to those little ones who have fears or tears about leaving mom or dad behind.”
Parsells continued: “She teaches with such care, encouragement, assurance, and attention to the uniqueness of every student. Year after year, we watch timid, shy little ones enter her kindergarten class in September and emerge at the end of the year as confident, brave, ready students who know how loved they are –by God, their families, and their teacher.”
Camiolo, who has taught history at Immaculata since 2018, is known for
Pictured at top, at Immaculate Conception School, Kindergarten teacher Kimberley Brickley is honored with the Lux Dei Award, an honor also afforded to history teacher Kristin Camiolo at Immaculata High School. —Courtesy photos
creating educational experiences – “She doesn’t just teach history,” explained Principal Ed Webber. “She brings it to life with outfits and stories.”
Camiolo was selected as one of only 55 U.S. educators participating in this year’s National History Day’s “Researching Silent Heroes” program. Webber described it as “a fitting acknowledgement of the quiet, often unseen work she does every day in the classroom.” She researched a World War II service member with ties to Immaculate Conception Parish and, by extension, to Immaculata, reminding students that history is never abstract.
Both teachers were recognized with commemorative certificates at a luncheon for faculty and staff as Catholic Schools Week concluded, where Pastor and Director of Schools Monsignor Joseph Celano reflected on the commitment and sacrifice they – and the entire faculty and staff – demonstrate in their dedication to the mission of Catholic education.
Despite the interruption of a snowstorm, Catholic Schools Week at St. Helena School was a success! Events included PreK Olympics, Family Luncheon, Living Rosary and STREAM Displays (Theme: Honoring the Past, Building the Future: Celebrating the 250th Birthday of America). Various themed days brought in many donations for the community like cereal, socks and pet food. —Courtesy photos
St. Helena School , Edison
service during Catholic Schools Week
Service to others took center stage at Saint Joseph High School during Catholic Schools Week, as students, families, and faculty put faith into action through two impactful outreach efforts: a campus blood drive and sandwich making.
These service initiatives highlight how Catholic Schools Week at Saint Joseph extends beyond celebration, calling students to live out the Gospel through meaningful action in service to others.
“Catholic Schools Week is a celebration of what makes our mission so meaningful – forming young men of faith, character, and purpose,” Saint Joseph High School President John Nolan said. “A Catholic education goes beyond the classroom, shaping hearts as well as minds.
Service projects like these allow our students to live their faith in real and tangible ways, planting seeds of compassion, responsibility, and love for others that will continue to grow long after they leave Saint Joseph.”
In partnership with the New York Blood Center, Saint Joseph hosted a schoolwide blood drive during which students, Partners in Mission, and parents donated a total of 31 pints of blood. The drive provided lifesaving donations to individuals and families in need through-
out the region, reflecting the school’s ongoing commitment to compassion and community responsibility.
Later in the week, students and Partners in Mission turned their attention to food insecurity. The Saint Joseph community prepared and donated 1,750 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to Elijah’s Promise, a New Jersey nonprofit dedicated to com bating hunger and poverty. The remaining unopened ingredients were provided to Hands of Hope Food Pantry in Edison. This hands-on service project gave students the opportunity to directly support individuals facing food insecurity while reinforcing the values of empathy and solidarity.
“These service projects are an essen tial part of providing a well-rounded Cath olic education,” said Mary Hutnick, direc tor of Campus Ministry. “They help our students connect faith with action, teaching them that compassion, justice, and care for others are not just lessons we discuss, but values we are called to live every day.”
Catholic Schools Week is more than a celebration – it is a reflection of how the Saint Joseph community lives its faith every day.
Contributed by Tim LeCras, St. Joseph High School director of Communications and Marketing.
Saint James School, Basking Ridge
At St. James, among a variety of events, students celebrated diversity with their International Day, presenting their country and discussing the culture and history. The Spartan Games, which brought out the Spartan mascot, included activities for each grade, and second graders were guided in a service project by second grade teacher, Jennifer Schedlbauer.
—Courtesy photos
no one educates alone. The educational community is a ‘we’ where teachers, students, families, administrative and service staff, pastors and civil society converge to generate life. This ‘we’ prevents water from stagnating in the swamp of ‘it has always been done this way’ and forces it to flow, to nourish, to irrigate. The foundation remains the same: the person, image of God (Gen 1:26), capable of truth and relationship.
“Therefore, the question of the relationship between faith and reason is not an optional chapter: “Religious Truth is not only a portion, but a condition of general knowledge”. These words of Saint John Henry Newman – whom … I have the great joy of declaring co-patron of the Church’s educational mission together with Saint Thomas Aquinas –are an invitation to renew our commitment to knowledge that is as intellectually responsible and rigorous as it is deeply human.”
— Pope Leo XIV from his Apostolic Letter, “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Conciliar Declaration Gravissimum educationis (extremely important education), Oct. 27, 2025.
Catholic Schools Week was a busy week at St. Thomas Aquinas with seniors cheering on the Class of 2026 with a basketball game for Battle of the Classes, and the well-anticipated Teacher Swap Day where students become the teachers, and a beautiful CSW Mass. — Photos courtesy of Lillian Chadwick, Class of ‘26
St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison
St. John Henry Newman
—CNS photo/Junno Arocho Esteves
While the nation prepared to gather with family and friends to watch Super Bowl LX, law enforcement and anti-trafficking advocates in and around the host city were busy stepping up efforts to increase awareness about the hidden crime of human sex trafficking. This dark reality is a growing criminal industry with cases being reported in every state across the nation every day. Major sporting events, like the Super Bowl, draw huge crowds, which can increase the risk of trafficking. However, with viewership expected in the millions, events like these can also serve as major, high-profile platforms to help raise awareness about this heinous crime.
According to the Department of Justice, sex trafficking involves using force, fraud or coercion to induce an individual to perform commercial sex acts. The most common forms include escort services, pornography, illicit massage, brothels and prostitution. “Cybersex” is another significant and growing component of modern human trafficking where technology is used to recruit, control and exploit victims. No one is immune to this crime. Victims are people of any age,
Fighting human trafficking is a deeply pro-life endeavor that requires learning more
socio-economic status, race, nationality or gender. Social media, gaming apps and dating sites are often used to find and lure victims. Because of their need for connection and their excessive screen times, our youth are often at a higher risk of becoming victims to online grooming.
According to statistics from the Polaris Project’s National Human Trafficking hotline, most of the U.S. female human trafficking victims are sold for sex, often multiple times each day, up to seven days a week. For this reason, unplanned pregnancies are quite common. Sadly, forced abortion is a disturbingly common tool used by sex traffickers for control over victims and for profit. Sex trafficking relies on abortion to function and to grow. A pregnant trafficking victim is less profitable and forced abortion returns her back to work. Forced abortion helps traffickers to cover their tracks and is also used as a physical and psychological control mechanism to reinforce the victim’s lack of bodily autonomy.
In a recent study on the “Health Consequences of Sex Trafficking,” which interviewed over 100 sex trafficking survivors, 55% reported having at least
one abortion, while 30% reported having multiple abortions. This study also revealed that most victims seek medical attention during their bondage whether it be due to unplanned pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases or for injuries endured from acts of violence by their abusers. This puts healthcare providers at Pregnancy Help Centers, emergency rooms and at clinics like Planned Parenthood in a unique position to intervene on behalf of sex trafficking victims.
Coincidentally, this year’s Super Bowl fell on February 8th which is also the World Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. To mark this occasion, Pope Leo XVI released a message pledging the Catholic Church’s continued commitment to confronting and bringing an end to “this grave crime against humanity.” He condemned the scourge, saying, “Ultimately, the violence of human trafficking can be overcome only through a renewed vision that beholds every individual as a beloved child of God.” The Holy Father urges prayer and concrete awareness to uncover “the hidden mechanisms of exploitation in our neighborhoods and in
digital spaces.”
Human trafficking thrives in the shadows and leaves deep physical and emotional scars, dehumanizing and stripping away the victim’s dignity and worth. It involves exploiting the most vulnerable members of society, treating human beings as objects for another’s benefit. Fighting human trafficking is a deeply pro-life endeavor and as a faith community we are each called to learn more about this evil practice so we can help put an end to it.
To learn more about the Church’s role in fighting human trafficking and how to identify and report potential victims, please consider attending the 2026 Choices Matter Conference which will be held at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center in Piscataway on Saturday, March 21, 2026. The theme is “Safeguarding Human Dignity… Shining a Light on Human Trafficking.” For more information and/or to register, please call 732-562-1543 or visit: https://dio metuchen.org/choicesmatter.
Jennifer Ruggiero serves as diocesan Secretary, Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life.
Human Trafficking Awareness Through the Lens of a Subject Matter Expert –A Survivor’s Journey from Trauma to Triumph Gina Cavallo
Author, Speaker, Consultant in Anti-Trafficking Movement
The Role of the Church in Combating Human Trafficking
Maria Celina Márquez
Policy Advisor U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Survivor Informed Human Trafficking Prevention
David M. Ryan
(Retired Police Chief), Coordinator, Westchester County Anti-Trafficking Task Force
General Admission $35
Saturday March 21, 2026
St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, NJ
Opening Mass at 9 a.m., Conference 10:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exhibits, Eucharistic Adoration and Confession “Safeguarding Human Dignity … Shining a Light on Human Trafficking”
Student Admission $15
Admission includes lunch and hand-outs
Register at www.diometuchen.org/choicesmatter or scan QR code here
Diocesan Youth Day recognizes youth are ‘wonderfully made’
Amid snow, ice and raw winter temps, Rosary for Life still prayed by faithful
Nearly 75 people braved the freezing temperatures Jan. 23, to pray the Rosary for an end to abortion outside a local abortion clinic located on Main Street in Woodbridge. The group gathered outside St. James Parish in Woodbridge after the 12:10 p.m. Mass celebrated by pastor, Vocationist Father Thomas Naduviledathu. From there, parishioners from across the Diocese processed to the clinic and prayed the Rosary in solidarity with those attending the National March for Life in Washington, DC.
By Christina Leslie Contributing Editor
St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Edison, was alive with the sound of joy-filled, God-centered praise Jan. 31 as more than 100 youth from grades eight through 12 gathered for the annual Metuchen Diocesan Youth Day.
This year’s theme was taken from Psalm 139:14, which proclaims, “I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works,” and included a diverse program of games, food, live music, Eucharistic Adoration, Confessions and the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.
Jay Donofrio, director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, described the teens’ enthusiastic participation and noted the attendance had increased 41 percent from last year’s
numbers. “Seeing over 100 youth gather for a day dedicated to Jesus Christ and his Church is such a blessing,” he said.
Catholic YouTube and television host Monét Souza delivered two powerful keynote addresses, and contemporary pop/indie folk musician Marisel Rodriguez inspired the youth to worship the Lord in song, Donofrio continued. “They helped open up the atmosphere and get everybody involved.”
Inviting the youth to make their way to the Sacrament of Confession were three priests of the Diocese: Father Timothy M. Eck, director of the Office of Divine Worship; Father Gregory Zannetti, parochial vicar in St. John Vianney Parish, Colonia; and Father David Keyes, the hosting high school’s Vice Principal for Catholic Mission. Father Eck, who also served as principal celebrant of the event’s concluding
Jennifer Ruggiero, Secretary for the Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, explained, “The Rosary for Life has been an ongoing event since the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade and put the decision to restrict or protect abortion back to the states. Sad ly, abortion continues to be legal in New Jersey and is protected as a fundamental right at any time during pregnancy with no gestational restrictions.”
—John Batkowski photos
Mass, reminded the youth that God knew them from eternity, even before they have accomplished anything.
“God is not looking for you to prove yourself, but calls you as you currently are to become the people God has made you to be,” Father Eck said in his homily. “Getting together with other people like us and our age can help show us that we are exactly the kind of person that God wants to know and love. We can be Catholic now, not wait until some future time.”
Donofrio labelled the upbeat and faith-filled Mass as “a beautiful conclusion to a great day.” He added, “Seeing such an increase in youth was very optimistic to where the Church currently stands. It was another reminder that if we can begin to plant the faith seeds in young people’s lives, that God will do all of the watering!”
14 St. Francis of Assisi: Recalling his unexpected journey to sainthood
Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed 2026 as the “Year of Saint Francis” to mark the 800th anniversary of the “happy passing of Saint Francis of Assisi from earthly life to his heavenly homeland (Oct. 3, 1226).”
Saint Francis of Assisi is known to most of us as the saint of peace. We recall the words of his canticle: “Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow your love; where there is injury, your pardon, Lord … where there is doubt, true faith in you …”
In brief, Francis was born in 1181 and died in 1226. He was an Italian mystic and friar, born to a wealthy merchant family, who founded the Franciscan Order after a radical conversion, embracing a life of poverty, preaching, and deep love for nature. His life marked a significant spiritual renewal in our Catholic faith, focusing on Gospel ideals and compassion for all creation. We celebrate his feast day on October 4.
In his youth by age 14, Francis left school and became a rebellious teenager who frequently drank, partied and broke the city curfew. He was expected to follow his father into the family textile business but was bored by the prospect of life in the cloth trade. He began daydreaming of a future as a Knight.
War broke between Assisi and Perugia in 1202, and Francis eagerly took his place with the cavalry. Francis and the men of Assisi came under heavy attack, and in the face of superior numbers, they took flight. The whole battlefield was soon covered with the bodies of butchered, mutilated men, screaming in agony.
Unskilled and with no combat experience, Francis was quickly captured by enemy soldiers. Dressed like an aristocrat and wearing expensive new armor, he was considered worthy of a decent ransom, and the soldiers decided to spare his life. He and the other wealthy troops were taken as prisoners, led off to a dank underground cell. After a year in such miserable conditions – awaiting his father’s payment – Francis may well have contracted a serious disease. He would later report that during this time he began to receive visions from God.
After a year of negotiations, Francis’ ransom was accepted, and he was released from prison in 1203. When he came back to Assisi, however, he was a very different man. Upon his return, he was dangerously sick in both mind and body – a battle-fatigued casualty of war.
One day, as legend has it, while riding on a horse in the local countryside, Francis encountered a leper. Viewing the
Philip Fruytiers, St. Francis of Assisi, oil on canvas, 259.5 x 169.3 cm, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
Prayer to St. Francis
“Saint Francis, our brother, you who eight hundred years ago went to meet Sister Death as a man at peace, intercede for us before the Lord.
You recognized true peace in the Crucifix of San Damiano, teach us to seek in Him the source of all reconciliation that breaks down every wall.
You who, unarmed, crossed the lines of war and misunderstanding, give us the courage to build bridges where the world raises up boundaries.
In this time afflicted by conflict and division, intercede for us so that we may become peacemakers: unarmed and disarming witnesses of the peace that comes from Christ.”
~ Pope Leo XIV from his “Letter to the Ministers of the
leper as a symbol of Christ and moral conscience, he embraced and kissed him. After this incident, Francis felt an indescribable freedom and his earlier lifestyle suddenly lost all of its appeal.
Francis, now in his early 20s, began turning his focus toward God. Instead of working, he spent an ever-increasing
His Church and to live a life of extreme poverty. Francis obeyed and devoted himself to his faith. He began preaching around Assisi and was soon joined by 12 loyal followers. Never ordained a priest, St. Francis nonetheless was a preacher and a miracle-worker – healing, prophesying, and casting out demons.
Some regarded Francis as a madman or a fool, but others viewed him as one of the greatest examples of how to live the Christian ideal. In order to raise money to rebuild the Church, he sold a bolt of cloth from his father’s shop, along with his horse. His father became furious upon learning of his son’s actions and dragged Francis before the local bishop. The bishop told Francis to return his father’s money. He stripped off his clothes, and along with them, returned the money back to his father, declaring that God was now his only father. This event is credited as Francis’ final conversion, and there is no indication that Francis and his dad ever spoke again.
The bishop gave Francis a rough tunic, and dressed in these new humble clothes, Francis left Assisi. He embraced Christ-like poverty which was a radical notion at the time because the Church was extremely rich. With his incredible charisma, he set out to reestablish Gospel values and in so doing he drew thousands of followers. They listened to Francis’ sermons and joined in his way of life. They soon became known as Franciscan friars.
Continuously pushing himself in the direction of spiritual perfection, Francis was soon preaching in up to five villages per day, teaching the Christian faith in words that ordinary people could understand.
In 1224 Francis reportedly received a vision that left him with the stigmata of Christ – marks resembling the wounds that Jesus Christ suffered when he was crucified, through his hands and a gaping wound in his side. They would remain visible for the rest of his life. Because of his earlier work treating lepers, some believe that the wounds were actually symptoms of leprosy.
As Francis approached death, many predicted that he was a saint in the making. When his health began to decline more rapidly, Francis went home. Knights were sent from Assisi to guard him and to make sure that no one from neighboring towns would carry him off (the body of a saint was viewed, at the time, as an extremely valuable relic that would bring, among many things, glory to the town where it rested).
amount of time at a remote mountain hideaway as well as in old, quiet churches around Assisi, praying, looking for answers, and helping nurse lepers. During this time, while praying before an old Byzantine crucifix at the Church of San Damiano, Francis reportedly heard the voice of Christ, who told him to rebuild
Francis of Assisi died on Oct. 3, 1226, at the age of 44, in Assisi, Italy. Today, he has a lasting resonance with millions of followers across the globe. He was canonized as a saint just two years after his death, on July 16, 1228. Father Hillier serves as diocesan director, Office of Pontifical Mission Societies, the Office for Persons with Disabilities and Censor Librorum.
Conference of the Franciscan Family on the Occasion of the Opening of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of St. Francis of Assisi,” Jan. 10, 2026.
For the Sake of God and Country: Respond, don’t react
Contemplative democracy, anyone?
As with other people of faith, Catholics laudably bring our religious moral values to public life, no matter the partisan party lines that we may vote along. Our Catholic social doctrine is a great practical guide in forming us to be truly faithful citizens.
However, most of us would acknowledge that over at least the last fifteen or twenty years, politics in the United States has only gotten more overheated, polarized, exasperating and turbulent, just to name a few negative realities. And, as Catholics we, too, have participated in raising this collective temperature of rancor and division.
When I discuss the benefits of contemplative practice in conversations or presentations with parishioners, the comment that often draws the most positive resonance is when I observe that, for people for whom contemplation has become a way of being, they also have become more responsive and less reactive in their behaviors, as a result.
People want to learn more about this because we know too well our reactive nature. We are frustrated and maybe even feel helpless about it. Because of reactivity, folks become easily and regularly triggered to road rage or lashing out at loved ones or generally overreacting and acting impulsively in many and various situations.
The political arena is rife with peril for those with reactive tendencies. Simply landing on the “wrong” cable news channel or reading a provocative social media post can amp up the blood pressure, get the reactive juices flowing and potentially result in an out-of-control and/or regrettable reaction.
The remedy, of course, is acting responsively. When we are responding, we can be measured and thoughtful. We all have potential to develop an inner poise and spaciousness, a reservoir of calm that takes longer to dry up and become triggered into reactive behaviors.
Having a regular, disciplined contemplative practice is a great asset in building up our responsiveness and getting us away from reactive mode. For example, someone may tell us, “Take a deep breath” when they sense we are getting worked up, or reactive. But if we have a longstanding routine of taking deep breaths as part of a 20-minute meditation session twice daily, for example, no one has to tell us to “take a deep breath” anymore. As we go deeper within, more attentive and engaged with
the present moment, with our hearts open wide, we can return to our grounded center on a moment’s notice, and not let the “heat of the moment” get the best of us. Everything is not simply right or wrong, win or lose and other false “either/or” dichotomies, and the contemplative practitioner can live comfortably in non-duality, ambiguity, paradox, complexity, vulnerability, humility and silence.
Translating contemplative practice to the rough-and-tumble world of American political life may seem like a most unrealistic and naïve stretch, however. At the micro level, at least, I think we can see that each responsive, aware and grounded person brings a small but positive contribution to all levels of society, from family life to public citizenry.
Interestingly, it was not a monk or nun who wrote the 2025 book, “Contemplative Democracy,” but a professor of political science. In her work, Shannon Mariotti addressed the reactive/responsive contrast: “Contemplative practices constitute a holding environment that is similarly valuable for democracy in cultivating care, concern, compassion, and love, in moving us beyond the narrow parameters of the self and atomistic individualism, and in giving us a space to work through our affective states so that we can respond to others instead of just reacting. Contemplative practices can help us cultivate a new consciousness.”
It would still be quite the prodigious leap to go from an increase in people who regularly practice contemplation to a country that could be characterized as a “contemplative democracy,” especially a nation as large as the United States.
And yet, at its roots, the word democracy comes from the Greek words demos and kratos, or, “people” and “power.” With this being the 250th anniversary year of the founding of our
country as the fruit of people power, the American Revolution, we can dream and pray that somehow a similar contemplative revolution can take hold in our land, so that it may give rise at least to a more responsive, less reactive democracy, if
not an outright contemplative one.
Msgr. Kerrigan is pastor of St. Joseph Church, Bound Brook, and an instructor in the Institute of Contemplative Leadership at Mepkin Abbey, SC.
—Sage Friedman photo/Unsplash
Eucharistic Adoration
Eucharistic Adoration takes on special significance during Lent. We are blessed to have speakers who will provide reflections during Adoration. Below are the speakers for each Monday at 7 p.m., beginning Monday, February 23:
February 23 – Rev. Msgr. John N. Fell
March 2 – Bishop Arthur Joseph Serratelli
March 9 – Rev. Msgr. Gregory E. S. Malovetz
March 16 – Sister Alice Ivanyo, MPF
March 23 – The Honorable Esther Salas (United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey)
Consider spending one hour in prayer before the Son of God.
St. Augustine of Canterbury Church
45 Henderson Road, Kendall Park, NJ 08824
We have our work cut out for us: it’s time to tackle Lent
When I bought my last car, I thought that I found perfection. This car was well built. It handled well on the road. It got good gas mileage. I always wanted a Chevy and finally found one that had just the right shade of blue. Then, one day, I was driving and suddenly a bird took aim right on the hood. Instantaneously, it dawned on me that the car was no longer perfect. In fact, the bird’s donation managed to eat through the wax and nearly the paint.
Analogously, ashes have that kind of effect on us. Every year, through the signing with ashes, the Church reminds us that we are not perfect, that there is still room for improvement in our lives, that we can become even better disciples of Jesus.
And so, through the holy season of Lent, the Church encourages us to do whatever it takes to become better followers of Jesus. On this journey, prayer, fasting and almsgiving – we consciously ratify once again the covenant that we entered through Baptism while, concomitantly, we grow in our appreciation of what Jesus has done for us and our
salvation. Lent is not only a time to say “I’m sorry for my sins” to God; it’s also a great opportunity to say “thanks” for the gift of salvation, a precious gift won for us through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Lent should also be a time when we ask ourselves, “What do I have to do, in order to become more like Jesus?” Do I need to be more compassionate? Do I need to be more forgiving? Recall what Jesus said to the woman caught in adul-
tery. Do I need to be more patient and thereby less angry when someone does or says something offensive?
Do I need to be more prayerful? What about my attitude to the marginalized, those who no longer go to church? Do I need to stop judging the homeless, the immigrant, those who suffer from mental illness? Do I look at these people as “misfits?” Am I charitable toward those less fortunate? Am I supportive of my faith community, of the Missions, of
The scrambled schooling of a scribbler – part 2
“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter; ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Mark Twain’s famous statement about words is good advice for all speakers and writers. Though I don’t remember hearing it at the time, when I took up writing I certainly put it into practice. As I mentioned in an earlier article, I began writing because I wanted a hobby, and writing is both cheap and portable, and does not demand any special manual dexterity.
In the process of enlarging my scanty knowledge of English literature, I read Boswell’s “Life of Samuel Johnson.” I learned there that a good training for a would-be writer is to develop the practice of attentively monitoring one’s thoughts, carefully choosing the words one uses in one’s mind so that when, setting pen to paper, one’s phrases and sentences would already be well expressed. As one French writer put it, “What is well conceived is clearly expressed, and the words for saying it are easily found.”
I put this exercise in thinking into practice with a vengeance! I considered every sentence that came to my mind, weighing the exact meaning of every word to find the perfect expression to
fit my thought, choosing between various synonyms, adjusting adjectives and adverbs to suit the most exacting resonance. Not only this: I also considered the rhythm and phrasing of every thought, making sure that the emphasis resulting from the natural tone of each word would ensure that the internal flow of the sentence would highlight the important words.
I also played with words. As the title
AS WE WERE SIGNED WITH ASHES –AS WE HEARD THE WORDS “TURN AWAY FROM SIN AND BE FAITHFUL TO THE GOSPEL,” LET US DEDICATE OURSELVES TO MAKING THESE FORTY DAYS A TIME TO TURN TOWARD GOD AND, IN THE PROCESS, A TIME TO CHERISH THE GIFT OF NEW LIFE WHICH IS OURS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
the annual Bishop’s Appeal?
As we were signed with ashes – as we heard the words “turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel,” let us dedicate ourselves to making these forty days a time to turn toward God and, in the process, a time to cherish the gift of new life which is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Father Comandini serves as diocesan coordinator of the Office for Ongoing Faith Formation.
of this article shows, I enjoy alliterations. Puns I considered to be beyond my ability, for it seemed to me that one must be very intelligent to make a pun! Then I discovered that it is possible to train oneself to think “punningly:” instead of trying to fit a pun to a situation, I would imagine a situation and then search for a pun to fit the situation. This trained my mind to seek for possible puns, and I quickly became a punster.
This work of critiquing and re-working my thoughts became an ingrained habit. I even remember once in a dream, going back to the beginning of that dream to correct the initial image because I disliked the wallpaper in the bedroom.
When I was 29, I entered Carmel, bringing with me some six or seven years of intense literary training. I found that this had both advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages was my habit of thinking in puns. I decided that I needed to deprogram myself and cut down on the puns. I still like them and I will certainly not disdain a good pun, but like jalapeño, puns should be used in moderation, to enhance a text, not to overwhelm it.
I also found that I could relax my verbal monitoring. I don’t need to turn a note about taking out the trash into an
exercise in English prose.
The advantages of my self-training turned out to be tremendous! The Carmelite Rule states, “He who is careless in speech will come to harm” (Prov. 13, 3), and “The use of many words brings harm to the speaker’s soul” (Sir. 20, 8), and Jesus said, “Every rash word will have to be accounted for on judgment day” (Mt. 12, 36). Finally, “Make a balance then, each of you, to weigh his words in” (Sir. 28, 29).
Without knowing it, I had given myself a solid formation in an essential aspect of religious life. In fact, in an essential aspect of Christian life. The Scripture verses don’t apply only to religious, but to all those who want to live their faith in a deep way. In the Letter of James, we read, “Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect.” (Jas. 3, 2) To paraphrase an English proverb, “Take care of your thoughts, and your words will take care of themselves.”
Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington. Learn more at www. flemingtoncarmel.org.
—Philippe Spitalier photo/Unsplash
—Thays Orrico photo/Unsplash
JUBILEE OF ST. FRANCIS
Commemorating the 800th Anniversary of His Death
The Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi has been designated a Pilgrimage Site for the Jubilee Year. Join us as we celebrate the life, legacy, and spirituality of St. Francis through prayer, reflection, and community celebration.
Franciscan Spirituality Lecture Series
Come visit our Cathedral for this special lecture series exploring the beauty and depth of Franciscan spirituality.
April 16 at 7:00 PM th April 30 at 7:00 PM th May 7 at 7:00 PM th
January 10, 2026 - January 10, 2027 Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi 45 Library Place Metuchen, New Jersey (732)-548-0100
For a full schedule of Jubilee Year celebrations and activities, visit www.stfranciscathedral.org
When I was younger, I wondered why my mother became so curmudgeonly as she aged. Normally a happy, sweet, well-loved person, especially by the teens she worked with in the local high school, she began to lose her patience with people’s behavior and would react unexpectedly.
I worried that she would embarrass me in the check-out line of the supermarket by chastising the check-out clerk or embarrass a slow server when we stopped by the diner for lunch.
My mother was sometimes described as a “Pollyanna,” someone who saw everything in terms of sweetness and light, and maybe she was. I began to believe that the change coming over her was founded in her realization that situations, and people, were not always as she believed them to be. She was frustrated, and hurt, by a truth for which she wasn’t prepared.
Aging is not easy. It brings physical challenges that may limit us in how we live out the precious time remaining to us. It can also bring unexpected wisdom which often forces us to face uncomfortable truths about ourselves and others. That can be hard, but the discomfort can also be an invitation to change.
It seems those who value this newfound wisdom and face those truths are those who tend to age with grace. They begin to appreciate seeing the world with genuine insight. They learn to align their actions with their deepest values and live with an understanding of who they are becoming, not just who they have been.
They have learned to live intentionally.
At its core, intentional living begins with awareness. When we take the time
Getting to the root of intentional living
to evaluate our lives, we discover we often go through our days relying on habit, checking off the boxes on our to-do list, and fearing we will never be more than we are at this moment.
Intentional living wakes us up to the possibilities that are still ours. It means slowing down, making conscious choices about how we spend our time and energy,
and paying attention to how our lives are impacted by what others say and do, as well as by what we say and do.
One of the most transformative expressions of intentional living is learning to listen well. True listening goes far beyond hearing words, so easily said but often lacking sincerity or truth. It is an art that requires two things – we need to
stop talking and we need to quiet our ego.
Living intentionally through deep listening has the ability to change us.
On the one hand, as we focus less on ourselves and more on understanding others, our perspective widens. We become less reactive and more compassionate. We learn patience, because meaningful listening cannot be rushed. We learn empathy, because we regularly step into experiences different from our own. Slowly, our inner lives become quieter and more grounded, shaped less by assumptions and more by understanding.
On the other hand, listening well enables us to set boundaries, to protect our spiritual and physical health, to place our trust in our own perceptions and intuition, and to value who we are as God’s creation.
It’s a process, and with any process there are ups and downs, success and failures, and questions, like, “Just how do I go about being intentional?”
I began the process, and the understanding of being intentional, one day during prayer – prayer at that time being my whining and complaining to God about the stresses of my life and asking for help in dealing with them. I would ask God questions, like, “Do you not see what is going on??” Or when faced with yet another crisis, I would simply respond, “Seriously??”
During these times of prayer, I never heard God speak to me in any way, until one morning when I was praying while stuck in traffic, I distinctly heard, “What is your root?”
Not exactly what I would have expected, but it led to a lot of reflection. I needed to remember that God, and nothing else, was my root, my “shoresh” in Hebrew Scripture – my source, the unseen grounding element of life, and my life’s origin.
Now, trying to live with intention brings up one question in the moment of every choice: Where is God?
It’s a question worth asking.
Small, intentional moments at home can form a child’s faith, strengthen roots
By Mary Morrell, Editor-in-Chief
The home is the most powerful place to shape intentional faith. When led by parents, grandparents and other important adults in their lives, children experience faith as a legacy not just a lesson, and, yes, there is a powerful difference.
Simply put, a lesson informs, legacy forms, reaching deeper because it shapes identity, a sense of belonging, and long-term direction. Legacy is the difference between, “This is what you should do,” and “This is who we are.”
When a child hears, “In our family, we forgive,” or “In our family, we tell the truth,” they aren’t just learning good behavior. They are hearing a story in which they have an important role. They belong, and that is much more powerful than obligation.
The power of legacy relies on the stories of generations. Some of the most memorable stories for me were the ones my dad told of living through the Great Depression, of having to leave school in eighth grade to get a job and help his mom pay their bills, stories of how having to work so hard and get by with so little made him resilient and grateful for the things he managed to earn as he grew up and started a family.
When parents and grandparents share stories of faith during hardship, courage in uncertainty and God’s faithfulness over decades, children begin to think, “This faith sustained my family before me.” Hopefully, it will grow into, “This faith can also sustain me.”
This knowledge creates roots and research shows that rooted children are more resilient. It also shows that children who know family stories have a stronger sense of identity, greater emotional stability and more strength to persevere.
Some of the most important parts of the legacy we create and leave with our children comes from how we respond to disappointment, how we handle conflict, how we navigate loss, and how we speak about others. Children remember what we did when it was hard, and that experience is carved into their legacy.
If we can say they will remember that we tried our best, turned to prayer, relied on God, were charitable to others and strove to always remember the grace and gifts that were ours, even in our moments of weakness or when we made mistakes, then we can put our faith in the legacy of our family – the family of God.
—Jason Weingardt photo/Unsplash
20 Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification moves ahead after six-year pause
PEORIA, Ill. (OSV News) – Venerable Fulton J. Sheen will soon be beatified, now that the Vatican has given the green light, the Diocese of Peoria announced Feb. 9. No date or location for the beatification was given. The announcement comes six years after the Holy See postponed his beatification, originally scheduled for December 2019, just weeks before the ceremony. Archbishop Sheen’s cause, opened in 2002, stalled amid two controversies: a dispute over relocating his remains from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to Peoria, Illinois, and concerns about whether he adequate-
ly addressed clergy sexual abuse while serving as bishop of Rochester from 1966-1969. However, no accusation has been raised that impugned Archbishop Sheen, and meanwhile, devotion to the archbishop has only increased. Born in 1895 in Illinois, Archbishop Sheen became one of the most influential Catholic evangelists in U.S. history, reaching millions through radio, television and print. Known as “God’s microphone,” he hosted NBC’s “The Catholic Hour” and the Emmy-winning TV program “Life Is Worth Living.” He was declared venerable in 2012.
A volume of the “positio,” the official position paper for the sainthood cause of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is displayed in Rome May 24, 2011. The “positio” was presented by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill., to Pope Benedict XVI during the pontiff’s May 25 general audience at the Vatican. —CNS photo/Paul Haring
Sheen’s life, legacy drew on knowing Jesus personally, say experts
By Gina Christian, OSV News
(OSV News) – With the Feb. 9 announcement of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen’s beatification, experts told OSV News the renowned 20th-century theologian and evangelizer spoke not only to his time, but to the present – with a clear, hopeful and accessible message firmly centered on Christ’s saving love for humanity.
“I think he has a lot to say to us in this moment,” Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois – where Archbishop Sheen is entombed, and home to his cause for canonization – told OSV News. “I’m always amazed as I encounter clips of things he said or things that he wrote, how pertinent it is to the world today.”
Archbishop Sheen – a prolific author, ardent evangelizer and pioneering religious broadcaster – “was a voice of reason,” said Bishop Tylka. “He was a voice of truth.”
“He was very direct,” said Richard Howick, director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Excellence in Preaching Initiative at The Catholic University of America, which provides homiletics training and resources for priests, deacons, and lay leaders. “He had no problem talking point blank about some of the most important issues of our day.”
Those topics included scathing critiques of communism and Marxism, the dangers of secularism, the disintegration of the family, and the modern pivot from a Judeo-Christian understanding of human nature.
Yet, said Howick, the late archbishop “was always positive.
“Almost every single time he opened his mouth to begin a subject, he would start with a story or a joke or something light, in order to remind everyone that the conversation is about the positive.”
And that positive focus, in turn, pointed to the Gospel message, said Bishop Tylka.
“He (Archbishop Sheen) was a voice that promoted human dignity and respect for others,” said the bishop. “He called us to be a people who show compassion and care for those who are most vulnerable in our world.”
Archbishop Sheen was known for his ability to rally support for those in need, raising millions during his 19501966 tenure as national director of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith, one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies – and for his tremendous personal generosity, said Cheryl C.D. Hughes, author of the 2024 book “Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Convert Maker.”
“He gave away his coat twice,” Hughes told OSV News. “On a cold New York day, he saw somebody shivering and said, ‘Here, take my coat.’”
Hughes added that while Archbishop Sheen, who was “being paid several thousands of dollars a night” in speaker fees, “could have luxuriated in all of his earnings,” he instead “gave it away” – including to the now-closed St. Martin de Porres Hospital in Mobile, Alabama, which served Black women amid segregation.
“He was a ‘person-to-person’ person,” said Hughes. “He was very intuitive when it came to individuals, about what they needed, what would be the best thing for them, the best tactic for opening the door to them. He had empathy for the human condition. Everyone to him was a child of God, and they were his brothers and his sisters.”
Whether writing one of his 66 books, evangelizing to millions, caring for individuals or rallying support for the missions, Archbishop Sheen drew on a profound and personal relationship with Christ, said Msgr. Jason Gray, a priest and official of the Diocese of Peoria, and executive director of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, located in that city.
“I think that people would fail to
really understand Sheen unless they knew that this was coming out of a deep, personal spiritual life,” which made the archbishop’s work “effective,” Msgr. Gray told OSV News.
“Lots of people are on the internet. They’re on podcasts. They’re on media. There’s a lot of people preaching about Jesus Christ,” Msgr. Gray noted.
But, he said, Archbishop Sheen “didn’t just talk about Jesus. This is someone who knew Jesus.”
Msgr. Gray pointed to Archbishop Sheen’s “time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, his daily holy hour,” and “his intimate devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
That time translated into a compelling witness for the faith, one that transcended the media platforms he used to disseminate the Gospel, said Msgr. Gray.
“You sense his personal conviction when you hear him speak,” he said. “Sheen had a genuineness that came through the camera, right through into the homes of people, and it spoke right into their hearts.”
For that reason, Archbishop Sheen’s work appeals to younger generations today, said Msgr. Gray.
“Oftentimes integrity is in such short supply,” he said. “Because people are searching for meaning, there’s something really powerful about someone who is so confident in what he’s saying. When he speaks about the gift of eternal life, he is doing so with such conviction. And I think young people respond to that.”
“Youth have already discovered him,” said Bishop Tylka, citing the contrast between Archbishop Sheen’s faith, charity and humor and “so many inauthentic messengers.”
“The number of young people I talk to, especially young men in seminaries, they very much know about Fulton Sheen,” the bishop said. “Young people are saying, ‘I want to hear somebody who’s going to
of the most influential and innovative evangelists in American history. Once dubbed “God’s microphone,” Sheen announced God’s truth in a nonconfrontational, yet no less life-giving, manner to untold millions through radio, print and television. —OSV News file photo
challenge me to be better. I want to hear somebody who’s speaking truth.’”
Bishop Tylka said that given challenges both in the U.S. and globally –especially regarding peace, justice and human dignity – “Sheen is a voice from the past who really has given us a lot of wisdom, and a reason to stop and consider how we are living our lives today, particularly from the perspective of living out our faith.”
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @ GinaJesseReina.
How Archbishop Sheen embodied the 7 key virtues
By Michael R. Heinlein, OSV News
With his beatification once again on track, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will be memorialized in the Church for reasons far beyond his contributions to the Church’s intellectual life or his evangelical zeal, incredible and legendary though they are. As the Church prepares to acknowledge the reasonable hope that he is in heaven, Sheen’s life of heroic virtue now belongs to the ages – and indeed, what better could be remembered about his or any life?
Sheen is a model for those striving for holiness. Through his practice of the theological and cardinal virtues, which comprise the primary characteristics of candidates for sainthood, Sheen’s life gives a glimpse of what ours could and should resemble.
Faith
Faith illuminated Sheen’s life above all else. He knew that his Redeemer lives, and it shaped and defined everything about him. “If you do not live what you believe, you will end up believing what you live,” Sheen once said.
The strength of Sheen’s faith meant he could do nothing other than dedicate himself to the mission of making Christ known and beloved. Initially immersed in academia, Sheen studied philosophy and theology. He wrestled with the enduring questions of faith and reason, and, as a professor, he clearly taught their integration.
A successor of the Twelve, Sheen possessed a faith marked by an apostolic zeal for souls. He put his many gifts to the service of transmitting God’s word in fresh, attractive and convincing ways, and the internal depth of his faith came across so magnetically that he attracted millions to the truth.
A faithful son of the Blessed Mother, Sheen devotedly adhered to her example. He abandoned himself to God’s providence, following Mary’s directive to do whatever Christ tells us.
Hope
Sheen had a great hope and longing for eternal life. He trusted that God was in control and that God’s designs all worked for the good. To multitudes, Sheen imparted that life truly is worth living.
Amid troubled times and with a joyful persuasion, Sheen proclaimed to the world that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we know God has the final word. Sheen gave people reasons for hope amid darkness. Ultimately, he wanted others to desire eternal life as much as he did.
Sheen’s exercise of hope also meant he knew the importance and value of suffering as a share in Christ’s cross. Well-acquainted with suffering, Sheen trusted that not only did it have a purpose for the good, it was to be embraced for our salvation. He once said, “In the end, we will discover that sometimes when we are very good the suffering is to make us better, and we will have a higher place in heaven.”
inno-
many talents and accomplishments, but it was Christ who enabled him to use them in the best ways.
It was charity that motivated Sheen’s zeal for souls. Bringing others to Christ was the greatest good he could perform in service to them, and it often came in the form of self-sacrifice. With a pastoral heart, Sheen lived for others. He offered wise counsel with fatherly love. And he gave of himself constantly. Even his time was not his own, for he devoted himself to his studies and in preparation for his ministry of evangelization, for work on behalf of the missions or in the diocese that he governed.
Where Sheen saw a need, he responded in charity. He loved his neighbor as himself. He once preached about our judgment: “Show me your hands. Have you a scar from giving? A scar of sacrificing yourself for another? Show me your feet. Have you gone about doing good? Were you wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?”
Sheen’s love of Christ also was manifested in a love for the poor and marginalized, often in hidden ways. He also worked to raise funds for the foreign missions and donated the vast majority of the earnings from his books and television show for that purpose. “Never measure your generosity by what you give, but by what you have left,” Sheen wrote.
Prudence
Sheen exercised prudence by trusting in God’s providence. It attuned him to listen for God’s voice, even when God spoke through others. Sheen did not rush to judgments, taking time to prayerfully discern. When he listened to others, either those who were seeking advice or those who were giving it to him, Sheen exhibited a twofold attentiveness: first, to the person with him, but, moreover, to what God might be saying in the given situation. This was no easy task for a man of Sheen’s enormous responsibilities and fame.
Charity
Charity is intrinsic to the Christian life. St. Paul said it is the “greatest” of the virtues. As Sheen put it himself, “it does not require much time to make a saint. It requires only much love.”
Sheen once said that “the greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host.” This was the love that transformed him. His daily Eucharistic Holy Hour was legendary. From the day of his ordination to the day of his death, Sheen spent an hour a day praying in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. From his office desk, through an open door, he could gaze upon the tabernacle at all times. His union with Christ enabled him to more fully, more accurately and more convincingly lead others to Christ in all he said and did. Sheen was a man of
of God was no abstract theological concept for Sheen, but it was a lived reality. Sheen advocated for social justice – from racial harmony to an end to war and violence. He treated people equally and made himself available to all, no matter their status. Sheen was approachable to the greatest as much as to the least.
Fortitude
Sheen exhibited fortitude amid an abundance of difficulties in both private and public life. Committed to a life of holiness and virtue, he refused to compromise on his own convictions and beliefs. In the face of trials, Sheen remained a joyful and indefatigable herald of the Gospel, admired for maintaining peace of the soul.
Sheen’s happiness was found in the knowledge that God always brings good out of any situation. Publicly, Sheen’s fortitude was seen in his preaching of hard truths. Consider here his prophetic critiques of American society or his staunch denunciations of communism at the height of its flourishing. Amid his successes and popularity, Sheen quietly yet bravely faced envy, contempt and their resulting pain – especially from other members of the hierarchy.
“The real test of the Christian, then, is not how much he loves his friends,” Sheen once wrote, “but how much he loves his enemies.” By the end of his life, a purified Sheen could say, “I’ve had a great deal of suffering in the 83 years of my life – physical suffering, and other suffering, which should never [have] happened, but lasted over many years. And yet, as I look back, I know very well that I have never received the punishment that I deserved. God has been easy with me.”
Sheen exhibited heroic doses of self-control, humility and kindness, which also were antidotes to the temptations presented to him throughout life, especially those associated with his accomplishments, accolades, position and fame.
A supernatural prudence shone through his dealings with others. Keenly aware of how greatly others admired him or wanted to be in his inner circle, Sheen navigated such relationships with grace and distinction, employing equal amounts of caution and concern.
Justice
Sheen acted with justice toward God and others. Not taking himself too seriously, Sheen recognized that any talents he had were because of God working through him. In all that he said and did, Sheen remembered that his work was the Lord’s. Known for leading many to the Faith, particularly through his media ministry, Sheen once was asked by Pope Pius XII how many converts could be attributed to his work. Sheen replied, “I am always afraid if I did count them, I might think I made them, instead of the Lord.”
Sheen’s preaching and teaching also demanded the dignity of the human person. That all are made in the image
Temperance
Sheen allowed God to reign in his heart. As a man of temperance, he was not controlled and dominated by the passions of the will. He was not known for immoderate temper or humiliation of others, but instead for an attractive peacefulness that he achieved through self-control and moderation. In his interactions with others, Sheen often was meek, easy-going and gentle.
Not dependent or attached to earthly goods, Sheen’s habits of life were marked by simplicity, though he also appreciated the finer things of life. Not intent on storing up worldly treasures, Sheen cultivated a storehouse for eternity. He acknowledged his own sinfulness and sought reconciliation.
In the end, Sheen knew, like St. Augustine, that only in God could his heart find rest.
Michael R. Heinlein writes from Indiana.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, pictured in undated photos above, is remembered as one of the most influential and
vative evangelists in American history. —OSV News file photo (top), OSV News photo/Sheen Foundation (bottom)
22 Why Lent? A guide to its core practices
It’s easy to take things that we’re used to doing for granted. Lent’s just one of those Catholic customs that come around every year as the liturgical year moves through its cycles. But if we actually think about why we practice it, it may help us to get more out of it. I’d like to explore the “why” behind it to help us be more intentional in how we enter into Lenten practices this year.
Why Do Christians Observe Lent?
Lent exists to prepare us for Easter, the greatest Christian feast, helping us to be ready to receive its grace and celebrate with a renewed heart. Lent began as a multiday fast for new converts and those preparing them, as we see in one of the Church’s oldest documents, The Didache: “Before Baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whoever else can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.” The Easter Vigil was the primary time for Baptism as it marked the true Passover of moving from the death of sin into the true life of Christ. As we see in the quote, everyone was encouraged to fast with the converts, making the days before Easter a time of conversion for all Christians, marking a renewal of baptismal promises.
Why does it last 40 Days?
Technically, Lent is 46 days with forty days of fasting, as we do not fast on Sundays. From a couple of days in
LENT AROUND THE DIOCESE
the first century, Lent expanded over the next 200 years, until, by the fourth century, it matched the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert after his Baptism. In the early Church, serious sins required extended periods of penitence before receiving absolution, and Lent provided an important time for penitents to embrace fasting and other acts of penance before reconciliation at Easter. An extended penitential period caught on for the whole Church to imitate Jesus’ time in the desert. Taking more than just a few days helps us to break bad habits and to get into a rhythm of prayer and asceticism.
Why Prayer?
The three key practices of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Of the three, prayer is the foundation, because union with God is the goal of the Christian faith, giving life to everything we do. Jesus is our model during Lent, as he “withdrew to the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:16). During the 40 days in the desert, the devil assaulted him, but he withstood him, rooted in relationship with the Father. To be like him, we must withdraw to listen to the voice of the Father, to seek his will above all else.
Practically, this means taking time during Lent every day in silence, meditating on Scripture and embracing God’s presence in the stillness. The desert symbolizes this withdrawal from distractions to concentrate on the life of the spirit. But, like Jesus, there will be an assault on this time by the enemy, throwing up distraction, boredom and dryness. The battle of prayer requires perseverance in order to bear fruit, becoming a font of living water in the desert wilderness.
St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish
Kendall Park
Eucharistic Adoration
Eucharistic Adoration takes on special significance during Lent. Mondays, 7 p.m. speakers will offer reflections for Adoration.
Speakers
February 23 Rev. Msgr. John N. Fell
March 2 Bishop Arthur Joseph Serratelli
March 9 Rev. Msgr. Gregory E. S. Malovetz
March 16 Sister Alice Ivanyo, MPF
March 23 The Honorable Esther Salas (United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey)
Why Fasting?
If Jesus is our model, we must fast: “And he fasted 40 days and 40 nights, and afterward he was hungry” (Matthew 4:2). It may seem obvious to point out that he was hungry, but, in the Beatitudes, Jesus says that those who are hungry are blessed, for they will be satisfied. He teaches us to pray for our daily, supersubstantial bread, which is given by the Father from Heaven. If we stop filling ourselves with material food for a time of fasting, we may develop a deeper hunger for the things of the spirit. Throughout its history, Lent consisted essentially of a forty-day fast. Originally, it entailed fasting completely during the day, though in the Middle Ages, a collation (or snack) was allowed. No meat or animal products were permitted for the whole 46 days.
For us today, we can return to the 40-day tradition of fasting by forgoing at least some food every day of Lent (except Sundays). While it’s common to give up a favorite food, some actual fasting by skipping meals will help us recapture the original spirit of Lent and grow in spiritual hunger.
Why Almsgiving?
While we don’t see Jesus giving alms, his whole ministry consisted of lavishly bestowing his Father’s treasury of love and mercy. He teaches us to pray, fast and give alms in Matthew 6, echoing a powerful line from the Book of Tobit: “Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving and righteousness. … It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin” (Tobit 12:8-9). Almsgiving goes beyond the
St. Cecelia Parish, Iselin Lenten Fridays of Reflection, Repentence and Renewal
Schedule
5:30 p.m. “Souper Supper.” A light meal consisting of vegetarian soup, bread, fruit, and water provides an opportunity to practice fasting and abstinence. Attendees are invited to offer alms of the cost of a regular Friday night dinner.
6 p.m. Prayer activities begin with 30 minutes of Eucharistic Adoration
6:30 p.m. Guest speaker
7:15 p.m. Celebration of Mass
7:45 p.m. Stations of the Cross
Guest Speakers
Feb. 20 Father Albert Nzeh
Feb. 27 Brother Aaron Mariae, CFR
Mar. 6 Sister Alice Ivanyo, MPF
Mar. 13 Father Stephen Ehiahuruike, SDV
Mar. 20 Father Seraphim Molina, ST
Mar. 27 Sister Mary Joan Smith, SCC
tithe we owe to the Church, giving charity directly to the poor and those in need. During Lent, we seek forgiveness from God and make reparation for our sins in this time of penitence. Jesus unlocks the key: if you desire mercy, show mercy to others. Prayer seeks God, but we find him also in the poor and needy. That’s why we unite prayer and almsgiving. To have a fruitful Lent, we need to commit to taking concrete steps to provide financial assistance and other gifts to those in need. While it’s good to give charitable donations to ministries, it’s also important to find Christ person to person in the poor.
Why Spiritual Reading?
In addition to the three pillars of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, another traditional practice is to read a spiritual book during Lent. St. Benedict advised his monks to pick a book from the library and to read it straight through. A good spiritual book can give structure to our Lenten prayer, becoming a kind of focused retreat. Two recommendations are St. Alphonsus’s “The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ” and Bishop Erik Varden’s “Healing Wounds,” which he wrote as Bloomsbury’s 2025 Lent Book.
May you have a blessed Lent, serving a moment of renewal to prepare to receive the grace of the Resurrection anew at Easter.
Dr. R. Jared Staudt, Catholic Writer, Speaker, Scholar and Educator. Dr. Staudt’s column is distributed by the Denver Catholic, the official publication of the Archdiocese of Denver. Phone: 303-715-3230
Metuchen Cursillo Movement Annual Lenten Encounter with Christ “God’s Divine Mercy”
Sat., March 21, 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Mary, Mother of God Church 157 S. Triangle Road Hillsborough, N.J.
Speakers
Deacon Sal Bonfiglio, OFS, Mary, Mother of God Church
Father Gregory Zannetti, parochial vicar, St. John Vianney Church, Colonia
Includes: Mass, Stations of the Cross, Adoration, Confession, Benediction, Breakfast delights Free will offering appreciated.
president calls for Holy Hour of peace amid ‘current climate of fear’
By Gina Christian, OSV
Amid soaring domestic and global tensions, the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for a Holy Hour for peace as “a moment of renewal for our hearts and for our nation.”
(OSV News) – In a Jan. 28 statement, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the USCCB, said that “the current climate of fear and polarization, which thrives when human dignity is disregarded, does not meet the standard set by Christ in the Gospel.”
He pointed to “the recent killing of two people by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis and that of a detained man in Texas,” referencing the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, respectively, slain by federal agents Jan. 7 and 24 as they protested immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis.
Archbishop Coakley appeared to reference the death of Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos, whose Jan. 3 death in a Texas immigration detention facility has been ruled a homicide.
Campos, the third detainee to die at the facility, had pleaded for medication before apparently being slammed to the ground by guards, according to sworn court testimony by several fellow de-
tainees. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at the facility claimed Campos had died while attempting suicide and that guards had tried to save him. A federal judge on Jan. 27 blocked the federal government from deporting the witnesses until they could provide depositions.
The three deaths “are just a few of the tragic examples of the violence that represent failures in our society to respect the dignity of every human life,” said Archbishop Coakley. “We mourn this loss of life and deplore the indifference and injustice it represents.”
Archbishop Coakley’s message comes amid a growing chorus of outcry from the nation’s Catholic bishops over the increasingly frayed domestic and international order.
During their annual plenary meeting in November, the USCCB issued a special pastoral message on immigration, which condemned “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and prayed
Above, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is pictured in a file photo. In a Jan. 28, 2026, statement, Archbishop Coakley calls for a Holy Hour for peace as a step toward national healing following a trio of recent killings by immigration enforcement personnel.
—OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz
Left, a woman prays at a makeshift memorial in Minneapolis Jan. 25, 2026, at the site where Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse was fatally shot by federal agents trying to detain him. —OSV News photo/Tim Evans, Reuters
for “an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.”
In his Jan. 28 message, Archbishop Coakley acknowledged that “many people today feel powerless in the face of violence, injustice, and social unrest.
“To those who feel this way, I wish to say clearly: your faithfulness matters. Your prayers matter. Your acts of love and works of justice matter,” he said.
Archbishop Coakley said he was “deeply grateful for the countless ways Catholics and all people of good will continue to serve one another and work for peace and justice.
“Whether feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, accompanying the lonely, visiting the imprisoned, or striving daily to love their neighbors, no work of mercy or act of justice is ever wasted in the eyes of God,” said Archbishop Coakley.
“While proper laws must be respected, works of mercy, peacefully assembling, and caring for those in your community are signs of hope, and they build peace more surely than anger or despair ever could,” he said.
Referencing Matthew 10:42, he added, “Christ reminds us that even ‘a single cup of cold water’ given in his name will not go unrewarded.”
The archbishop invited “my brother bishops and priests across the United States to offer a Holy Hour for Peace in the days ahead,” providing a link to a USCCB webpage with instructions, Scripture readings and a “Litany of Peace.”
The instructions also included a passage from St. John Paul II’s 1987 en-
cyclical “Sollicitudo Rei Socialis” (“The Concern of the Church for the Social Order”), which in turn marked the 20th anniversary of St. Paul VI’s 1967 encyclical “Populorum Progressio” (“On the Development of Peoples”).
The quoted passage from St. John Paul II’s encyclical – which stressed the centrality of the Eucharist – affirmed that while “no temporal achievement is to be identified” with the awaited glory of God’s kingdom, “that expectation can never be an excuse for lack of concern for people in their concrete personal situations and in their social, national and international life, since the former is conditioned by the latter, especially today.”
“Let us pray for reconciliation where there is division, for justice where there are violations of fundamental rights, and for consolation for all who feel overwhelmed by fear or loss,” said Archbishop Coakley.
“I encourage Catholics everywhere to participate, whether in parishes, chapels, or before the Lord present in the quiet of their hearts for healing in our nation and communities,” he said.
“May this Holy Hour be a moment of renewal for our hearts and for our nation,” he added. “Entrusting our fears and hopes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us ask the Lord to make us instruments of his peace and witnesses to the inherent dignity of every person.”
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @ GinaJesseReina.
For resources for the Holy Hour for Peace visit: https://www.usccb.org/ prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/adoration/holy-hour-for-peace
2026 Bishop’s Annual Appeal
ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE of METUCHEN
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This past year, we were witnesses to an historic moment in the Catholic Church – the passing of our beloved Pope Francis to his eternal home and the election of Pope Leo XIV, the new successor of Peter. More recently, we witnessed the appointment of Bishop Checchio to his new role as Coadjutor Archbishop of New Orleans. The timing of this transition in our Church hierarchy – happening in the midst of our Jubilee Year of Hope – helped to remind us that God is always with us. Especially during periods of change, the light and strength of the Holy Spirit unites us and gives us the courage to continue our mission of loving and serving God and others.
The recent events at the Vatican brought attention to the broad expanse of the Catholic Church. Literally, millions of people from all “walks of life” and from countries around the world are part of the Universal Church. Yet, we are all “One in Christ: Called to Love and Serve.” As members of our diocesan family of Metuchen, our role in the Universal Church plays out right here in our four beautiful counties of New Jersey… in our parishes, our schools, our hospitals, our various ministries, and in our homes, too.
Your gift supports
Fostering Faith Development
Shaping the hearts and minds of our youth is a priority in the Diocese of Metuchen. The young need our attention and care. Every day they are confronted with a secular culture that constantly pulls at them and threatens their faith and morals at this vulnerable period in their spiritual formation. Through the work of the Offices of Schools, Catechesis, Youth & Young Adult ministry and Campus Ministry at Rutgers University, our children, teens and young adults grow to understand the roots of their faith and their responsibilities as Christians. Your gift to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal will help to preserve our faith for future generations.
Onein Christ
One significant way to effectively accomplish our mission at the local level is to combine our efforts and resources by contributing to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Your gift helps to ensure that our seminarians, deacons and lay leaders receive the preparation needed to fulfill their calling to serve our faith community. Likewise, you are supporting our efforts to bring Christ to our children and young adults, guiding them as they grow in the knowledge and practice of our Catholic faith. You are also responding to the needs of the poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable throughout our four counties.
Calledto Love&Serve
Please prayerfully consider a gift to the 2026 Bishop’s Annual Appeal. We need every family to join in this great effort. May we continue to embrace God’s call to be one with Him, as we love and serve one another.
Yours in Christ,
Very Reverend Jonathan S. Toborowsky Diocesan Administrator
Forming Our Future Shepherds
With your gift to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, we are committed to forming seminarians who will lead and serve the people of God as compassionate shepherds. We want leaders who can imitate Christ the Servant, loving our faithful, providing the sacraments and coordinating the pastoral care that is needed. Your support of priestly formation enables us to prepare our seminarians for the many aspects of pastoral ministry and helps cover the cost of tuition for their education, healthcare, insurance and so much more. With God’s help, they will become priests who are living witnesses to the love of Christ, in a world that desperately needs that witness.
Responding to the Call to Serve
The work of Catholic Charities is a tangible response to the Gospel call to care for the least among us. So many families are living too close to the edge, barely surviving paycheck to paycheck. They have no safety net and any small change in their life circumstances can result in homelessness. Every day people count on us. They are our neighbors, friends, parents, children and seniors. Yet each struggles with concerns about housing, food, isolation and their future. With your help, Catholic Charities served over 70,000 people last year. Your gift will allow us to continue to help the most vulnerable.
Dioceseof Metuchen
Sent on mission
All funds received from the 2026 Bishop’s Annual Appeal will be used, without exception, to provide the services described below.
& Young Adult Ministry
Discipleship Formation for Children Catholic Schools
The Catholic Spirit (diocesan newspaper) Communications Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA)
2026 Bishop’s Annual Appeal Goal $7,400,000
Ways to share gifts
Pledging: Choosing to pledge with your desired payment schedule over time may allow you to be more generous. Monthly reminders will be sent.
Gift by Check: Whether your gift is a one-time, paid-in-full gift or an installment of a pledged gift, please make your check payable to: Diocese of Metuchen-Bishop’s Annual Appeal.
Gift by Credit Card: Complete your gift and credit card information on your pledge card or visit our secure online giving site at https://diometuchen.org/ BAA
Gift of Appreciated Stock or Securities: Federal tax laws allow a charitable deduction for the full market value of stock or securities on the date they are gifted. For information on making such a gift, please contact the Office of Stewardship & Development at 732-562-2432.
Matching Your Gift: Corporate matching gifts are a great way to maximize your personal contribution. Go to www.matchinggifts.com/diometuchen or call 732-562-2432 for more information.
Leadership Giving
You are invited to join the community of benefactors who provide the leadership that inspires others to support the pastoral, educational and charitable ministries of the Diocese of Metuchen. Members contribute to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal at the following levels:
• CIRCLE of STEWARDS: $50,000 and above • BISHOP’S GUILD: $2,500 - $4,999
• SHEPHERD’S SOCIETY: $5,000 - $9,999 For 5 consecutive years
Legacy Society
The Legacy Society is our way of celebrating the generosity of Catholic friends who are providing for the future of the Church through a planned gift. Have you remembered your parish, parish school or a ministry of the Diocese of Metuchen in your will or estate plan? If so, please let us know so we can express our thanks for your commitment to advancing the mission of the Church by honoring you as a member at our annual prayer service and gathering. For more information on Planned Giving visit www.diometuchen.plannedgiving.org or call the Office of Stewardship & Development at 732-562-2432.
Parish rebates
To provide parishes with a share in the success of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal, parishes will receive rebates totaling 50% of the amount collected over goal. Rebates are not assessed and can be used for local needs at the pastor’s discretion. Some examples of how parishes used rebate funds in the past include: enhancing parish youth ministry programs, funding parish social events, increasing parish savings, fixing roofs and parking lots, as well as for capital purchases and the care and upkeep of parish buildings and grounds.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen P.O. Box 4000, Metuchen, NJ
26 National Blue Army Shrine designated pilgrimage site for extraordinary Marian Jubilee Year during First Saturday centennial
The Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Asbury, has been designated a place of pilgrimage to obtain an indulgence during the Marian Jubilee Year for the centennial of the First Saturday Devotion, Dec. 10, 2025 – Dec. 10, 2026.
It is the only shrine in the U.S. with this designation, along with the Shrine in Pontevedra, Spain, where Our Lady and the Child Jesus appeared to Venerable Sister Lucia on Dec. 10,1925, and asked for the devotion to be promulgated.
The shrine and Blue Army headquarters, located at 674 Mountain View Road East, is inviting people to make a pilgrimage here this year, especially on First Saturdays each month, and the 13th day celebrations from May – October. The shrine was built between 1973 – 1978 specifically to honor Our Lady of Fatima and answer the call of the Child Jesus to Lucia at Pontevedra, “… and have you spread throughout the world what the heavenly Mother asked you to do?”
The WAF Blue Army has also launched a 12-month First Saturday virtual pilgrimage through Portugal and Spain, visiting 12 sacred sites related to Fatima and the three seers. Each month participants are asked to complete the
First Saturday devotion, watch a short video of the site, filmed on location, and narrated by the shrine chaplain, Father Luke Mary Fletcher, CFR. After completing their First Saturday, participants can stamp a passport that tracks their virtual journey. It is designed for individuals, families, parishes and schools to participate.
“Immersed in the beauty and grace of Fatima, participants will discover anew its timeless message of conversion, prayer, and peace,” said Father Luke. “Together we will experience the grace of each place connected to the Fatima story.”
Visitor and event information for the shrine is at BlueArmyShrine.com or call 908-689-1700, x234. Passports and information about the First Saturday pilgrimage are at BlueArmy.com
The World Apostolate of Fatima is an International Public Association of the Faithful, the official voice for the Vatican on the message of Fatima.
Lent’s CRS Rice Bowl collection seen as more critical than ever after USAID cuts
By Kimberley Heatherington OSV News
“Are you leaving, too?”
The question, said Abena Amedormey – country representative for Catholic Relief Services in the west African nation of Ghana – came to CRS workers as they visited communities they serve after a January 2025 freeze on all U.S. foreign aid, ordered by the Trump administration.
By July 2025, the U.S. Agency for International Development – established in 1961, and which in 2024 provided $187 million in humanitarian funding to Ghana – effectively ceased to exist, with 85% of its programs cut. The result was that many in-country aid organizations also ceased operations.
But not CRS.
They’re surviving – yet the deep slashes to USAID funding have now made their annual Rice Bowl collection more essential than ever.
A familiar Lenten program of Catholic Relief Services – the official relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S. – CRS Rice Bowl offers faith communities in every diocese throughout the United States the opportunity to put their faith into action.
Since 1975, the titular rice bowl – a
brightly colored, cardboard almsgiving box that’s a familiar annual Lenten sight in parishes nationwide – has invited Catholics to pray, fast, and give in solidarity with the world’s poor.
“We’re very much known across Ghana,” Amedormey told OSV News.
“People know that we bring relief and we work with the most vulnerable people, where nobody wants to go. It’s the remotest parts of the country – the most hard to reach areas; the most vulnerable people – that we work with.”
But with the shuttering of USAID, that mission is threatened.
“A lot of organizations had to close shop overnight, had to lay off people, had to stop programming. These layoffs affected health care workers, agriculture extension officers, social workers and administrative staff,” Amedormey said.
Farmers lost subsidized fertilizer, improved seeds and training – which had all aimed to increase their crop yields.
Specialized teacher training was suspended, and children who looked forward to school meals could no longer be sure they’d have them.
All of it, said Amedormey, “had a huge impact.”
Yet, she remains committedly optimistic.
“One of the things that CRS has been faithful to is trying as much as possible to fill the gaps,” she said.
The Lancet, a peer-reviewed British medical journal published since 1823, estimated USAID assistance has saved more than 91 million lives, including that of 30 million children, over the past two decades.
The journal’s July 2025 prediction, however, was grim.
“Our estimates show that, unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030,” the Lancet forecast. The study noted that almost 14.1 million people could die by that year, with over 4.5 million deaths being children younger than 5.
“The big thing that has changed is our ability to deliver aid to the people that we are called to serve around the world,” said Beth Knobbe, CRS advisor on church mobilization. “It’s been limited in certain ways, given the dramatic cuts to U.S. humanitarian aid. Those cuts are just absolutely devastating to the people that CRS serves.”
“Hunger is not going away,” she warned. “There was a time when we were actually making tremendous strides in the fight against global hunger. And
Adriana, 14, pictured in Timor-Leste July 5, 2024, receives nutritious meals and learns about healthy eating habits during nutrition sessions at school in Timor-Leste. Catholic Relief Services supported nutrition and health initiatives for adolescent girls and young women across 21 communities in Timor-Leste. —OSV News photo/Benny Manser, Catholic Relief Services
what we have seen – really since the start of COVID – is just a complete reversal.”
“It’s even more important than ever that Catholics take seriously that call to
Continues on page
Answering human longings with Divine Truth
By Dr. Pierre-Alain Giffard
The words of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the New Testament, are not simply historical records or ethical teachings – they are living, powerful declarations that unveil God’s nature, offer salvation, and directly meet the deepest longings of the human soul. These statements provide a rich framework for sharing the Good News and engaging with the spiritual and emotional needs of all people. They can also be memorized and
Jesus’
shared thoughtfully to meet the specific needs discovered through listening with compassion.
The Good News is the core message of Christianity: that God, through Jesus Christ, has acted to redeem humanity. It centers on Jesus’ sacrificial death, victo rious resurrection, and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom. This message offers more than a promise of future bliss – it delivers present transformation, a renewed identity, and a relationship with God.
“I Am” statements are key to proclaiming the Gospel because each reveals a part of His divine identity and addresses a specific human need:
“I Am the Bread of Life” speaks to the deep spiritual hunger people experience. Only Jesus can provide lasting satisfaction and nourish the soul with eternal life.
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
“I Am the Light of the World” answers humanity’s need for truth and direction in a morally dark and confusing world. He brings clarity and hope.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
“I Am the Door” emphasizes Jesus as the only way to salvation and safety. He welcomes those who feel lost, excluded, or spiritually vulnerable.
“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
When sharing the Gospel, these statements can be powerful starting points. Rather than beginning with doctrine or debate, we can start with people’s needs – loneliness, anxiety, guilt, or the fear of death – and show how Jesus’ words directly address those realities. For instance, someone struggling with purposelessness can be introduced to Jesus as the Bread of Life, who offers deep fulfillment. A person overwhelmed by moral confusion can be shown Jesus as the Light of the World, who gives clear
Lent’s CRS Rice Bowl collection
Continues from page 26
live Lent,” Knobbe said. “CRS Rice Bowl gives people a chance to truly grow in solidarity with our global neighbors through their prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
“And that almsgiving is so critical,” she added, “because the needs are so great – both at home and around the world.”
Some 11,000 Catholic parishes and schools will participate in 2026, Knobbe said.
direction and truth. Jesus’ statements provide a bridge between a person’s personal struggles and the hope found in Him.
These words are filled with Spirit and are a source of Life. They invite people into more than just belief; they call for trust, connection, and discipleship. Jesus doesn’t just offer a solution – He offers Himself.
His teachings are not burdensome rules, but lifelines – truths that rescue us from despair, restore dignity, and anchor
In Honduras – where CRS has been since 1959, and programs primarily focus on agriculture, education, emergencies, and clean water – the challenges are also multiplying, and with it, the critical assistance from this year’s Rice Bowl collection.
“It’s a huge loss,” Haydee Diaz, CRS country manager for Honduras, told OSV News of the USAID cuts. “Because the government here doesn’t really have the resources to do the kind of improvements that tend to really change a school
“I Am the Good Shepherd” presents Jesus as the protector and guide who loves so deeply that He lays down His life for His sheep.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life” offers hope beyond death, promising resurrection and eternal life for those who believe.
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
“I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” powerfully asserts that Jesus is the exclusive path to God and the source of real, meaningful life.
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
“I Am the True Vine” reveals Jesus as the source of spiritual vitality. Just as a branch cannot live without the vine, our lives are fruitless without Him. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1).
us in God’s love. The statements of Jesus are uniquely effective for announcing the Good News because they are spoken by the One who not only understands human need but has the divine power to meet it. Each of Jesus’ declarations provides a direct answer to what every person longs for: truth, love, peace, identity, and eternal life.
When sharing the Gospel, using Jesus’ own words – especially the “I Am” statements – offers a personal way to connect the truth of salvation with the
system over time, and lead to a better- educated population. More jobs, people are better off. They’re able to stay and not be so desperate to migrate.”
The cutting of U.S. aid in combination with increased U.S. immigration restrictions is, it seems, an ironic paradox.
“As Americans, we say that we want people to stay home and not migrate to the US,” observed Diaz. “But we’ve cut the programs that give people a chance to really stay in their communities and
real-life experiences of those we speak to. These words can be prayerfully memorized and lovingly shared in moments of need, making the message of Christ not just heard but felt. This approach allows us to respond directly to people’s hearts with the compassionate, healing truth of Jesus.
These statements are timeless and relevant, providing a framework to introduce others to the One who still says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
thrive there.”
Nonetheless she hasn’t dimmed her outlook, particularly with the CRS Rice Bowl collection just around the corner.
“It’s been very inspiring to see the generosity of individuals in the middle of such a dark, difficult time, where so much international aid has been cut and international aid programs have really been dismantled,” Diaz said. “It’s been wonderful to see how individuals have stepped up, and really started to contribute.”
—Tatiana Cantus photo/Unsplash
WORLD & NATION
Pope adds feast day of St. John Henry Newman to universal calendar
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV has added the feast day of St. John Henry Newman, who is “a radiant light for the Church on pilgrimage through history,” to the General Roman Calendar so that “his Optional Memorial be celebrated by all on 9 October.” Cardinal Arthur Roche and Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, respectively prefect and secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, announced the Pope’s decision in a decree published by the Vatican Feb. 3. Cardinal Roche said the inclusion of St. Newman in the General Roman Calendar “is intended to present his figure as an outstanding example of the constant search for the truth that enlightens and saves” and to help the faithful contemplate him “as a man led by the ‘kindly light’ of God’s grace to find peace within the Catholic Church.” Bishops’ conferences around the world will need to translate from Latin the prayers issued by the dicastery for
Thousands
of Christians
Mass on his feast day as well as those used in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Roman Martyrology, and have the translations confirmed by the dicastery.
Sister Thea Bowman’s sainthood moving forward to Vatican review
John Henry Newman, a British-born scholar who dedicated much of his life to the combination of faith and intellect at universities, is pictured in an undated portrait. —OSV News file photo/Crosiers
gather at Bangladesh’s famed shrine despite anxiety of election violence
Thousands of pilgrims have gathered at St. Anthony’s shrine in Bangladesh’s Archdiocese of Dhaka, despite anxiety and fears of violence, ahead of national elections in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, as they pray for peace in Bangladesh and the world. Like every year, on Feb. 6, about 40,000 devotees gathered at Panjora village, in St. Nicholas of Tolentino Church in Gazipur district, despite fears of attacks on minorities, including Christians, ahead of the country’s national elections scheduled on Feb. 12. St. Anthony’s pilgrimage is traditionally held on the first Friday of February – but in 2026, the scene looked different as a
JACKSON, Miss. (OSV News) – Servant of God Thea Bowman’s canonization cause is moving ahead, with a Mass and ceremony marking the closure of the cause’s diocesan phase to be held Feb. 9 at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson, Mississippi. Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of Jackson will celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving at noon followed by an official closing session of the diocesan phase of the canonization process, where the cause’s leaders will seal the boxes containing the diocesan phase’s documents and findings. Those boxes will be shipped to the apostolic nunciature in Washington for transfer to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican, which will further investigate the cause. In 2018, Bishop Kopacz opened the cause for Sister Bowman, a Mississippi native and the only African American member of her religious community, the Wisconsin-based Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. Before she died of cancer in 1990 at age 52, she was a widely known speaker, evangelizer, singer and trailblazer for Black Catholics.
cers were seen around the pilgrimage site amid fears of sabotage against minori ties. Authorities also said that the entire area was monitored by CCTV cameras. Every year, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists together participate in the St. Anthony’s pilgrimage to offer special prayers and thanksgiving to the Portu guese Franciscan saint in the biggest yearly interfaith gathering led by Catho lics in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. De votion to St. Anthony in the region where the shrine is situated comes in part thanks to local legend and belief that a statue of St. Anthony mysteriously disappeared and reappeared at the site.
Thea Bowman, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration from Canton, Miss., who was nationally known for her work to advance the life of her fellow Black Catholics in the church, is pictured in a 1985 photo in Jackson, Miss. She died March 30, 1990. —OSV News photo/ Beatrice Njemanze, Mississippi Catholic
‘Mass for Solidarity’ celebrates bonds of faith between African and US Catholics
WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The Church in the United States and the Church in Africa “are two lungs of the same Body, breathing the same Spirit,” a Nigerian bishop told Massgoers in Washington. “When African bishops speak courageously about war, poverty, corruption or threats to human dignity, their voices echo in American dioceses,” Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza of of Yola, Nigeria, said in his homily at a “Mass for Solidarity with the Bishops and Faithful of Africa” Feb. 4 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. “When American bishops defend the sanctity of life, advocate for migrants, or confront the culture of indi-
vidualism, their witness strengthens the Church in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Congo, and beyond,” Bishop Mamza said. “We are, in truth, co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord.” Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Illinois, was the main celebrant of the Mass. The concelebrants included Bishop Mamza, first vice president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar and chair of SECAM’s Justice, Peace and Development Commission: Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon in Los Angeles, who is chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala. Compiled from Our Sunday
A man and woman pray during a “Mass for Solidarity with the Bishops and Faithful of Africa” Feb. 4, 2026, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. —OSV News photo/ Mihoko Owada, Catholic Standard
St.
Pilgrims pray in front of the statue of St. Anthony during a pilgrimage in his name
Sister
ON THE OCCASION OF THE EIGHTH CENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, A SPECIAL JUBILEE YEAR IS PROCLAIMED
Excerpts from the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary
“While the fruits of grace of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, which has just ended, in which we have all been urged to become pilgrims of that hope that does not disappoint (cf. Rm 5:5), are still present and effective, a new occasion for jubilation and sanctification is added to it as an ideal continuation: the eighth centenary of the happy passing of Saint Francis of Assisi from earthly life to his heavenly homeland (3 October 1226).
“In recent years, other important Jubilees have concerned the person and the words of the Saint of Assisi: the eighth centenary of the creation of the first Nativity Scene in Greccio, the composition of the Canticle of the Creatures, hymn to the holy beauty of creation, and the impression of the Holy Stigmata, which took place on Mount Verna, almost a new Calvary, two years before his death. The year 2026 will mark the culmination and fulfilment of all the preceding celebrations: indeed, it will be the Year of Saint Francis and we are all called to become saints in the contemporary world, following the example of the Seraphic Patriarch
“… Francis, who, as the son of a wealthy merchant, became poor and humble, a true alter Christus on earth, providing the world with tangible examples of evangelical life and a real image of Christian perfection. Our times are not very different from those in which Fran-
cis lived, and precisely in light of this, his teachings are perhaps even more valid and understandable today.
“When Christian charity languishes, ignorance spreads like bad habits, and those who extol harmony among peoples do so more out of selfishness than out of a sincere Christian spirit; when the virtual takes precedence over the real, social discord and violence are part of everyday life, and peace becomes more uncertain and distant every day; may this Year of Saint Francis urge us all, each according to our own possibilities, to imitate the Poverello of Assisi, to mould ourselves as much as possible on the model of Christ, to not let the intentions of the Holy Year just passed be in vain: may the hope that saw us as pilgrims now be transformed into zeal and fervour of active charity.
“… His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, Minister of our faith and our joy, establishes that, from 10 January 2026, coinciding with the closing of the Ordinary Jubilee, until 10 January 2027, a special Year of Saint Francis shall be proclaimed, in which every faithful Christian, following the example of the Saint of Assisi, shall become a model of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace.
Plenary Indulgences
“For a more perfect achievement of the intended aims, the Apostolic Peni-
tentiary, through this Decree issued in accordance with the will of the Supreme Pontiff, on the occasion of the Year of Saint Francis, grants a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Holy Father), also applicable in the form of suffrage for the souls in Purgatory:
1) to members:
- of the Franciscan Families of the First, Second and Third Orders Regular and Secular;
- of Institutes of Consecrated Life, Societies of Apostolic Life and public or private associations of the faithful, male and female, who observe the Rule of Saint Francis or are inspired by his spirituality or perpetuate his charism in any form;
“2) to all the faithful without distinction:
who, with a heart detached from sin, participate in the Year of Saint Francis by visiting, in the form of a pilgrimage, any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship anywhere in the world dedicated to Saint Francis or connected to him for any reason, and there devoutly follow the Jubilee rites or spend at least a reasonable period of time in pious meditation and raise prayers to God so that, follow-
ing the example of Saint Francis, feelings of Christian charity towards their neighbours and authentic vows of harmony and peace among peoples may spring forth in their hearts, concluding with the Our Father, the Creed and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clare and all the Saints of the Franciscan Family.
“The elderly, the sick and those who take care of them, and all those who are unable to leave their homes for serious reasons may also obtain a Plenary Indulgence, provided they detach themselves from any sin and intend to fulfil the three usual conditions as soon as possible, if they unite themselves spiritually to the jubilee celebrations of the Year of Saint Francis, offering to the Merciful God their prayers, the pains or sufferings of their lives.
“In order that this opportunity to obtain divine grace through the Power of the Keys of the Church may be more easily realised, this Penitentiary firmly requests all priests, regular and secular, who have the appropriate faculties, to make themselves available, with a ready, generous and merciful spirit, for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”
Given in Rome, from the seat of the Apostolic Penitentiary, on 10 January 2026, the eve of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
Left, a file photo shows a sign greeting visitors to the meditation garden at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. —OSV News photo/Nancy Wiechec Right, Bishop Paolo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia, holds a reliquary Feb. 9, 2026, in Assisi, Italy. The reliquary contained a stone from the Porziuncola, the small church where St. Francis of Assisi died, which was donated to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia by the Friars Minor of the Seraphic Province of Umbria and Sardinia. —OSV News photo/courtesy Provincia Serafica di San Francesco
SCRIPTURE SEARCH®
Gospel for March 1, 2026
Matthew 17:1-9
Following is a word search based on the Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent, Cycle A: The Transfiguration of Jesus to Peter, James and John Words can be found in all directions in the puzzle.
PETER JAMES JOHN
MOUNTAIN BEFORE THEM LIKE THE SUN WHITE LIGHT ELIJAH LORD IS GOOD IF YOU WISH THREE A VOICE BELOVED PLEASED LISTEN HEARD AFRAID ALONE RAISED
Let us pray that nations move to effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.
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On
our
Lenten journey
we can say, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here.’
Second Sunday of Lent (A)
Our readings this Second Sunday of Lent are intended to sustain us on our journey toward Easter. The Church places the faith of Abraham, the encouragement of St. Paul, and the dramatic scene of Jesus’ own Transfiguration before us to guide and further inspire our Lenten observance.
Our first reading this Sunday is taken from the Book of Genesis. The scene is the Lord’s call and promise to Abraham, the beginning of salvation history. When God chose to reach out and initiate the process that would lead sinful humanity to redemption, he called to Abraham. It was God’s call and Abraham’s obedient response that led, through many centuries, to the coming of Jesus Christ. Because of his steadfast obedience to the Lord, God promised Abraham that “I will make of you a great nation … you will be a blessing, I will bless those who bless you … all the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you” (Genesis 12:2, 3b). Abraham is thus forever exalted as a model of faith, the common spiritual ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. The example of Abraham reminds us that our obedience to God is always a powerful channel of grace for ourselves and others.
In his Second Letter to Timothy, St. Paul speaks words of challenge and encouragement that remain important for Christians of all eras. He calls us to “bear your share of hardship for the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:8b), that is, to remain faithful to God’s ways amid the struggles of our lives. St. Paul understood well that obedience to God and his designs was not always going to be easy, but the fact that following Christ is sometimes difficult is no excuse for abandoning such faithfulness. St. Paul does not leave it at that, however, for he exhorts us to remain faithful “with the strength that comes from God!” (2 Timothy 1:8c). His important insight is that the same God who demands our faithfulness is also always present empowering that faithfulness: “He saved us and called us to a holy life … according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:9). The call to fidelity amounts to a call to
let Christ’s grace flow through us. The Transfiguration sets the season of Lent in its proper context. The discipline of Lent can be strict, but it is never a strictness untouched by hope and joy. The goal of self-mortification is not simply turning away from self-gratification, but rather turning toward something better! The Transfiguration sets before us a glorious reminder that the goal of our penance is joy not sorrow, eternal life not death. By resisting the temptations for fleeting pleasures, we open ourselves to the possibility of eternal happiness with Christ. Even amid its rigors, Lent is meant to be a joyful season, for it is meant to be a season in which we draw closer to the Lord.
Peter, James and John remained with Christ during the difficult trek up the mountain and through many of the even more difficult moments that he encountered after coming back down. Yet while they were at the top, the place of divine revelation, they were privileged to see Jesus shine in all his glory. They watched as he conversed with Moses and Elijah, showing that he was in conformity with and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (a point that would have been very important for Matthew’s Judeo-Christian audience).
They saw the cloud, the traditional symbol of God’s personal presence, and heard the Father’s voice ratifying Jesus’ mission, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5b). Peter wanted to build three tents, to make the experience permanent, but that was not to be – at least not yet. For their mission, the road that lay in front of them called for them to return to the plain, to continue in their faithful obedience, to allow God to use their lives as the tools to bring the world his revelation. The moment of the Transfiguration was a moment of respite, a time for them to catch their breaths during the difficult journey on which they were embarked, already assured of the final glorious inheritance that was their destiny.
And so, shored up by the example of Abraham and the words of St. Paul, we, too, are treated to this glimpse of the Transfiguration in these early days of our own journey to the cross this Lent; we are called to make St. Peter’s words our own – “Lord, it is good that we are here!” (Matthew 17:4a). We are reminded that the glory of Easter lies at the end of this season of self-denial, and we are encouraged by the reminder that the God who calls us to faithfulness will always empower and reward our efforts on his behalf.
Msgr. John N. Fell serves as Episcopal Vicar for the Vicariate for Clergy.
Sister Nora Nash, OSF, (formerly Sister Therese Mary), 83, died in Assisi House on Friday, Jan. 30. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 65 years. Sister Nora was born in Cahernagh, Ballyhahill, County Limerick, Ireland, where she was a member of St. Colman Parish in Kilcolman. She entered the congregation in Mallow in 1958 and professed her first vows in 1961. She earned a BA in social sciences from Our Lady of Angels College, now Neumann University, and an MA in education administration from St. Bonaventure University. She ministered primarily in education and social justice work.
Sister Nora began her ministry in the Diocese of Metuchen, teaching for eight years at St. Joseph School in Raritan, New Jersey. She also served in
elementary education for 18 years in the Diocese of Trenton, teaching at St. Raphael School in Trenton, and serving as principal for 15 years at St. Gregory the Great School in Hamilton Square.
Serving for 31 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Sister Nora spent seven years as novice director for the congregation before taking on the role of director of Corporate Social Responsibility. Serving in this role for 21 years, Sister Nora provided leadership to promote social, ethical, and environmental stewardship of the congregation’s portfolio. After retiring from that role, Sister Nora continued to work as an advocate for environmental justice before moving to Our Lady of Angels Convent in Aston, Pa., in 2025, where she served in prayer ministry until her death.
Additional ministry included teaching for three years in the Diocese of Harrisburg at St. Joseph School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and for three years in the Archdiocese of Boston at Blessed Sacrament in Walpole, Massachusetts.
Sister Nora is survived by her sister Mary; her sisters-in-law Cheryl, Mary, and Shelia; her brother-in-law Frank Dillon; her many nieces and nephews; and her Franciscan family.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held in Assisi House Feb. 10 with internment of Ashes at Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Aston.
Donations in her name can be made to the Sisters of St. Francis Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
To place your ad in the directory please call Mary at 732-529-7934
Loraine (Ronnie) DeMatteo, age 83, of Perth Amboy, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on January 27.
Born in Sewaren, she resided in Perth Amboy for 76 years. She was a graduate of Samuel E. Shull Grammar School and Perth Amboy High School, Class of 1960. After raising her children, Loraine was employed by Margaretten & Company for 15 years and later retired from the Law Firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer after working there for 25 years.
She was predeceased by her beloved husband, John DeMatteo; mother and father, Josephine Martino and Nicholas Martino; and sister-in-law, Janet Martino.
She is survived by her loving daughters, Monica DeMatteo; Dawn DelRiccio and her husband, Vincent DelRiccio; grandsons Vincent DelRic-
cio and his wife Stephanie DelRiccio, and Nicholas DelRiccio; brother Ralph Martino; nephew David Martino; niece Shelly Martino and her children.
Loraine’s greatest moments were spent with her loving husband, daughters, and grandsons. She was a devoted member of the Good Shepherd Parish Church; President of Holy Rosary PTA; treasurer and member of the Holy Rosary (Good Shepherd) Ladies Guild; devoted member and vice president of the Good Shepherd Seniors of which she enjoyed many years; and the treasurer of the Perth Amboy Woman’s Club. Her favorite hobbies were attending the many activities and events of the seniors, reading, and spending time with her family.
Funeral Mass was celebrated Jan. 31 at Most Holy Rosary of Good Shepherd Parish. Entombment followed in St. James Mausoleum, Woodbridge. —Mateus Campos Felipe photo/Unsplash
By Tiffany Workman, Special Contributor
The halls of the Phillipsburg Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) have been buzzing with the spirit of champions this month. While the world looks to the podiums of the Olympic Games, local Pre-K and Kindergarten students are embarking on their own journey of discovery. By blending the excitement of global sports with the rich legacy of Black History Month, the ECLC is teaching its youngest learners that greatness isn’t just about winning medals – it’s about hard work, representation, and the courage to dream big.
Pre-K and Kindergarten students at Phillipsburg ECLC have been watching clips of the events during Circle Time and talking about the different sports in the Winter and Summer Olympics. To bring the spirit of the games to life, they even created their own Olympic Torches using bright tissue paper and gold foil, proudly “carrying the flame” through the hallways.
To celebrate Black History Month, students focused on the legacy of Black athletes from Team USA. They watched figure skaters Laila Edwards and Erin Jackson and learned about the legendary achievements of Simone Biles and Jesse Owens. After watching clips of these icons in action, students colored portraits of them to decorate their classrooms.
By learning about these athletes they caught a glimpse of history, under standing how courage paved the way for the modern stars they see today. These lessons weren’t just about sports; they were about breaking barriers and making history.
“If the students see individuals like them, they know it’s possible for them to do extraordinary things in their life. We talked a lot about how athletes need to
Stepping forward in charity
Olympic Spirit at Phillipsburg ECLC: Celebrating excellence and Black history
practice and eat healthy so that they can be the best at whatever sport they want to be a part of. We are always encouraging the children to try new things. It’s important that they know that sometimes it takes a lot of hard work, but they can accomplish any goals they want to achieve,” said Site Supervisor Cecilia Gilliland.
“The children in our program come from so many different backgrounds. It’s important that we empower them to reach for the stars! These experiences could spark a light that could inspire their future dreams,” added Program Director Kassi Radabaugh.
The Phillipsburg Early Childhood Learning Center is located at 495 Center Street in Phillipsburg. They have before and after school programs for Preschool & Kindergarten. Children must be en rolled in The Phillipsburg Early Child hood Learning Center to be eligible for the programs. For more information, please call 908-246-2162 or email pburgecc@ccdom.org.
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Tiffany Workman is the communica tions specialist in the diocesan Office of
Above and far left, students watched the Olympics and made their own torches.
Left, students colored pictures of Jesse Owens.
—Courtesy photos of The Phillipsburg Early Childhood Learning Center
Call for Singers
Third annual summer choral festival hosted by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, Diocese of Metuchen Chapter
The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) Diocese of Metuchen Chapter will host Summer Choral Festival 2026, July 7-12 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 390 County Road 523, Whitehouse Station. The Festival is open to choral singers of all skill levels ages 18 and up. Singers will experience extraordinary repertoire, three skilled conductors, and the delight of making music with new friends. Early Registration is now open at www.NPMMetuchen.org. Enrollment is limited.
Led by Festival director Jim Cole and co-conductors Sandy Hayes-Licitra and Thom DeLessio, participants will sing with fellow choral singers from the Diocese of Metuchen and beyond. Each day will start with a physical and vocal warmup. Repertoire includes the music of John Rutter, Linda Lee Johnson, Tom Fettke, Elaine Hagenberg, Marques L. A. Garrett & Tom Trenney, Aislinn Nowelle, Joel Raney, Randall Thomson, James S. Cole, and Mack Wilberg. The week ends with a concert on Sunday, July 12 at 3:30 pm open to the public.
Scholarships: Applications are now available for a limited number of Festival scholarships. Scholarships are available for both young adult singers and those with financial need. See the website for details.
TOUR
Sicily
Amalfi
Sorrento
Calabria
Rome
Assisi
Siena
Florence
Venice
June 5-19, 2026
15 days, $4950 all inclusive Philadelphia departure Phone: 1-614-833-5716
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Family Parish interfaith prayer service declares, ‘All are welcome in this place’
What do you do when conflict and division in our world seem overwhelm ing and despair and anger quickly be come our go to response? We pray. We reflect. We surround ourselves with community and music. On Feb. 9, that is what Holy Family Parish in New Brunswick did. Under the leadership of Father Thomas Ryan, pastor, parishioners gathered at Sacred Heart Church in New Brunswick. Clergy and leaders from the First Reformed Church, United Methodist Church, Emanuel Lutheran and Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple joined Father Ryan for an Interfaith Prayer Service for Healing, Peace and Unity.
All were welcome in this place. Selections of Scripture were read in English and Spanish, Cardinal Joseph Tobin’s words were the backdrop for the intercessory responses along with reflections by Thomas Merton and Martin Luther King,
A Redemptorist Spiritual Center overlooking the Atlantic Ocean offering preached retreats, days of prayer and use of the facility for outside groups.
and bilingual singing. Fellowship followed in the parish hall. In the words of Thomas Merton, “Love has overcome. Love is victorious.”
LOYOLA JESUIT CENTER
161 James Street • Morristown, NJ 07960 973-539-0740 • Fax: 973-898-9839 www.loyola.org • retreathouse@loyola.org Retreats for lay men, women, priests, religious; days/evenings of prayer. Groups planning their own programs are welcome.
THE SHRINE OF ST. JOSEPH 1050 Long Hill Road, Stirling, NJ 07980 908-647-0208 • www.stshrine.org Day & Overnight Retreats Gift & Book Shop - open daily
A Retreat House Sponsored by the Religious Teachers Filippini overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. Offering days of prayer, retreat weekends, spiritual programs, meetings and staff days.
The mission of Mount Saint Mary House of Prayer, rooted in the Gospel and the charism of the Sisters of Mercy, is to provide a sacred space, prayer experiences, and spirituality programs that help adults of any faith to encounter the God of Mercy and share that mercy with others. The mission moves beyond the House of Prayer to any place where we share our ministry.
We offer day and overnight retreats, individual spiritual direction, weekly Eucharistic Hour of Prayer, and a variety of spiritual programs.
We invite you to experience the Peace, Contemplation, and Hospitality of this Oasis off Route 22.
VILLA PAULINE RETREAT AND SPIRITUAL CENTER
The Catholic Spirit Retreat Guide, 2024-04-30, 4.93 x 3.16”
352 Bernardsville Road, Mendham, NJ 07945
Sr. Theresa Marie Tran, SCC 973-543-9058 • villapauline@scceast.org
To join this retreat guide, email mgregory@diometuchen.org
Jr. There was time for meditation with music
Contributed by Teri Szallai, Holy Family parishioner.
Father Tom Ryan, Pastor —Courtesy photos
Immaculata High School ushers in new era in football with new coaching staff
Immaculata High School, Somerville, will build on its long tradition of gridiron leadership with a major coaching staff change.
Jeff Vanderbeek and Dallas Whitaker, well known veterans in high school football circles with a record of success, will assume immediate responsibility for the Immaculata High School football program, Athletic Director Tom Gambino has announced. Vanderbeek will serve as program director, and Whitaker will take over as athletics associate and head football coach. They will begin immediately to build on the program’s success under Coach Mike Columbo, who is not returning.
Vanderbeek and Whitaker led Somerville High School to a 57-7 record, including a state sectional title, a top 20 ranking in the Star Ledger each year between 2016 and 2021, and a #4 state ranking in 2020. During this period, Somerville led New Jersey schools in scoring offense, averaging 42.6 points per game.
Whitaker is a 2011 Immaculata alumnus who started in 31 consecutive varsity games, served as team captain, and played in the 2008 and 2009 state championships for the Spartans. He was a walk-on player for Rutgers in the 2011 and 2012 seasons before assuming the
A BROTHER’S PROMISE
role of student coach for his remaining two seasons. He was one of two high school coaches selected by The Ameri can Football Coaches Association to the 2022 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute, recognizing him as one of the premier coaches under 35 in the country.
Born and raised in Somerville and a lifelong communicant at Church of the Immaculate Conception, Vanderbeek, who retired from a successful 25-year career in finance, is the former chairman and managing partner of the New Jersey Devils NHL hockey franchise who built, owned and operated the Prudential Cen ter in Newark. He and Whitaker led the Somerville High School football program from 2016-2021, taking the team to six consecutive conference championships.
Gambino expressed confidence in the transition and its timing. “We have been working to build a competitive program,” he said. “This year, we will face some of New Jersey’s most formidable teams, and I know that our program could not be in better hands. We appreciate the efforts of Coach Columbo to build our program.”
As they prepared to take the reins for the football program, Vanderbeek and Whitaker spoke of their excitement for the opportunity and their high as-
pirations for the program. Vanderbeek noted, “Sports, especially team sports, are a great collaborative endeavor where young adults can come together and work toward a common goal, building lifelong relationships along the way. I look forward to working with the entire Immaculata community to reach new heights both on and off the field of play.”
Principal Ed Webber shared in extending the school’s gratitude to Columbo and the excitement of welcoming the team of Vanderbeek and Whitaker to the program. “We are grateful to Coach Columbo for sustaining the strong foundation of our program. Now, building a winning football program capable of competing at the highest level is a natural
next step for Immaculata,” he said. “We have been accelerating growth, adding new academic and extracurricular programs, and exceeding outcomes among schools in our area.
“A winning football program is more than wins on the field for us,” Webber emphasized. “Immaculata wants to graduate well-rounded young men and women of character, aligned to our mission, who can lead in all aspects of life.”
Immaculata High School is a coeducational college preparatory high school founded in 1962, committed to the development of the whole person within the framework of Catholic traditions and values, and guided by the pillars of Faith, Scholarship, Service and Friendship.
Frankie Fabio ‘27 honors brother through the Saint Joseph HERO Club
By Tim LeCras, Special Contributor
Frankie Fabio’s life changed in an instant, though he didn’t realize it at the time. The 9-year-old, who looked up to his older stepbrothers like superheroes, wasn’t prepared for the news his parents were about to share. Michael Sot, his 20-year-old stepbrother and a sophomore at The College of New Jersey, had been killed by an intoxicated driver while serving as a designated driver for his fraternity brothers.
Michael was the oldest of three Sot brothers. Jonathan Sot ’18 had just graduated from Saint Joseph High School that spring, and their younger brother Matthew Sot ’20 was a junior – making the tragedy deeply felt across the Falcon community.
“I grew up with Mike,” said Fabio ’27. “He was really loving and caring. He always showed up to anything that I had – my sporting events, school events, everything. He was always there.”
A month shy of the eighth anniversary of Michael’s passing, Frankie stood in front of his Saint Joseph brothers and laid his heart on the line while introducing a new club on campus. The Saint Joseph HERO Club is an extension of the New Jersey-based non-profit HERO Cam-
paign, which promotes DUI awareness and the important role of designated driv ers in preventing drunk-driving tragedies.
“The HERO Campaign, specifically the Saint Joseph Hero Club, promotes a very important message to people my age,” Fabio said. “Michael was only a sophomore in college. He only finished one year of college. Students across the country need to know the background of how dangerous drinking and driving re ally truly is and how it can affect people on multiple levels.”
Launched by Bill Elliott, after his son, Navy Ensign John Elliott, was killed in a July 2000 collision with a drunk driver, the HERO Campaign partners with high schools and colleges, bar and tavern owners, law enforcement, and NFL and Major League Baseball teams to promote responsible driving.
Fabio will lead the club at Saint Joe’s in their local efforts to curb drunk driving accidents through an education program on campus and a fundraising campaign to wrap a local police cruiser with HERO Campaign designated driver messaging. The campaign and New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance also donated a “One Simple Decision” desktop
embodies the spirit and compassion of our entire school community,” Principal Anne Rivera said. “The Fabio and Sot families have been integral to Saint Joe’s for more than a decade, and Michael’s loss was deeply felt by all of us. We’re proud to honor his memory by partnering with the HERO Campaign and helping to prevent drunk-driving tragedies.”
According to the HERO Campaign, more than 10,000 Americans die each
Frankie Fabio, whose step-brother Michael was killed by a drunk driver, recently started the HERO Club at St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, in partnership with the New Jersey-based non-profit HERO Campaign, which promotes DUI awareness and the important role of designated drivers in preventing drunkdriving tragedies.
—Courtesy photo
year from alcohol-impaired vehicle crashes, with an accident occurring every three minutes.
For Frankie, the HERO Club is more than a tribute – it’s a promise. By bringing the HERO Campaign to Saint Joseph High School, he’s carrying forward his brother Michael’s legacy and raising awareness so none of his Saint Joseph brothers experience a loss like he did.
Tim LeCras serves as St. Joseph High School director of Communications and Marketing.
Eight elected to Cum Laude Society
Josie Heim ’27 receives Gold Key Art Award
from Alliance of Young Artists and Writers
Mount Saint Mary Academy junior, Josie Heim of Westfield, received a Gold Key, the highest certificate awarded by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. She won in the Printmaking category for her linoleum print entitled, “Red and Blue As Promised.” This distinction is part of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nation’s longest running and most prestigious recognition for creative teenagers.
“I have been interested in art ever since I was a child,” said Josie. “Some of my favorite mediums are gouache, watercolor, and ink. I especially enjoy combining multiple mediums within single pieces! Some of my favorite artists are Mark Rothko, Eli Ruhala, Sarah Sze, and E.K. Mosely.”
Josie, who learned about the Scholastic Art and Writing competition online, shared, “I was inspired to participate after seeing the range and quality of work showcased in the gallery, as well as noticing the relative underrepresentation of printmaking. That encouraged me to take a chance to submit a piece in a medium that felt both challenging and meaningful to me.”
The printmaking process used to create her award-winning piece was quite intricate. Josie explained, “I created my
linoleum print by first designing the image digitally, inverting it, and transferring it onto a linoleum block. I then carved away the negative space using linoleum gouges, taking care to avoid ‘slips,’ or accidental carvings that would permanently alter the design. After carving, I printed test impressions and returned to the block to remove ‘chatter,’ or unintended marks. After that, I produced the final prints on colored construction paper.”
“The inspiration behind the piece came from the time I spent over the summer at Halfmoon Pond in Washington, New Hampshire,” she shared. “There was an abundance of nature there and being immersed in it – particularly encountering a heron while paddleboarding – led me to rethink how natural scenes can be read narratively rather than just visually. This experience inspired me to create a piece that suggests a story within a moment of nature, with the heron as the main subject.”
When she learned that she won the Gold Key distinction, Josie was both excited and surprised.
“I felt incredibly proud that my work received such an honor, especially since I entered the competition without strong expectations. The recognition was very meaningful and motivating,” she said.
Congratulations to those students who were recognized for academic excellence and elected to the Cum Laude Society at Mount Saint Mary Academy, Watchung, on Feb. 2. The inductees were joined by Directress Mercy Sister Lisa Gambacorto; Jacqueline Muratore, assistant directress; Dana Goad, director of School and College Counseling, and Eileen Honicky, college counselor, as well as other well-wishing faculty and staff members.
Pictured, from left are: Mercy Sister Lisa Gambacorto, Julia Kot ‘26, Maria Pasqua ‘26, Ava Bonczek ‘26, Zoe Drivas ‘26, Isabella DeLuca ‘26, Maeve Mooney ‘26, Isabella Law ‘26, and Siena Lahr ‘26.
These seniors join the following students who were elected in September by Jacqueline Muratore: Sarah Algier of Metuchen, Aashrita Banerjee of Short Hills, Maddison Cudia of Basking Ridge, Mackenzie Daly of Piscataway, Meghan Dwyer of New Providence, Gemma LoGrippo of Westfield, Sabrina Tse of Warren, and Madilyn Zatorski of North Brunswick.
Election into the Cum Laude Society is a distinguished honor, based on students’ mid-year cumulative GPA and the Society’s commitment to fostering academic excellence, integrity, justice, and honor.
—Courtesy photo
While she is not sure if she will pursue a career in art after graduating from the Mount next year, she admits that creating art will always be a significant part of her life.
At the Mount, Josie is involved in Chimes, the school yearbook and Maker Club, where she has the opportunity to work with both traditional and digital design. These clubs have helped her to develop her creativity and artistic direc-
tion, skills which influence her artistic process. Josie is grateful to art teacher Emily Gachko and for the Studio Art course “for encouraging creativity, providing artistic guidance, and fostering an environment where experimentation and individual expression are valued.”
Contributed by Michelle H. Daino, who serves as MSMA director of communications and marketing.
—Courtesy photo
STAHS honors student athletes at National Signing Day ceremony
St. Thomas Aquinas High School recognized 13 student-athletes Feb. 4 during its annual National Signing Day ceremony. This event marked the third Signing Day celebration for the Class of 2026, reflecting the strong commitment and continued success of this year’s senior class as they finalize their collegiate decisions.
The ceremony honored student-athletes who have officially committed to continue their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level. Their achievements highlight the dedication, leadership and competitive excellence that define STA athletics.
“These student-athletes have embraced every challenge with determination and represented St. Thomas Aquinas with character and pride,” said Matthew Silvestri, athletic director at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. “Their achievements speak to years of discipline, heart and steady growth. We are proud to celebrate this milestone and look forward to watching them continue to succeed at the collegiate level.”
Student-athletes honored during the ceremony include:
Right, St. Thomas Aquinas High School student-athletes at the Feb. 4, 2026, National Signing Day —Photo courtesy of Lillian Chadwick ‘26,
Boys Soccer
• Jeremy Ramirez – Caldwell University
• Bryan Leao – Caldwell University
Cheerleading
• Allison Maloney – Monmouth University
Football
• Brandon Falke – American International College
• Sam Hightower – McDaniel College
• Tyler Montgomery – Eastern University
• Ian Roberts – Franklin Pierce University
• Omar Hassan – Franklin Pierce University
• Thomas Stroud – Wagner College
• Anthony Perez – Kean University
Softball
• Olivia Guarino – Iona University
Track and Field (Boys)
• Henry Cameron – Felician University
Wrestling
• Dylan Picciallo – Kean University
‘Newsweek’ ranks Saint Peter’s CARES Surgicenter #1 Ambulatory Surgery Center in state
The CARES Surgicenter, part of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, New Brunswick, has once again been named “Best Ambulatory Surgery Center” in New Jersey by Newsweek magazine. This is the sixth time in a row that Saint Peter’s CARES Surgicenter has been named to the list of Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers by Newsweek. It is ranked number one in New Jersey.
America’s Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers 2026 ranking awards the leading 700 ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) in the U.S. The list is based on four data pillars: Quality Metrics, Evaluation from Peers, Patient Experience, and Accreditations. ASCs have become an important part of American medicine and offer patients the ability to have specific surgical procedures performed on an outpatient basis, meaning they usually don’t require hospitalization. ASCs allow patients to return home on the same day, while also reducing medical costs to patients, as well as hospitals and healthcare systems.
The title of “America’s Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers” reinforces Saint Peter’s reputation as a center that provides outstanding patient experience with exceptional quality of care, ensuring patient safety, and achieving positive surgical outcomes.
“Earning recognition as the top ambulatory surgical center in New Jersey underscores our commitment to delivering the highest level of care to every patient we serve,” said Kevin Nini, MD, surgeon and chairman of the CARES Surgicenter board. “From preoperative evaluation to recovery, our physicians and staff focus on safety, precision, and an exceptional patient experience, ensuring best practices to provide the best outcomes.”
With seven operating rooms and two procedure rooms, the CARES Surgicenter provides high-quality surgical services in a state-of-the-art environment. Patients who choose Saint Peter’s CARES Surgicenter are home the very same day. Saint Peter’s has over 85 physicians who perform surgeries in the CARES Surgicenter, along with 27 anesthesiologists. The CARES Surgicenter provides pediatric and adult surgical services and has specialized anesthesiologists for both patient populations.
“The continued recognition of the CARES Surgicenter as one of the nation’s leading facilities reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence in patient care,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. “This honor is a testament to the dedication, skill, and compassion demonstrated every day by our exceptional surgeons, clinicians, and support staff. Through their expertise,
our patients can receive top-of-the-line care in an outpatient surgical center close to home.”
According to the National Institutes of Health (AIH), the United States’ healthcare system is increasingly seeking to optimize the site of care for surgery by shifting procedures to ambulatory surgical centers. The American Hospital Association shares this perspective saying that patients want greater affordability, efficiency, and convenience in the care they receive, with hospitals and health systems responding positively as ASCs can lower operating costs. More healthcare providers are investing in ASCs with the U.S. ASC market expected to reach $33 billion by 2028, according to the New York market research firm Research Nester.
The CARES Surgicenter is located at 240 Easton Avenue, across from The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. For more information, visit saintpetershcs.com/CARESsurgicenter.
CDC-recognized program to help prevent, delay Type 2 diabetes offered by Saint Peter’s
Healthcare System
Registration now open for the FREE, year-long virtual program starting Tuesday, March 31
New Brunswick, N.J. – February 03, 2026 – Saint Peter’s Healthcare System is committed to assisting members of the community prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes through a free, year-long program that educates individuals about improved nutrition, increased exercise, stress management and weight loss. The Prevent T2 National Diabetes Prevention Program is open to anyone 18 years or older diagnosed with prediabetes or with a history of gestational diabetes. The next year-long session, which will be held virtually, begins on Tuesday, March 31. Registration is required.
Saint Peter’s Prevent T2 National Diabetes Prevention Program has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with a Full Plus Recognition for 2025-2026, a designation reserved for programs that are high-quality and evidence-based. Taught by registered dietitian nutritionists, Prevent T2 has shown promising outcomes.
Sessions are designed to be both fun and educational. The curriculum focuses on improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, managing stress, and achieving weight loss. The group format provides support and encouragement. The next session begins on Tuesday, March 31, with all classes meeting virtually on
Tuesdays from 11 am to 12 pm. The yearlong program meets every other week for the first six months, followed by monthly meetings for the final six months. Space is limited; to register, please call (732) 339-7772.
Saint
Peter’s
vices, Saint Peter’s has often instituted protocols that have become the model of care for other hospitals in New Jersey and across the nation. Our partnership with Count the Kicks is further evidence of our longstanding commitment to expectant parents when it comes to doing everything possible to improve maternal outcomes and welcome healthy babies into the arms of their loving parents,” said Pam Harmon, director, Women and Children’s Division, Saint Peter’s University Hospital.
University Hospital
partners with
Count the Kicks as a
Champion to launch stillbirth prevention efforts across New
Jersey
Saint Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, is proud to announce their commitment to become a Count the Kicks Champion. Count the Kicks is an evidence-based stillbirth prevention program that educates expectant parents about the importance of paying attention to their baby’s movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. As a Count the Kicks Champion, Saint Peter’s will use the program’s proven tools and resources to equip expectant parents, healthcare providers, certified nurse-midwives, doulas, and community members with education on the vital practice of tracking fetal movement during the third trimester of pregnancy. The goal of the collaboration is to prevent stillbirths and improve birth outcomes for New Jersey families.
Stats on NJ Stillbirths:
• New Jersey loses 633 babies a year on average to stillbirth.
• In New Jersey, the stillbirth rate is 6.26 per 1,000 live births.
• It is estimated that Count the Kicks can save an average of 202 babies per year in New Jersey.
This is important because research shows the health of a mother and the health of her baby are intrinsically connected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists a change in a baby’s movements as one of its 15 urgent maternal warning signs. Research shows nearly 30 percent of stillbirths can be prevented when expectant parents are educated on how to monitor their baby’s movements daily starting at 28 weeks. A change in a baby’s normal movement pattern is sometimes the first or only indication there may be an issue developing during the pregnancy.
Stillbirth is commonly defined as the loss of a baby at 20 weeks or greater gestation during pregnancy. It is a national public health crisis that impacts more than 20,000 families in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC.
“As a leader in maternal health ser-
The Count the Kicks program has a free mobile app (available in 20+ languages), web-based counting platform and printable paper charts that make it easy for expectant parents to become familiar with their baby’s normal movement patterns. After a few days of counting, expectant parents will begin to see a pattern, a normal amount of time it takes their baby to get to 10 movements. If their baby’s “normal” changes during the third trimester, this could be a sign of potential problems and is an indication that the expectant parent should call their healthcare provider right away.
Counting the Kicks is Easy to Do
• Monitor your baby’s movements with the free Count the Kicks app or web counter or download a paper movement monitoring chart at https://countthekicks.org/printable-charts/
• Count your baby’s movements every day, preferably at the same time.
• Time how long it takes your baby to get to 10 movements and rate the strength of their movements.
• After a few days, you will begin to see the average length of time it takes to reach 10 movements.
• Call your provider right away if you notice a change in the strength of movements or how long it takes to get to 10 movements.
Research published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology shows a more than 30 percent reduction in Iowa’s stillbirth rate in the first 10 years of the Count the Kicks program at a time when America’s stillbirth rate remained stagnant. The results have led researchers to call for urgent action to address the stillbirth crisis in the U.S. and to study Count the Kicks on a national level. Through this collaboration, Saint Peter’s University Hospital is hoping to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes and reduce the number of stillbirths annually.
For both new and experienced parents, Saint Peter’s offers parent education classes. Classes are also available for grandparents and children preparing to be a brother or sister of the new baby. Saint Peter’s also offers complimentary support groups for new moms and for breastfeeding support. To see a list of classes and support groups, visit saintpetershcs.com/ParentEd.
To learn more about Saint Peter’s maternity services, visit saintpetershcs. com/Maternity.
St. Joe’s grad Mark Taylor returns to lead basketball program back to prominence
By Greg Johnson, Correspondent
There’s no place like home, especially when that home has been upgraded into one of the best athletic departments in New Jersey.
That made it an easy decision for Mark Taylor to have his coaching career come full-circle at Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen.
“The atmosphere is a lot better,” said Taylor, a 1983 St. Joe’s graduate who is in the first season of his second coaching stint. “The whole school in general is so different. When I left, I wasn’t happy at the time. I thought the school was not on the right track. I think now the administration is good, the president is great, the athletic director is good. I think there’s a lot of positives going on.”
Taylor turned St. Joe’s basketball into a state power when he coached the Falcons from 1995 to 2006, compiling 172 wins, two GMC titles and two Non-Public A South sectional titles. He developed many boys into collegiate student-athletes and two future NBA players in Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum.
Taylor then took on a new challenge at Ridge High and built that public program into a winner over five seasons. After that he had even more success on a national level for 14 years at St. Benedict’s, Newark, but that prep program
went back under the state’s governing body for athletics in 2023, so returning to St. Joe’s made sense once the Falcons had an opening last March.
“I said, ‘If I’m gonna be in the state, I might as well be at home, where I played and coached and it all began,’” Taylor recalled. His magic has transformed St. Joe’s into a top-20 team in New Jersey with a 23-1 record as of mid-February – only one year after the team struggled and finished 6-16.
Taylor’s approach was two-fold: He sensed that the program needed to adopt a better mentality and approach to winning, and he needed to change the chemistry on the court.
But rather than Taylor actively recruit students, St. Joe’s started getting calls from families of kids who wanted to play for a household name.
“It’s just a legendary culture he built at St. Benedict’s, so I couldn’t see why he wouldn’t do it here,” said junior Andrew Kretkowski, an Old Bridge native who transferred from Rutgers Prep to St. Joe’s last summer. “Plus the school and the atmosphere I’ve always known, growing up close to it, so it just seemed like a perfect fit.”
Several prospective students applied, visited the school and met with Taylor. He held conversations and work-
Left, St. Joe’s head coach Mark Taylor, a 1983 graduate, instructs the team prior to a game on Feb. 6 at St. Thomas Aquinas.
Below left, St. Joe’s junior Andrew Kretkowski attempts a shot during a game. Kretkowski is the team’s top scorer and rebounder this season.
Below, St. Joe’s junior Aidan Carter holds the ball while defended by St. Thomas Aquinas sophomore Jared Jennings during the game on Feb. 6.
—Hal Brown photos
outs to gauge which additions would be mutually beneficial. Unfortunately, it meant that St. Joe’s had to turn some students down.
“We just try to find good students that are good citizens, that are also good basketball players,” Taylor said.
The team has a largely different look this year. Kretkowski is the top scorer and rebounder, while the next two highest scorers, Aidan Carter and Imaad Johnson, are junior transfers from St. Thomas Aquinas and Union High.
Dating back to fall leagues last year, the Falcons have built such strong chemistry under Taylor and his assistants that in late January they defeated Crestwood Prep, a Canadian team with three high major Division I college prospects.
“I think from the rip we knew that we had a really talented group, and we actually all gelled really well together,” Kretkowski said. “On the court it takes a little while, which it did; we had to adjust. It was surprising [to win so many games right away], but it was also the standard that they set for us, so that was the expectation going in.”
Kretkowski, a 6-foot-8 forward garnering Division I interest, has made individual strides through Taylor’s guidance as well.
“First off, I love him as a person. He’s one of those guys who will really
get after you, but he’ll be your biggest supporter on the other side, which is great,” Kretkowski said. “It’s just the stuff he runs … the little details that he puts in, the timing of plays – things like that – is just so new to me, but it’s really helped me elevate my game. It’s just the knowledge he has. I fully trust him with everything he says.”
With 30 years of experience, Taylor believes he has evolved into a much better coach than he was at St. Joe’s two decades ago in terms of sets, details and discipline.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned over the years is being flexible, and you have to change as a coach to meet the needs of all your players,” Taylor said. “Year to year, it’s different. You can’t just be the same coach every year because you have different players and different chemistry and different skill sets each year, so you have to be able to be flexible.”
His ultimate goal is to lead St. Joe’s to a Non-Public A state championship – a trophy that the team twice came within one win of hoisting in his first stint – in what he says will likely be the final three to five years of his career before he retires and moves down south.
“I figured, let me end up where I started and go out with a bang and get the program on top,” Taylor said.
Four Catholic athletes from past Winter Olympics inspire with stories of faith, endurance
By Lauretta Brown, OSV News
As billions tune in to the Winter Games in Italy, many will recall highlights from past Winter Olympics over the decades.
The Catholic athletes at the Games this year are joining a long tradition of Catholic Olympians who have made history with their inspiring stories of faith and endurance. Here are just some of the Catholic stories that came out of past Winter Games.
‘Queen Yuna’ and a priest’s influence
One of the most revered Olympic figure skaters of all time, Yuna Kim of South Korea, witnessed to her Catholic faith at two Olympics where she took home gold and silver medals in 2010 and 2014. Called “Queen Yuna” by figure skating fans, Kim converted to the faith in 2008 after an unlikely encounter with Catholic doctors and a priest.
“I had an injury, indeed a series of injuries, starting in 2006, which obliged me to be in and out of hospital,” she explained in a 2014 interview with the then-Pontifical Council for the Laity (now succeed by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life). “In hospital I had a providential encounter with some Catholic doctors with whom I established a trusting relationship. They quoted sentences to me from the Bible and the New Testament, to keep up my morale and to comfort me, and all this was a great help in overcoming the psychological problems I had due to my continuous relapses after my injury.”
“I would say that what impressed me most was that they were not trying to convert me,” she added. “Theirs was a disinterested act for a girl who was going through a difficult time in her life and in her professional career; they sought to give me the best possible advice in accordance with their vision of the world.”
She described the recovery process as “the hardest time in my life” with back problems which “had been recurring for two years, it seemed as though I would have them forever. At a certain point you find yourself at a crossroads. You ask yourself if it is really worth going ahead and, if it is, where you can find the strength to continue to hope. I needed to be able to count on something or someone. Faith in Catholicism gave me all this. For me it was a completely unknown path. Neither my mother nor my father was a believer. But in hospital I met Father Lee.”
“He was not merely the clinic’s priest but he himself was also a patient at that time and a common destiny seemed to create a certain bond between us,” she said. “After meeting Father Lee, I began to understand more in detail the funda-
mental teachings of Catholicism; he gave me private lessons on the Bible and on the Gospels, in short he introduced me to the faith: hence my decision to be baptized with my mother.”
At her baptism, Kim took the name “Stella” after the Marian title “Stella Maris,” Star of the Sea, telling a diocesan paper that during the Baptism she “felt an enormous consolation in my heart,” and she promised God to continue to “pray always,” especially before competitions.
She joined with Korean bishops in 2010 to explain the rosary through the example of the rosary ring she wore in competition.
U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski, a Catholic, waves to the crowd after receiving her award in Nagano, Japan, Feb. 20, 2018. Lipinski, an admirer of St. Therese of Lisieux, became the youngest Olympic women’s figure skating champion in history. —OSV News photo/ Kimimasa Mayama, Reuters
Tara Lipinski and the Little Flower
Another revered Olympic figure skater and current NBC figure skating commentator, Tara Lipinski, who won a gold medal in the 1998 Winter Games, attributed her success, in part, to the intercession of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower.
Lipinski, whose mother, Pat, felt renewed in her Catholic faith after a novena to St. Thérèse, said in a 2001 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that she liked the saint “because she didn’t seem perfect, which makes you feel you have something in common with her.”
She related to St. Thérèse’s battles with perfectionism, saying it was comforting to know that the saint could be “a little bratty.”
“She was struggling to get into the convent kind of like I was struggling to be accepted, because I was too young,” she added. Lipinski won her Olympic gold medal at just 15 years old.
Before her long program in Nagano, Japan, her coach held her statue of St. Thérèse while Lipinski took the ice. “I remember being on the ice and feeling such a strong presence of her being there with me,” she said of the saint. “She was on my mind constantly. It kept my mind off of doubting myself or technical things.”
“I think she’s changed me as a person,” Lipinski said. “She crosses my mind often. I think, what would she do? Her Little Way applies to everything in life.”
A skier’s Olympic ring for St. Pier Giorgio Frassati
Cross-country skier Rebecca Dussault brought her faith to the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, 20 years ago.
Before her journey to the games, Dussault married her childhood sweetheart at 19 and credits her mother-in-law with igniting her faith life.
“She really had and has a deep interior life and that’s what she continually conveyed to us – the love and the mercy of Jesus Christ and the beauty and the depth and the heights of the Catholic faith,” she said. “She showed us the universal Church with such passion and consistently that we just couldn’t not fall in love with the faith.”
Dussault told OSV News recently that the games in Turin were special even though she didn’t come home with a medal. She traveled to the games with her husband and their then-4-year-old son cheering her on from the sidelines and used the occasion to spread devotion to then-Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, engraving his name on her Olympic ring.
St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was canonized in September, was an avid skier and mountain climber with the well-known motto Verso l’alto (“To the heights”).
Dussault still skis and enjoys time on her homestead in Idaho with her eight children and two grandchildren.
“If you can do sport in right conscience and be building the kingdom of God, then you’ve really latched on to some greatness,” she emphasized.
Right, Rebecca Dussault skis during the Alberta Centennial World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, in December 2005. Twenty years ago, the cross-country skier and devout Catholic competed in the Turin Winter Olympics. —OSV News photo/courtesy Sharbel Dussault
A hockey coach and priest sets an example of forgiveness
It was an unlikely sight at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria: A Catholic priest coaching Team Canada was struck in the face by a broken hockey stick tossed by a Swedish player.
Father David Bauer, still bleeding from the blow, ordered his players not to retaliate against Sweden’s Carl-Göran Öberg – not wanting to take penalties in a close game which Canada won.
Father Bauer “returned to the arena the next day to scout the Czechoslovakia-Soviet Union game. He invited Öberg to sit with him, sending a message that he harboured no ill will toward the Swede.”
While Canada finished in fourth that year, Father Bauer was recognized for his sportsmanship in response to the incident with Öberg.
The brother of Boston Bruins star Bobby Bauer, Father Bauer was a successful junior hockey player in Canada in the 1940s. However, rather than entering the world of professional hockey, he followed a vocation to the priesthood with the Basilian order and began teaching at St. Michael’s College in Toronto and later St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia.
Taking a holistic approach to coaching, Father Bauer said, “If you can improve the boy as a person through virtues of hockey – courage, judgment, prudence, fortitude, teamwork and fair play, he will improve as a hockey player.”
Father Bauer was awarded the Order of Canada in 1967 for his contributions to the sport of hockey. The priest died in 1988 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.
Vietnamese Catholics celebrate Lunar New Year
By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor
The sound of an echoing gong, the scent of burning incense and the sight of scores clad in traditional Vietnamese attire filling the pews of Our Lady of Czestochowa church Feb. 15 were clear and joyous signs the Lunar New Year had begun.
Father Peter Tran, pastor of the South Plainfield parish and coordinator of the diocesan Vietnamese Apostolate, was principal celebrant of a bi-lingual Mass which celebrated tradition and faith in equal measures. Guest homilist Msgr. J. B. Cuong Pham of Brooklyn reminded the congregation that New Year prepara-
tions should rejuvenate both their homes and themselves.
“Spiritually, people long to have something new in their hearts as well,” he said. “Bring your hopes and dreams, fears and preoccupations, anxieties and challenges to the Lord. Each of us has inherent dignity and value known only to God. We might as well clean our souls, our intentions and our attitudes so we will become completely new in Christ.”
Some 50 choir members sang joyously as acolytes and clergy of Vietnamese descent strode towards the center’s stage in the opening procession. Resembling a southeast Asian house of worship,
the altar was flanked by flowering trees, coins and paper lanterns above which hung a mural of the patroness of Vietnam, Our Lady of La Vang.
The ancient Roman rites mingled seamlessly with the melodic Vietnamese prayers and hymns. Intercessions and scriptural passages were read and sung in Vietnamese and English, and at the consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ, the smell of incense and the resounding peal of the gong both filled the hushed room of worshippers.
At the liturgy’s conclusion, members of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement presented clergy and religious
with red paper envelopes containing crisp, new money as a symbol of luck and prosperity in the new year. Later, all gathered in the parish hall to feast upon Vietnamese delicacies of rice noodles, meats, dumplings, sweets and cups of bubble tea.
The Lunar New Year, or “Tết” (short for Tết Nguyên Đán or Feast of the First Morning of the First Day) begins on the day of the new moon, falling this year on Feb. 17. It is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year. According to the Chinese Zodiac – divided into 12 houses, each signified by a different animal – the year 2026 is the Year of the Horse which symbolizes freedom, vitality, ambition, zeal and passion.
—John Batkowski photos
Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com.
QWhy are there so many
different
kinds of convents out there? I don’t understand why a young woman who feels called to give her life to God would need that many choices. (Ohio)
AThe short answer to the question of why there are such a variety of convents out there is: You would have to ask God!
But looking at this question on a more fundamental level, we believe God gives us the kinds of consecrated life we need for the good of all the people of God.
The Church teaches that religious life – and really, all of consecrated life (the umbrella category that encompasses “religious life,” strictly speaking) – is based around the concept of “charism.”
“Charism” is a Greek word often translated as “gift.” In our current Catholic terminology, a “charism” is a spiritual gift from God meant to benefit the wider Christian community. (For a scriptural example, see Rom 12:6-8)
In the specific theological context of Catholic consecrated life, a “charism” is an inspiration or spiritual gift from God
that informs a whole way of life centered on following Christ more radically in the spirit of the Gospels.
For example, St. Francis of Assisi was given the charism of imitating Christ more closely through a love of holy poverty. In the religious order he founded, Franciscan friars, nuns and religious sisters share in the same “gifted” spirituality that was given to their founder.
Throughout the Church’s history, God has granted charisms of consecrated life to different members of the faithful to meet the needs of the Church that arose over the course of centuries.
For example, at the very beginning of the Church we had women who renounced marriage in order to dedicate themselves entirely to the Lord as consecrated virgins, with a charism of living as “brides of Christ.” This radical, spousal love of God often expressed itself in martyrdom
in the Church’s first few centuries, and through their witness many people were convinced of the truths of the faith.
Later, when the Church was no longer suffering from violent persecution at the hands of the Roman emperor, men and women longing to bear a similar witness as the early martyrs freely embraced a life of prayer and penance, often in solitude in the desert, as a “bloodless” or “white” martyrdom. They became the first hermits.
In late antiquity, as Roman civil society was collapsing, St. Benedict wrote a “rule of life” for monks living in community. This was the beginning of the Order of St. Benedict, which founded monasteries that served as islands of peace and stability in a chaotic world –and which we can largely thank for the preservation of our western intellectual cultural heritage.
During the later Middle Ages, at the height of “Christendom” when the Church was a major influence in Europe and beyond, many Church leaders grew lax in their spiritual lives.
This was the point in history when God inspired saints such as St. Francis and St. Dominic to found new religious orders dedicated to rekindling the fire of the faith in Christian hearts that had grown cold. Similarly, in the Counter-Reformation era of the 16th century, orders such as the Jesuits and Discalced Carmelites came about in part as an “answer” to some of the objections of the Protestant leaders of the day.
In early modern times, various social needs inspired founders to establish active apostolic communities dedicated to works of charity. For example, St. John Bosco founded the Salesians to care for youth, and St. Jeanne Jugan started the Little Sisters of the Poor to care for the impoverished elderly.
In the 20th century, the Church established secular institutes as a new form of consecrated life dedicated to evangelizing secular society from within as a “leaven in the world.” Going forward, the Lord may very well give us new charisms, although this never negates the older ones.
Nuns pray during morning Mass at Lucas Oil Stadium July 18, 2024, during the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. —OSV News photo/Bob Roller
The Brothers Karamazov is widely recognized as one of the greatest novels ever written. Its power lies not in the drama between the brothers, the intrigue of its murder mystery, or the suspense of its courtroom finale, but in the questions at its heart: Is God real? And if He is, then what does that mean for me?
At its core, it is a story of fathers and sons—of a father’s sins and the brokenness of his children, each struggling with who God is and what they owe to one another. Dmitri’s reckless passion mirrors his father’s corruption, Ivan’s cold rationalism rebels against it, and Alyosha’s tender compassion reflects the quiet holiness of his mentor, the soldier-turned-monk Father Zossima.
Through their tragic, comic, and deeply human collision, Dostoevsky shows how sin and love ripple outward, shaping the lives of all who are connected to us. He invites each of us to step toward mercy: to confront our divided hearts, to return to God, and to be drawn back into authentic communion with one another. In the end, as Father Zossima teaches, “Love is such a priceless treasure that you can redeem the whole world by it.”
“He is an author that we must read.”
“When reading Dostoevsky–I believe that for all of us he is an author that we must read and read due to his wisdom.”
Pope Francis
“This book has the power to change the world.”
“I’m still just barely beginning to understand The Brothers Karamazov, but I believe it has the power to transform each of us. I believe it has the power to bring each of our hearts from pride to humility, from isolation to conversion, and from self-reliance to active love. This book has the power to change the world.”
Alex Jones, Hallow CEO and Co-Founder
Pray40: The Return – Hallow’s Lent Community Prayer Challenge for 2026
• This Lent, Hallow will once again launch its Lent Pray40 prayer challenge, beginning on Ash Wednesday – Pray40: The Return.
• Join others on a journey back home to the Lord – no matter our sins, no matter our struggles, no matter how far we’ve strayed away. Just as we’ll see through the Parable of the Prodigal Son, we’re all farther away from God than we need to be…but the good news is God is always waiting for us with open arms, running out to us while we are still a long way off.
• To really help bring the truths of this parable to life this Lent in Pray40, we’ll dive into the incredible book, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky!–considered one of the greatest novels of all time.
• This is routinely the largest and most popular prayer challenge Hallow offers. In 2025, nearly two-million people joined Pray40, and Hallow was blessed to reach #2 in the App Store, behind only ChatGPT.
• In 2026, please consider joining millions around the world in prayer by joining Pray40 on Hallow! To join this year’s Pray40 Challenge, or to access additional Lenten resources from Hallow, please go to https://hallow.com/pray40/, and to redeem three months for free, please scan the following QR Code.
Mercy
By John Mulderig, OSV News
NEW YORK (OSV News) – With apologies to pulp fiction crime writer Mickey Spillane, the dystopian thriller “Mercy” (Amazon MGM) might more aptly be called AI the Jury. That’s because, in the film’s near-future setting, artificial intelligence is empowered to fight crime by generating a rough sort of justice.
As explained in the opening scenes, societal breakdown has led to the establishment of the ironically named court system of the title. Within it, the burden falls on defendants to prove their innocence within a mere 90 minutes though they are given full access to the vast amount of information the AI, which does double duty as the presiding judge, can muster during that time.
Such is the plight in which Los Angeles police Det. Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) finds himself as the action gets rolling. Awakening from a drunken bender, Chris – who has fallen off the wagon after a period of sobriety – finds himself
on trial before a virtual magistrate called Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson) charged with the brutal murder of his wife, Nicole (Annabelle Wallis).
As Chris scrambles to avoid a guilty verdict and immediate execution, he’s aided by his partner, Jacqueline “Jaq” Diallo (Kali Reis) and by Rob Nelson (Chris Sullivan), his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor. Yet Chris’ emotionally torn teen daughter Britt (Kylie Rogers) wavers in her support.
An occasionally irritating tone and passages of awkward writing detract from the reasonably interesting mystery tale at the heart of director Timur Bekmambetov’s crime drama.
Whenever Marco van Belle’s script ventures into philosophical questions about the differences between humans
and machines or the line between justice and vengeance or strains for real-world relevance, moreover, the results feel feeble. Still, following the trail of clues will likely prove diverting for viewers mature enough to handle some coarse material along the way.
The film contains mostly stylized but sometimes harsh violence, drug use, about a dozen profanities, several milder oaths, at least one rough term and frequent crude and crass language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X @JohnMulderig1.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Movies just don’t come any better made than Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report
.
“They can be more important (Schindler’s List) or more innovative (Memento), more challenging (Black Hawk Down) or more rewarding (The Fellowship of the Ring) – but they don’t come more solidly put together. For sheer craft – for the ideal marriage of bravura storytelling, rip-roaring action, dazzling visuals, moody atmosphere, masterful effects, and evocative social and philosophical implications –Minority Report is an achievement of the highest order.”
Deacon Steven D. Greydanus
To access Deacon Steven’s full review of Minority Report (2002), as well as his interview with Steven Spielberg on the ‘red carpet,’ please visit https://decentfilms.com/ reviews/minorityreport or scan the QR code to the right.
LENT: Living Lent through CRS Rice Bowl –Office of Hispanic Evangelization and Pastoral Ministry’ Through Catholic Relief Services’ (CRS) Rice Bowl campaign, you can encourage your community to live Lent in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need around the world. Their website offers many resources available in English and Spanish for parishes, families, and religious education programs. Learn about stories of hope from Ghana, Guatemala, and East Timor.
Visit CRS Espanol at https://www.crsricebowl.org/es Visit CRS English at https://www.crsricebowl.org
In addition to the physical rice bowls, you can also make your contribution online using the QR code for the CRS Metuchen Diocese chapter’s (Comunidad de Solidaridad Diócesis de Metuchen) fundraising account. 25% of the funds raised stay in the Diocese to address local needs, and the remaining 75% is used by CRS to support our brothers and sisters in need in other parts of the world.
For more information please contact us at Lescobar@diometuchen.org or call 732-243-4573.
Office for Discipleship for Children Family Series via Zoom with Dr. Stella Jeffrey: March 12, 7-8 p.m., Involving Family in Confirmation Preparation. Contact Jill Kerekes: Jkerekes@diometuchen.org
Family Healing Mass, for all feeling alone or grieving due to divorce, severe marital difficulties, as well as for children of any age who are affected by these facets of family brokenness. Please join us for a special Mass and Resource Fair on Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m. at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway. Representatives from “Surviving Divorce,” “Retrouvaille” and “Life-Giving Wounds” diocesan ministries will be present. There will also be activities for younger children while adults are looking into the resources. To register, please visit: diometuchen.org/events/family-brokenness-mass. Contact Rachelle Hanna for details at rachelle.hanna@gmail.com.
AROUND THE DIOCESE
The Metuchen Diocese Cursillo Movement will conduct a Men’s Cursillo Weekend from June 18 -21, 2026, at the Villa Pauline Retreat Center in Mendham. For further information about Cursillo visit the website at metcursillo.org
DIOCESAN PROGRAMS
Adoration at Pastoral Center – The faithful are invited to Eucharistic Adoration at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Monday through Friday, from 9 -11:45 a.m. As Pope St. John Paul II noted. “The Church and the world have a great need of Eucharistic adoration.” Anyone interested in signing up should contact Maria Agnese at magnese@diometuchen.org.
Perpetual Adoration – Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament The Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacra ment, Raritan, is looking for adorers to sit with the Blessed Sacrament Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is also being offered the first Saturday of each month (Night Vigil) from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Anyone interested in signing up should visit https://blessedsacramentshrine.com.
SELLING YOUR HOME?
Willing to buy your home or townhouse in as-is condition. Quick 30 day cash closing. I’m a Licensed realtor in the State of NJ. Call or text Eugene “George” Pantozzi 908-392-2677.
JOB OPPORTUNITY
PART TIME - YOUTH RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ASSISTANT
Our Lady of Lourdes, Whitehouse Station, NJ
The Faith Formation Ministry of Our Lady of Lourdes in Whitehouse Station, NJ is looking for an individual to fill the Youth Religious Education Assistant position. This administrative position works closely with the Parish Catechetical Leader in planning, organizing, and executing all Youth Faith Formation and Sacramental Programs. The Religious Education Assistant is part-time, 3 days per week, with some flexibility in work hours. Please click the link on the homepage of our parish website at www.ollwhs.org, to see the full, revised job description and application procedures. Email your resume to Nina Forestiere at faithformation@ollwhs.org. Thank you for your interest.
Volunteers Needed – Catholic Charities Thrift Store and Food Pantry Catholic Charities needs volunteers for their thrift store and food pantry in Phillipsburg. Your time can directly help those in need. Contact Maria Hunter at 732-387-1315 or mhunter@ccdom.org to learn more about how you can contribute.
