Class Notes

Class Not es

Welcome to our newest alumni, the Class of 2018! Pictured are several students from the Class of 2018 sporting their college swag. We wish them the best of luck this fall!

Debbie (Basile) Katsanos, CHS class of 1982 just celebrated her 30th anniversary as an office manager for her company. She is living a very happy life in New Hampshire with her husband of 13 years, Richard, her son, daughter in law and 2 beautiful granddaughters. Debbie says life did not go the way she planned, but it is the life she needed!

Bethann McKay, a 1985 graduate of Cathedral High School, is co-founder of H26 Coaching. Bethann now lives in Huntsville, Alabama. She and her business partner just started a health coaching business. We help those that have chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity, live healthier lifestyles through nutrition and physical activity. They also have a special program designed by the CDC for people that have prediabetes. They coach them by giving them the tools to make the lifestyle changes critical in preventing or delaying the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

Bethann and her business partner do all of their coaching on-line, so they are not exclusive to Alabama. She has included a link to their website to give more information about their company. You can also find them on FB at h26healthcoaching. Bethann is excited Martin “Marty” J. Boyle, Cathedral High Class of 2011, works as a certified public accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Marty is also on track to release a studio album with his folk-rock duo, “The New Rockwells”. Marty and his band mate Benjamin S. Muller will release “Old Familiar Way”, which follows the release of the 2016 debut album, “Live From Carnegie Hall”. More details about Boyle’s musical talents can be found in the article published in The Republican Newspaper, Springfield about their company and is happy share her news with fellow alumni! Bethann McKay, Co-founder of H26 Coaching www.h26coaching.com

Springfield native, Captain Paul C. Spedero Jr., Cathedral class of 1986, was relieved of command for the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in a change of command ceremony aboard ship on August 9, 2018. Captain Spedero

assumed command of the Nimitz-class

MA, entitled, ’New Rockwells go-big-orgo- home’ by Cori Urban. The article was published 9/9/2018.

nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in November of 2015. Rear Admiral John Meier, commander, Carrier Strike Group 10, spoke about Spedero’s dedication to the Ike team, saying he “excelled at every turn.” Captain Spedero reports next as executive assistant to director Joint Staff. For more information on Captain Paul C. Spedero Jr., visit the article ’A crew made up of the very best’ published in the Springfield Republican, 8/29/2018.

Sarah Truoiolo, CHS class of 2000 won a very competitive election race in East Longmeadow to secure a School Committee seat. Sarah, a native of Springfield, moved to East Longmeadow in 2009. Sarah is a supervisor of Mathematics for the Springfield Public Schools. Sarah noted that her work in the Springfield Public Schools has provided her with a deep understanding of the resources needed by students and teachers to be successful in school.

On Friday of Memorial Day weekend, 2018, 141 Cathedral alumni and friends got together to play golf at Veterans Golf Course in Springfield. Billy Christofori, CHS ’79, organized the tournament. Per usual, the alumni ranged from 1950’s to the last Cathedralgraduating class of 2016. Everyone had a wonderful time socializing before and after golf, with generations crossing paths at every hole. On behalf of all

Officer John McCoy, HCHS class of 2012 and a 24-year-old reserve officer for the Holyoke Police Department was photographed alongside former Holyoke Police Officer Edward Wrobleski at the celebration of Edward’s 101st birthday party. The event was held at the Soldier’s Home in Holyoke on May 22, 2018. The caption in the newspaper cited the two as the oldest Holyoke police officer and the youngest!

IN Memoriam For the gift of this life, we thank you God.

The lives of the alumni members of our legacy schools and Pope Francis

Preparatory School are honored by our school community now and always.

We extend our deepest sympathy to the families and loved ones of those who have passed. A listing of the alumni who passed away between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 can be found on our website at www.popefrancisprep.org/alumni.

The accuracy of this list is based on a the Cathedral Alums and the golf tournament, $19,000 to the school. These funds will help supplement any athletic equipment needs for the new school. On June 22, 2018, in Buffalo, New York, two young men connected to Pope Francis Prep and our legacy schools Holyoke Catholic High School and Cathedral High Frank Furman IV , was ordained a priest, Saturday, June 30, 2018, at St. Michael’s Cathedral celebrated by Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski. Father Frank was raised in Easthampton, MA, and is the only child of Frank and JoAnn Furman. Father Furman received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee MA., physical or electronic newspaper obituary. Please notify Barbara Moran, Development Associate of any errors or omissions at bmoran@popefrancisprep.org.

If you would like to make a gift to the Annual Fund in memory of one of these individuals, please contact Daniel Fenton, Development Director at dfenton@ popefrancisprep.org or 833-999-7673 ext. 1129. A card acknowledging your

thoughtfulness will be sent to the family. School, were ordained to the priesthood, with Conventional Franciscans. We celebrate Christopher Dudek, HCHS Class of 2008, and Emanuel Vasconcelos, former teacher and campus minister from CHS, and wish them blessings from the Pope Francis Prep Community to serve God’s people and his holy church.

and is now in Rome finishing the second of a two-year licentiate in moral theology at the Dominican-run Angelicum University. Father Furman will return to the Springfield Diocese for a permanent assignment following his studies. Read of Father Furman’s journey in the July/ August 2018 edition of The Diocese of Springfield Catholic Mirror Magazine.

Vision f or

tomorrow

New Po e Francis Pre

by Jeannette Deforge

Building Op ens wit h Ribb on-Cutt ing

More than a week after students started classes at the new Pope Francis Preparatory School, officials gathered outside the new $54.5 million building to celebrate its opening.

The controversial choice — made after at least five years of debate — to merge Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic high schools to create the new school was the right one to ensure Western Massachusetts students will continue to get a Catholic education, Joshua R. Sears, a senior at the school, told the group of invited guests. He and classmate Rachael Shannon talked about how grateful they are for the big and little things the new school has to offer: A parking lot near the building instead of a block away, new science and engineering labs, nearby athletic fields and a permanent place to call home. “There is something special about a Catholic school, though, where they do not only care about academics and athletics,” Sears said. “Every day the faculty strives to build our character and make us better people. They strive to have God be a part of our everyday lives and that is a special thing.”

Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski gave a blessing and cut the ribbon and read a letter sent from the Vatican wishing the school well. Michele D’Amour,

Beyond high-tech learning stations, a competitive curriculum, and the very best a modern educational facility has to offer, we are also dedicated to providing the young people who walk through our doors an opportunity to learn the enduring principles of life, and of faith that have long enabled mankind.”

– Michele D’Amour, Chair, Board of Directors,

Pope Francis Preparatory School speaking at the Dedication Ceremony on September 9, 2018.

Every day the faculty strives to build our character and make us better people. They strive to have God be a part of our everyday lives and that is a special thing.”

– Joshua Sears

chairwoman of the school’s Board of Trustees, and Paul Harrington, the head of the school, also spoke at the event. The ribbon cutting was followed by tours of the school. But the long controversy about the fate of the former Cathedral High School, which dragged on for years after the building on Surry Road was destroyed by a tornado June 1, 2011, and brought bitter feelings especially from alumni and parents of students, could not be avoided during the ceremony. Rozanski talked about the “many years of planning” finally coming together to bring a day of joy for the school. “It was an arduous path. We had a number of meetings with (then) Bishop (Timothy) McDonnell and Bishop Rozanski ... wasn’t that fun,” said Mayor Domenic Sarno, whose two daughters attended Cathedral High School when it was moved from placeto-place after the tornado. Neal joked about he and Sarno swapping roles of playing the “bad cop” and “the diplomat” during those meetings.

After the school was damaged so badly it was determined it could not be used, Cathedral students first spent several years in a rented elementary school in Wilbraham. As enrollment at Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic High School continued to decline Rozanski, as the new bishop of Springfield, made the decision to merge the two schools. Even then students spent at least two years together at the Holyoke Catholic High School building in Chicopee – which has no gymnasium, auditorium, parking or playing fields – before finally moving to a permanent home on the former site of Cathedral High School. The school was built with the help of $39 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency money. Neal said that money was designated under the national principal to help the “American family” after

hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters devastate communities across the country. He also talked about his experiences teaching at what was then Cathedral High School so long ago that his original students are ready to retire and especially thanked the nuns, mainly members of the Sisters of St. Joseph, for their long dedication to teaching local students and then heading to homeless shelters and American Indian reservations to help during the summer. “They saw a potential in every child...no matter where that child came from,” Neal said.

The Dedication of St. Joseph Chapel to be Integral Part of School’s History

By Sharon Roulier

• www.iobserve.org

One of the most thought-filled additions to the new Pope Francis Preparatory School was celebrated August 21 as the school’s St. Joseph Chapel was dedicated and blessed by Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski.

During a special ceremony attended by more than 50 Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield, many of whom had taught in the legacy schools of Pope Francis Prep, the sisters were praised for their years of sacrifice and dedication to teaching thousands of high school students.

For more than 130 years, the sisters staffed the former Sacred Heart, Our Lady of the Rosary, St. Jerome, Holyoke Catholic and Cathedral high schools.

In his remarks to those attending the dedication, Paul Harrington, head of school for Pope Francis, tallied the years of service and number of sisters who served in each school:

1887-1963 – 84 sisters served Sacred Heart – totaling 389 sister-years of service

1902-1963 – 83 sisters served Rosary High School – totaling 463 sister years of service 1912-1963 –85 sisters served St. Jerome’s – totaling 316 sister-years of service

1963-2016 –78 sisters served Holyoke Catholic – totaling 510 sister-years of service 1884-2016 – 261 sisters served Cathedral High School – totaling 3,036 sister-years of service In all he said there were 434 Sisters of St. Joseph who collectively served 4,714 sister-years.

A permanent tribute to the sisters is the inscription of the name of every sister who has ever served in one of the legacy schools on the windows of the chapel entrance.

Sister Angela Deady taught at Holyoke Catholic from 1974-1988. “I’m a graduate of Cathedral High School, so when I saw the windows I was looking for those outstanding teachers that had inspired me not only to be a teacher but to be a religious to join them and so I really think it’s appropriate and it will be a blessing for this building to have this chapel dedicated to St. Joseph,” said Sister Deady. Sister Alice Kenney said she began her teaching career at the high school building nicknamed the “Gas House” on Elliot Street in Springfield. When the “first” Cathedral High School was built on Elliot Street, Sister Kenney taught there and was later principal of Cathedral. She said she was moved beyond words, seeing the names of sisters who had taught at the schools. sisters, really. And I’m old. I’m 90. But I’m looking at all those old people that I didn’t even know were part of Holyoke Catholic and part of Cathedral.” Harrington presented Sister Joan Ryzewicz, president of the Sisters of St. Joseph, with a leather-bound book inscribed with the name of every Sister of St. Joseph with her years of service and school, to be displayed in the new St. Joseph Chapel for all students, alumni, and visitors to enjoy. In her address to the guests gathered for the dedication, Sister Ryzewicz said the chapel was “truly amazing.”

Our sisters not only poured out love and dedication,” she said, noting that she was a student at the former Cathedral High School. “They poured blood, sweat and tears.” “We daughters of Joseph are delighted that this chapel will carry the name of our patron, St. Joseph. He was gentle and he was strong – probably what every teacher needs to be,” she said.