VOL. 46, NO.1· Friday, January 4, 2002
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year
Reaction to 9/11 tops diocese's 2001 stories ~
Prayerful people mourning loss of local priest, relatives and parishioners in September 11 's terrorist attacks led the news. By
BISHOP'S BALL presentees Chrissy Massoud, Michaela Smith and Rebecca Oliver meet with Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, diocesan director of the event to discuss the festivities for January 11. (Anchon'Gordon photo)
Bishop's Ball • promises an exciting evening SWANSEA - Three of the 33 young women to be presented at the 47th annual Bishop's Charity Ball set for January 11 at the Venus de Milo Restaurant made a pre-Christmas visit there recently and said excitement was starting to build. Rebecca Oliver of St. John Neumann Church, East Freetown; Michaela Smith of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Seekonk; and Chrissy Massouc;l of St. 'Lawrence Church, Seekonk, accompanied Msgr. Thomas J. Harrington, director of the ball, for a look at the ballroom. Oliver, a senior at Apponequet HighSchool, admitted she is "excited about the Bishop's Ball," while Smith, a senior at Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, called it "An honor, and I'm looking forward to being part of it." Massoud, a sophomore at New Bedford High School, said a friend of hers was presented last year and she was hoping she'd be involved this year. "I'm very excited. It will be a special night." Although the gala winter event always ties in with the Christmas season which accompanies it, the decorations this year will innovatively take on another meaning - Patriotism - with red, white and blue as the order
of the evening, reports Msgr. Harrington. "Studio C," fresh from appearances at Foxwoods and other leading entertainment sites in southern New England, will provide the music for attendees from parishes throughout the Fall River diocese. "For many, the ball is seen as a celebration of the unity and diversity of the diocese,". said Msgr. Harrington. "The highlight of the ball is of course, the presentation of a group of young ladies who represent parishes from all geographic areas of our diocese; from the Attleboros and Mansfield all the way down to Cape Cod," he added. Each of the presentees has distinguished herself in service and ministry in her home parish, Msgr. Harrington noted. Each of them will formally greet Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., during the festivities. Accompanying the bishop will be the honorary co-chairmen, Betty Mazzucchelli of Falmouth, president of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women; and Ronald Correia, president of the Fall River Council of the Society of St; Vincent de Paul. The two organizations are traditionally the sponsors of the event.
Turn to page six - Ball
DEACON JAMES
N.
DUNBAR
FALL RIVER - Because Catholics throughout the Fall River diocese will remember for a lifetime the horrific consequences of September 11 's hijacking of three jetliners by terrorists and the impact it had on them, clearly makes those events 2001 's top story. Thousands across the diocese reacted immediately to the shock with prayers and after composing themselves hurried to their parish churches for quickly scheduled services and liturgies where they asked for healing and strength. They wept and prayed for the more than 3,000 killed when suicidal terrorists crashed two commercial airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York's Manhattan; another plane into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; and yet another near Pittsburgh, Pa., They also prayed, imploring God's help for the safety of America itself. In the wake of the disasters the reports of those
killed at the World Trade Center crashes included passengers from area parishes and communities aboard two of the airliners originating from Logan Airport in Boston. Among those on one of the flights was Holy Cross Father Francis Grogan, 76, former supervisor of the congregation's Mission House in North Dartmouth. Well known in many parishes through- . out the diocese, Father Grogan was particularly close to members of St. Stanislaus Parish in Fall River. Others for whom memorial Masses were held included Peter Gay, 54, of Tewksbury, son of Atty. Peter B. Gay of St. Joseph's Parish, Taunton; Berenthia Perkins, 53, of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Wellfleet, wife of the late actor, Anthony Perkins; Lynn C. Goodchild, 25, a member of St. Mark's Parish in Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro; Nealie Casey, wife of Michael Casey, son of Dr. William and Mrs. Mary Jane Casey of St. Mary's, Taunton; Kenneth Waldie, brother of Grace McCroaty, who teaches religious education for the Island Parishes on Martha's Vineyard; and Diana Snyder, 42, ofWestport and Connecticut, whose son, Leland Snyder, is a freshman at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth. Also among those killed were at least two U.S.
Turn to page eight - Diocese
THE TWIN Towers at the New York City World Trade Center bum after terrorists attacks on September 11 of last year. (CNS file photo)