t eanc 0 VOL. 44, NO. 27
• Friday, July 21, 2000
FALL RIVER, MASS.
FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETIS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year
Diocese to receive another priest ~
British native Father Gerard O'Connor will be ordained tomorrow by Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap.
FALL RIVER - Ceremonies at 11 a.m., tomorrow in St. Mary's Cathedral, will find Father Gerard O'Connor of Kingston Upon Hull, East Yorkshire, England, who has been studying in Rome, ordained to the priesthood to serve the Fall River diocese. Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., will be the principal celebrant. The ordination brings to six the number of men ordained to the priesthood in the diocese this Jubilee Year. Five others were ordained on June 3. Father O'Connor, 35, is the son of the late John and the late Catherine (Richardson) O'Connor. He has three brothers, John, Philip and Nicholas O'Connor. His home parish is St. Charles Borromeo in East Yorkshire. Following high school graduation from Marist College in East Yorkshire in 1983, he did undergraduate studies leading to a
bachelor of science degree at Kingston Uni- 2 p.m., in St. Mary's Church New Bedversity in London in 1985. He obtained a ford. Father Roger J. Landry will be the master's degree in business administration homilist. from there in 1990. In an interview this week, Father He entered Holy Apostles Seminary in O'Connor talked about his vocation, the 1995 and the following year began four need for priests and the importance for years of theological studies at the North young men to listen to the call and follow American College in Rome. His local sum- up. mer ministries were "I first heard a call served at Corpus to a priestly vocation Christi Parish, East when I was 13 or 14 Sandwich; St. - in high school at Mary's Cathedral, . the time," he said. "It Fall River; and St. was much the priestly Mary's Parish, New example of my pasBedford. tor, a wonderful He was installed priest, a holy man, a as a lector and acoman of the people, lyte at the North that initially attracted American College me to considering beand was ordained a ing a priest." transitional deacon Later he became on Oct. 7, 1999 in busy with college and St. Peter's Basilica, his job as head of marRome. keting for a computFather O'Connor ing company. But afwill celebrate his ter he came to first Mass Sunday at America "it sort of hit FATHER GERARD.O'CONNOR
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me," recalled Father O'Connor. " I had everything I wanted. But I wasn't being fulfilled and there was a lack of happiness in what I was doing. The thoughts of a vocation came back and I started going to Mass every day and the next thing I knew I was in the seminary." Father O'Connor said that "for every young Catholic man today there is a responsibility to seriously consider the priesthood, especially at a time when priests are heeded. Young fellows need to find a priest they like and trust and talk to him about the pros and cons, etc. I can tell them that you can be very successful in the world; but you never achieve the full happiness you have when you're doing God's work." In preparation for the ordination, the diocese's Vocation Office will host a Holy Hour for Vocations tonight at 6:30 p.m., at St. Mary's Church, Tarkiln Hill Road, New Bedford. All are invited to join with parish Vocation Teams, the Serra Clubs of Attleboro and New Bedford, and the Knights of Columbus throughout the diocese in praying for an increase in vocations to the ordained and consecrated life.
'Encuentro 2000' celebrated differences, saDleness in Church By DAVE JOLIVET
New Bedford, and a member of the National Catholic Conference Hispanic Ministry (NCCHM), and NEW BEDFORD - "I hope some day we can he was speaking about Encuentro 2000, a four-day copy what happened in Los Angeles and make it cultural exchange for Catholics held recently in Los happen in the Fall River diocese," said Edwin Angeles. The event, entitled "Many Faces in God's House," Aldarondo in an interview with The Anchor. Aldarondo is the Hispanic Advocate working out of gathered over 5,000 Catholics from 150 dioceses, the Catholic Social Serv:ices office in Fall River, a representing 150 countries of origin, and included member of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Parish in 82 U.S. bishops, several from Latin America, and over 150 priests. Encuentro (Spanish for encounter) 2000, sponsored by the U.S bishops, offered liturgies, prayer services, speakers, and over 90 workshops - all centering around reconciliation, peace and unity among the diverse peoples who make up the Catholic Church in the Americas. Thirteen people from the Diocese of Fall River attended, including Carlos G. Wharton of St. Mary's Parish, Taunton, who was invited by the NCCHM to speak on "Using Technology to Build Networks in the Public Image;" Sister Aida Sansor, MGSp.S, DiocSOME OF those from the Fall River diocese who attended esan Spanish Apostolate, who Encuentro 2000 were, back row, from left: Guadalupanas Sister gave a workshop on "Opening Candelaria Hernandez, Santos Rosas, Guadalupanas Sisters Wide the Doors to Christ: Obdulia Olivar, Ana Gabriela Castro, AidaSansor and Sandra Open-Hearted Hospitality to Immigrants and Refugees;" ANCHOR STAFF
Campos; front: Carlos Wharton, Mauro Quevedo, Ines Wharton Turn to page 13 - Encuentro and Edwin Aldarondo. (Photos courtesy of Carlos Wharton)
CAPE VERDE HISTORY - Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., handles a pilon, a pestle used to pulverize corn into flour for cooking and baking as he meets Arlindo Rodrigues, Eugenia "DaDa" Dias, Maria Freitas and Marianna Pina. (Photos courtesy of Tom Lopes)
Cape Verdeans celebrate independence anniversary BvToM
LOPES, EDITOR
CAPE VERDEAN NEWS
FALL RIVER - Cape Verdeans from the Diocese of Fall River, Rhode Island and Boston gathered earlier this month for a special Turn.to page six - Cape Verde