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VOL. 48, NO. 37 • Friday, October 1, 2004
FALL RIVER, MASS.
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year
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Octo6er ~ 2004 DCCW's Lavoie to receive 2004' Cardinal O'Connor Pro-Life Award By MIKE GORDON ANCHOR STAFF
Emmaus program celebrates 30 years of service to diocese By DAVE JOLIVET, EDITOR When Christ left his Church in the hands of his disciples more than two millennia ago, only God knew that millions upon millions of souls would walk in the footsteps of his Son through the years. In much the same way, only God knew what
would become of a fledgling, nameless retreat that took place at the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center in Wareham 30 years ago. What emerged from those efforts in June of 1974 was the Ernmaus Retreat Program, speTum -fa page 12 - Emmaus
FALL RIVER natives among the Religious of Jesus and Mary, who recently marked the closing of the Thevenet Mission Center on Highland Avenue in Fall River, are, from left, Sisters Irene Rheaume, Irene Castonguay, Denise Renaud, Antoinette GamacheJ Michelle Authier, Claudette Lapointe and Diane Dube. All but one are from Notre Dame Parish. (Photo courtesy of Sister Janice Farnham, RJM)
Religious of Jesus and Mary bid 'adieu'to Fall River FALL RIVER - After 127 years ofservice to the Fall River diocese ~md the community, Sisters of the Religious of Jesus and Mary closed their residence at 632 Highland Avenue as September ended.
The decision and the closing was announced by Sister Janet Stolba, RIM, provincial superior, after consulting with the Sisters of the U.S. Province. . Tum to page J3 - RiM
WESTPORT - Madeline "Maddy" Lavoie will be honored this year by the diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate as the recipient of the '2004 John Cardinal O'Cormor Award For the Gospel of Life. Bishop George W. Coleman will present the award during a banquet October 26 at 6 p.m. at White's of Westport for her decades of dedicated service to the . Pro-Life mission of the Church. The Fall River native said she was i astounded and the announcement came as a complete surprise when she found ... out she was get.. ting the award. "I was overwhelmed but absolutely honored to be the recipient," said Lavoie. She is a member of the Diocesan Pro-Life Committee and the District One Council of Catholic Women. Lavoie also volunteers her time helping out the Pro-Life
Apostolate whenever she can and has taught religious education for more than 30 years. She has been an active member of the Massachusetts Citizen's For Life group for 14 years and is a member of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Westport. "People ask me if I can come and help out and I always try to," declared Lavoie. When she was an expectant mother at St. Patrick's Parish, FalI River, some 40 years ago Lavoie and several other ladies at the parish started to provide others with information about pregnancies and raising children. She eventually got involved in the parish council and explored the Pro-Life aspect of it. She would bring information back from Pro-Life events or meetings and share that with her parish and also organized baby showers for expectant mothers. When Father Stephen A. Fernandes took over as director of the Pro-Life Apostolate, her inTurn to page /3Award
Diocesan Pro-Life advocates among those selected for MCFL awards BOSTON - Massachusetts Citizens For Life (MCFL) recently released a list of Pro-Life leaders who will be recognized at the annual MCFL dinner on October 15 in Randolph, and the Diocese of Fall River is well represented. Father Stephen A. Fernandes, diocesan director of the Pro-Life Apostolate and pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, New Bedford, will receive the 2004 Ignatius O'Connor Award for outstanding contributions to the Pro-Life
movement in Massachusetts. Bishop Daniel A. Cronin appointed Father Fernandes head ofthe apostolate in May of 1990, and since then, he has faithfully and diligently worked for the preservation of life, from conception to natural death. According to MCFL, "Father Fernandes' eloquent defense of the culture of life is well known by all parishes of the diocese. He was instrumental in establishing and nurturing the Pro-Life Apostolate in individual parishes and networking parishes through the deaneries
throughout the Diocese of Fall River. That the Fall River diocese is a vibrant, informed and active ann of the Pro-Life movement is due in no small part to the dedication of Father Fernandes." Selected for a Chapter Service Award was Aime LaChance, a parishioner of Notre Dame Parish, Fall River. "LaChance has taken the lead in placing ads in the Fall River Herald News and developing a local billboard campaign that continued on the area's Regional Transit Turn to page J3 - MCFL