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FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPE:R FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAF'f;,COO &THE ISLANDS I FALL RIVER, MASS.
VOL. 45, NO. 41 • Friday, October 26, 2001
Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly • $14 Per Year
St. Anne's School seeks relieffrom 76~ year-old pa~es ~
Portuguese consul's • compassion remembered
More new modern windows are needed to keep the students and staff warm this winter. By
DEACON JAMES
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N. DUNBAR
FALL RIVER - While the vintage windows at St. Anne's School on Forest Street have served decades of students well, no one is sorry to see them go. "The huge wooden windows have done their job since this school was built in 1925, but they were long at the stage of rattling and letting wind, rain, and even snow enter the classrooms and offices," said Principal Felipe Felipe. The school's administration began addressing the problematic windows a few years ago and at start of school this fall, just short of half of the school's 400 dilapidated windows have been replaced with new aluminum ones. Last week, Felipe, Vice-Principal Brenda Gagnon and Development Director Joseph Castro, talked to The Anchor about the ongoing financial campaign to outfit the entire four-story school with the modern, double glass, low maintenance windows. "Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., celebrated a special Mass last month and we held a luncheon afterward to show our appreciation for all those who contributed to the windows project and to everyone who assisted," Felipe said. . "Maintenance upkeep in a building this old is a continual struggle," he added. The funding for the windows thus far has come from many sources. Castro is in charge of the annual drive aimed at paying for the windows, ' measuring approximately seven feet by 40-inches, which cost approximately $700 apiece. The fund-raising has realized more than $140,000 thus far, and it is anticipated that it will take at least that amount to install more new windows throughout the school. 'The annual window drive will kick off on January 2, 2002, and it includes a mailing to the school's alumni as well as local businesses and parishioners of St. Anne's Church," Castro said. Rather than set a target figure to be raised "we're simply asking for donations," Felipe said. "We honor those who contribute, or in whose memory they donate by putting a memorial plaque on each new window." Some of the regular funding "comes
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THERE'S a sense of autumn at St. Joseph's Church in Fall River. Each fall season, parishioners Rosemary Gasperini and her father Dan Netto decorate the altar area in memory of Louise Netto, their mother and wife respectively. (Photo by Irene Corey) ,
Thursday, November 1, is the feast of All Saints. It is a holy day on which Catholics are obliged to attend Mass.
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Diocese hosts equestrian order By DAVE JOLIVET EDITOR
CAPE COD - Th'e Upper Cape was the setting for the Annual Investiture Ceremonies and Business Meeting for the Northeast lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem last weekend. Order' members from Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island remembered deceased comrades and welcomed new constituents at a series of Masses, din-
ners and meetings. The Order, which traces its origin back to 1099, has a fundamental aim to strengthen .the Christian way of life of its members, with absolute faith in the pope, in addition to sustaining and aiding works and institutions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. At present, the Order has more than 20,000 . knights and ladies, and is established in more than 29 countries with'49 lieutenancies, 20 Tum to page 16 - Equestrian
VESTED - Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., presents insignia of office during the solemn Mass and investiture ceremony of candidates for the Equestrian Order of the Holy 'Sepulchre of Jerusalem on October 19 in St. Elizabeth Seton Church, North Falmouth. (Anchor photo by Bruce McDaniel)
The late Aristides de Sousa Mendes put his life on the line for people of many faiths, said Bishop Sean R O'Malley, OFMCap.
FALL RIVER - People of all faiths gathered October 20 to remember a devout and heroic man who risked and lost everything as he helped 30,000 refugees flee from the Nazi horrors of World War II. At a 7:30 p.m. service in St. Anthony of Padua Church, hundreds from the area's Portuguese and Jewish communities paid tribute to Aristides de Sousa Mendes who was the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France in 1940 as thousands of refugees from all parts of Europe found themselves trapped. His action and that of two of his sons, to laboriously within three days handwrite 30,000 visas allowing the refugees, including 10,000 Jews, to escape to freedom over the Pyrenees and into Spain was heroic but devastating to himself, his wife and his family. "For what he did, in disobeying the expressed order not to issue visas given by Portugal's dictator Antonio Oliveira Salazar, de Mendes himself died poverty stricken in 1954," said Bishop Sean P. O'Malley, OFM Cap., one of the key speakers at the program. In a later interview, the bishop said that "We gathered to bring attention and tribute to this very Catholic, very religious and courageous man whose decision to help these refugees was never recognized during his lifetime." Among the speakers was one of Mendes' 14 children, 71-year-old son .John Paul de Sousa Mendes Abranches of Pleasanton, Calif., the guest of honor. Abranches said he travels internationally hoping to share the legacy of his father's deeds and 'making them remembered. He described it as a story that shows how one person can make a profound difference in many people's lives and how much the world today needs to hear of such courage, dedication and commitment. Other presenters included Dr. Ronald Schneider of Somerset, a practicing physician in Fall River as well as a noted historian and speaker; and Antonio Teles Fazendeiro, the Portuguese consul for greater Fall River and New Bedford. The evening included a number of readings and talks that focused on de Sousa Mendes. '
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