Diocese of Fall River
The Anchor
F riday , February 5, 2010
Diocesan collection draws ‘overwhelming’ response By Dave Jolivet, Editor
FALL RIVER — One can’t escape the terrible images emanating from the tiny island country of Haiti — images of total destruction; homeless and hungry inhabitants; orphaned children; traumatically injured men, women and children; and fatalities above and beneath the rubble. The horrendous 7.0 earthquake that struck the Port-auPrince region on January 12 sent shock waves not only across the island community, but across the world as well. In response to the dire circumstances facing the Haitian people in the days, weeks, months and years to come, the Diocese of Fall River quickly organized a special collection at all Masses at all diocesan churches January 23-24 and 30-31. Following the initial weekend collection, many diocesan priests told The Anchor the response from the faithful has been “outstanding.” Father Thomas E. Costa Jr., a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk said, “We collected an amazing $15,000,
which equals what we usually collect at weekend Masses. Everyone wants to help, the response was overwhelming.” “People have seen so many disturbing images from Haiti, and they see a lot of sadness. They know they can’t go there and help, but they can support the Haitians financially. And even more importantly, our prayers are very important to helping the victims. We can connect with them spiritually through prayer, which shouldn’t be a last resort. It should be the first resort.” Father Costa said that in spite of the horrible images coming from Haiti, God will have good come from this. “We’re seeing how God is present through all this. In the healing, the mercy, the charity and the love. It’s not just the Catholic Church in Haiti, or the Church in the U.S. that’s affected. We’re all one Church, there for each other.” At Holy Name Parish in Fall River, pastor, Father George E. Harrison told The Anchor he was very pleased with the response. “The people have responded in an extraordinary fashion this weekend, Turn to page 15
a day for st. damien — Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, blesses the altar while Father Christopher Santangelo, SS.CC., right, pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, New Bedford, looks on during a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrating the recent canonization of St. Damien of Molokai on January 31 — World Leprosy Day — in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C. Fifty people from the diocese embarked on a weekend pilgrimage to the event. (Photo by Jack Iddon)
Diocesan pilgrims celebrate St. Damien’s canonization with Mass in nation’s capital By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fifty pilgrims from across the Fall River Diocese traveled to the nation’s capital January 31 to give thanks for the recent canonization of St. Damien of Molokai, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass honoring the heroic “leper priest” and ninth saint canonized who lived and worked
extensively in the United States was celebrated by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. It occurred as the fruit of a providential meeting between Archbishop Sambi and Father William Petrie, SS.CC., provincial of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary based in Fairhaven, during a national get together of provincial fathers last year. The two were seated together
at lunch and Father Petrie casually suggested having a celebration here to honor this newest American saint. He added that although many people would be able to attend the actual canonization ceremony and celebrations in Rome last October, there were many other devotees of St. Damien and members of his own order who approached him to say that they could not attend. Turn to page 12
Cape Cod parish hopes to provide ongoing aid to sister parish in Haiti By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
proof positive — A tiny hand from within the womb clutches the finger of a physician during an emergency procedure in this remarkable photograph. The fetus was 21 weeks old. Photo by Michael Clancy. Used with permission. See Christine Williams’ story beginning on page five of this edition.
BREWSTER — When news first broke of the devastating earthquake that struck the city of Port-auPrince in Haiti January 12, Father Bernard Baris, MS, pastor of the Our Lady of the Cape Parish, immediately contacted their “sister” parish of St. Claire in Dessalines — a community approximately 80 miles outside the nation’s capital. “Thank God, St. Claire was not damaged in the earthquake, because it’s about 80 miles north of Portau-Prince,” Father Baris said. “They certainly felt the earthquake, but physically the buildings weren’t damaged. There are nuns there — the Sisters of the Charity of Ottawa — and their community provided them with a satellite dish, so they were able to get in touch with us soon after the earthquake via the Internet and let us know they were OK.” In many ways, Father Baris views St. Claire Parish and all the people it serves as an extension of his own diocesan ministry. For the past 20 years the parishioners at Our Lady of the Cape have provided support through prayers, volunteer efforts and financial contributions to the remote Haitian parish that serves a large contingency of
the country’s Catholic population. “It’s a very large parish covering a very large area,” Father Baris said. “They have nine chapels — what we call mission churches. They also have four schools with 3,000 students and a medical dispensary that sees between 80 and 100 people a day. It’s a very big operation.” The generosity of parishioners at Our Lady of the Cape has provided funding for two of St. Claire’s four schools — one a high school — and they continue to send $4,500 a month to fund the school lunch program at the parish. “For a lot of these kids that’s the only meal they get in a day,” Father Baris said. “So it’s a very important part of their education.” Father Baris has personally been involved with the Haitian mission for the last 12 years and has traveled there 10 times with different groups of parishioners. In fact, Father Baris and a group from Our Lady of the Cape were slated to fly out the very day the earthquake hit, so they never left. Although Dessalines wasn’t directly affected by the tragedy, Father Baris said they are going to be experiencing a trickle effect in the coming days, weeks, Turn to page 21