Names and Numbers: Meaningful milestones

The latest installment of Names and Numbers includes a parish, a school, and six religious sisters celebrating decades of ministry and service, as well as a state-of-the-art performance center, a Haiti Carnavale and a back-to-school event for West Baltimore children.

1,200

Approximate seating capacity of the newly renovated Performing Arts Center at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, which was blessed Sept. 7 by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori.

Spalding President Kathleen Mahar said the school was “blessed and humbled” by the support it received for the “much-needed transformation of space that supports every student, especially when we gather as a community to celebrate liturgy.”

Renovations to the auditorium, originally built in 1966, began in June 2016 and included LED lighting, acoustic wall systems and ceiling, modern sound equipment and a new stage floor. The project also brought the school into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

500+

Participants at the annual Haiti Carnavale at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. The Sept. 16 fundraiser benefited the cathedral’s sister parish, St. Charles Borromeo in Gonaives, Haiti. Proceeds from the event, which marshaled the efforts of more than 100 volunteers, will help the Haiti parish build a more permanent building for its school, St. Ambrose, which saw its temporary structure destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016.

Carnavale revelers enjoyed 20 family-friendly activities, including a dunk tank (pictured), auction and wine pull.

 

500

Children who received backpacks filled with school supplies Aug. 24 at Bon Secours Community Works’ third annual Back to School Open House.

The community outreach arm of Bon Secours Baltimore Health System, Bon Secours Community Works is located two blocks from the West Baltimore hospital, which is sponsored under the umbrella of Bon Secours Ministries, a board of four Bon Secours Sisters and three lay board members.

The Back to School Open House also included food, games, dental screenings and a meet-and-greet with primary care doctors, as well as opportunities to schedule immunizations.

 

 

385

Combined years of ministry, prayer and service offered by six Religious Sisters of Mercy who celebrated jubilees Sept. 9 at Mercy Villa in Baltimore. From left, with their years of service in parentheses, are: Mercy Sister Gess Kirby (70); Mercy Sister Charlotte Rose Kerr (50); Mercy Sister Catherine Reichenberg (70); Mercy Sister Elaine Sebera (50); and Mercy Sister Agnese Neumann (70). Mercy Sister Natalie John, not pictured, was recognized for 75 years of ministry.

The sisters have served in Maryland, Georgia and Alabama as educators, health care providers and social service ministers.

 

60

Years celebrated by Our Lady of Victory School in Arbutus, which marked the anniversary with a Sept. 17 Mass and reception. Father John Rapisarda, pastor of Our Lady of Victory Parish and chaplain/director of Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in Catonsville, delivered a homily on St. Julie Biliart, foundress of the School Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the order which originally staffed Our Lady of Victory School.

More than 100 attended the celebration; the Chapple family, pictured, include an alumnus and a current fourth-grader.

 

 

 

 

50

Years commemorated by St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Carney. Parishioner Paula Airesman created the official logo, pictured, for the parish’s golden jubilee. Her design was selected from other submissions in a logo contest and will be used to highlight jubilee activities, including the kick-off, a fall festival Sept. 29-30 at the parish, and an official opening Mass, scheduled for Oct. 14 with Bishop Denis Madden, auxiliary bishop emeritus of Baltimore, as the main celebrant.

Jubilee activities for the parish, which was established in 1968, will continue throughout 2018.

 

 

19

 

Catholic churches, schools and ministries represented at the Catholic Communities of Howard County booth at the Howard County Fair, Aug. 2-12 in West Friendship.

“The response has been wonderful from Catholics and non-Catholics alike, many telling booth staff how much they like Pope Francis,” said Gina Maclean, a parishioner of the Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City, in an email.

The booth, coordinated for the second year by the pastoral council of the Church of the Resurrection, is a response to the pope’s call to meet people where they are. Fair-goers also had the opportunity for a photo with Pope Francis (the flat version), as seen here with Roy Harris, a member of Resurrection’s pastoral council.

 

 

8

Men honored at St. Joseph Catholic Community in Eldersburg Sept. 9-10, when the Carroll County parish held its Clergy Appreciation Day. Marianist Father Neville O’Donohue, the pastor, is shown displaying a candy sign to members of his community. Also recognized were Marianist Father Dave McGuigan, Father John Worgul, Deacons Michael Dvorak, Vito Piazza and Karl Bayhi, as well as Marianist Brothers Jesse O’Neill and Justin Quiroz, who serve at Mother Seton Academy in Baltimore.

 

 

 

2

New chaplains serving in Emmitsburg. Father Daniel Mentasana (left) and Father Theodore Trinko, both of the Incarnate Word Missionaries, are sharing ministries at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Both priests, who were placed through a joint effort of the shrines and Archdiocese of Baltimore, will celebrate Mass, hear confessions and perform other services.

“We’ve been without a permanent chaplain since October 2016, and are grateful to the priests who filled in during that time,” said Rob Judge, executive director of the Seton Shrine. “We look forward to having our visitors get to know Father Daniel and Father Ted.”

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