2015 Pastoral Appointments

(March 20, 2015) – After more than 150 years of educating generations of children, St. Patrick School in Owego will close its doors in June 2015 at the end of the school year.

The recommendation to close the school, presented by St. Patrick parish and school leaders, was accepted by The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano, Bishop of Rochester, after consultation with, among others, the Diocesan School Board and the Presbyteral Council, a council of priests from throughout the 12-county diocese who advise the Bishop.

The recommendation from parish and school leadership was due to a steady decline in enrollment in recent years, projections of further enrollment decline, and the mounting financial pressures on the parish, which subsidizes the school’s operation. The school’s enrollment is currently at 58 (K-6).

“I am both very grateful and deeply impressed by the extraordinary efforts of both the parish and school communities which contributed to the school’s 150 year history of Catholic education,” Bishop Matano said in a letter to school parents. “Unfortunately a pattern of declining enrollment, coupled with increased costs and serious, mounting and unsustainable financial strains upon the parish, has necessitated this decision.”

“Perhaps the sadness of Saint Patrick’s School closing can become a positive occasion for our other Catholic schools to seek ways to make known what our Catholic schools offer and for alumnae and alumni of Catholic schools to lend their renewed support for the educational system that guided their paths in life,” he said.

“The situation also brings to mind the importance of passage of the State Education Investment Tax Credit proposal that would help families afford tuition at Catholic and other private schools by generating an additional $150 million in scholarships.”

Paula Smith, principal, said, “I have been blessed to be part of the St. Patrick School family for nine years and the closure of the school will be like losing a family member; with the same sadness and pain.  Right now I need to concentrate on the families, students and staff, helping families find a school that meets their child’s needs and supporting staff in any way. After all have had a time to grieve, I hope we can celebrate the wonderful things St. Patrick School has meant to so many over the last 156 years.

The doors may close but St. Patrick School will always be in my heart,” Principal Smith said, “and in the hearts of all the many generations who have passed through its doors.”

Reverend Thomas J. Valenti, parochial administrator of Blessed Trinity Parish-St. Patrick Parish, said he is most grateful to Paula Smith and all the teachers and staff for their leadership and dedication. “The school and church community here is close-knit and strong,” Father Valenti said. “With the help of God and by upholding each other, we will pray and work together as a community to ease the sadness at the closing, confident in the knowledge that we kept the school in operation as long as we could.”

Anthony Cook, Superintendent of Catholic Schools, said: “I share feelings of deep sadness with the community of St. Patrick School. After tireless review, consultation, prayer, and heroic efforts to raise the necessary funds to carry on, this is a very difficult time for everyone involved with the school. While the efforts to continue St. Patrick School ultimately did not succeed, the students, families, and staff are strong representatives of the school. I am so proud and grateful to know such caring and faith-filled people.”

Letter to the St. Patrick’s Community from Bishop Salvatore R. Matano

Joseph’s Place food pantry to open March 25

Joseph ‘s Place, a new food pantry housed in the former Sacred Heart convent at 287 Flower City Park, will open on Wednesday March 25. Joseph’s Place is a ministry of the Cathedral Community, a Roman Catholic parish that worships at Sacred Heart Cathedral. More than 40 volunteers have signed up to assist with food collection and distribution.

The pantry will be open on the second Wednesday of every month from 5 to 7 p.m., and on the fourth Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. Joseph’s place will serve residents of the Maplewood and Edgerton neighborhoods. Recipients must show ID and proof of residence, and may receive food and paper products once a month.

Initially, Joseph’s Place will distribute a wide variety of non-perishable food products and paper goods.

“We hope this will be a place where people can get connected to other folks who can help them get the services they need,” says Marcus Ebenhoe, social ministry coordinator for the Cathedral Community. “We hope Joseph’s Place will be about building relationships.”

Join the Sisters of Life for a “Buzz Session” on faith and life issues that matter to young adults. Bring your hard questions!

Join the Sisters of Life for Cupcakes and Converstation!

Dear Parents, Teachers, Friends and Supporters of our children in Catholic Schools:

I write to inform you of a very positive development in our advocacy efforts to enact the state Education Tax Credit proposal and, once again, to seek your help.

Because so many of you have spoken our on this issue, Governor Cuomo has included our Education Tax Credit proposal as part of his 2015-16 budget recommendations. If enacted, his proposal will provide an additional $50 million in scholarships to assist tuition-paying families with the education of their children. the bill also provides an equal level of support to public schools.

Lent summons us,
and enables us,
to come back to the Lord
wholeheartedly
and in every aspect of our life.

More than 400 Diocese of Rochester parishioners joined Bishop of Rochester Salvatore R. Matano and thousands of women, men and children from across the nation in Washington, D.C. Thursday for the January 22, 2015, March for Life, held annually on the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Roe vs Wade decision which legalized abortion in the United States.

Leaving Wednesday evening on buses from various parishes throughout the 12-county Diocese as well as personal vehicles, the pilgrims joined Bishop Matano at a 10 a.m. Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the nation’s capital, where The Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, was the principal celebrant and homilist.

Following Mass, the national March for Life began on the National Mall and concluded at the United States Supreme Court.  The Diocese of Rochester marchers included about 200 youth, who also attended a special March for Life youth rally at the Verizon Center in Washington.

“It’s thrilling that hundreds of parishioners from the Diocese of Rochester are making the effort to go to Washington and March for Life,” said Suzanne Stack, diocesan coordinator for Life Issues. “For those of us taking the bus, it’s a challenging 24 hour pilgrimage, but worth the sacrifice to be a witness to the value of all human life, born and unborn.”

Stack continued, “The 200 youth from the Diocese of Rochester are joining thousands from all over the United States. This is truly the pro-life generation. They have grown up with legal abortion all their lives and know the damage it does to mothers, fathers, family members, friends, to say nothing of the millions of lives lost.  These youth care about all human life and want to add their presence and voices to defend the right to life of every person, no matter how small.”

One bus, from Rochester’s inner-city church Holy Apostles, was comprised of youth from the parish’s neighborhood, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini parish in Rochester and from St. Michael’s Woodshop. Father Tony Mugavero is leading the youth on a three-day pilgrimage with a Consistent Life Ethic emphasis.  The trip will include several videos with themes of non-violence and protection of all human life from conception to natural death.  Besides the Youth Rally, Mass, and March for Life, they will visit the national Holocaust Museum and other sites in Washington. The trip was made possible by the generous sponsorship of priests, deacons, area parishes, individual Catholics, and funds from the Consistent Life Ethic Grant, sponsored by Life Issues of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester. 

Stack said Bishop Matano’s presence with the marchers is “inspiring to all. We diocesan pilgrims appreciate his leadership in calling for the protection of the unborn, who are most vulnerable and without a voice.”

During his homily at a special Mass for Life this past Sunday at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, Bishop Matano said, “The threats to human life from the moment of conception until natural death, increased violence, escalating wars, and abuses against persons for selfish, immoral purposes, all these inhumane acts have created a culture of death unworthy of our children. How shall our children remember us? What values are we instilling in them? How much of God’s law is the law they follow?…If we want to be a society which has the affirmation and protection of human rights as its primary objective and boast, then we must reverence the most basic right – the right to life in all its stages.”

• 7:00 PM, Thursday, January 29,  at Saint Pius Tenth (School), 3000 Chili Avenue, Rochester
• 7:00 PM, Wednesday February 4, at Church of the Transfiguration (Parish Life Center- Double Room) , 50 West Bloomfield Road, Pittsford,
• 10:00 AM, Saturday, February 21, at St. Bernard’s School of Theology & Ministry, 120 French Road, Rochester

Anthony Cook, superintendent of schools for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, recently announced the appointment of two new principals at schools in Rochester and Corning, NY.

Jacqueline Acosta-Senecal began serving as principal at St. John Neumann School in Rochester on Jan. 1. Acosta-Senecal came to the Diocese from the Wayne Central School District where she served in a variety of roles including summer school assistant principal and coordinator of the district’s International Baccalaureate program. She has also chaired, and taught, in the district’s Spanish department for the last 14 years.

Acosta-Senecal received her Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages from SUNY Buffalo and a Master of Arts in Secondary Education from Nazareth College.

­­­­­­­­­­­James Tauzel will begin his role as principal at All Saints Academy in Corning, NY on Jan. 19. Before accepting his new role, Tauzel was a secondary science strategist in the Donna Independent School District in Donna, Texas. In addition to coordinating a secondary science program for 7,500 students in grades 6 through 12, he also served in several other teaching and supervisory roles in the district.

Tauzel received his Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a Master in Educational Administration from the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas.

Diocese of Rochester seminarian Peter Van Lieshout, who was ordained a transitional deacon in October, will be  assisting Pope Francis at the televised Christmas “Midnight Mass” in St. Peter’s Basilica. Van Lieshout will be chanting the Gospel and serving as one of the deacons.

Van Lieshout, a native of Livonia whose home parish is St. Matthew’s, served his Pastoral Year at Our Lady of Peace Parish and is completing his theological studies in Rome.

“It really is a special privilege to serve at the Midnight Mass,” he said in an e-mail. “I’m grateful for the honor.”

He is to be ordained a Diocese of Rochester priest in June 2014, along with Deacon Sergio Chavez.

“What I look forward to most is simply living out the priestly vocation with zeal by teaching the faith in its full beauty, giving the sacraments with reverence and love, and laying down my life for the people of our Diocese,” Van Lieshout told the Catholic Courier in an October interview. “May God give me the grace to do this well and with perseverance.”

The Mass is widely televised. Check local listings.

A Message for Christmas 2013

from The Most Rev Salvatore R. Matano,
Bishop Designate of Rochester

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Over the last several years there has been much discussion about the “New Evangelization,” an initiative vigorously proclaimed by Blessed John Paul II and enthusiastically taken up by his successors, Pope Benedict XVI, our Holy Father Emeritus, and our present Pontiff, Pope Francis.  Yet, for many, the “New Evangelization” is a popular theme but not very easily explained.  The birth of Christ, which we joyfully celebrate on Christmas day, December 25th, gives us the definition of the “New Evangelization.”

The birth of Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of the Son of God, took place on our behalf.  The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity came to dwell among us to teach us about His Father, to share with us the love of the Triune God, to forgive our sins, and to open for us the doors of eternal life and to establish the community of faith, the Church, of which He is its cornerstone.  Since the time of the Incarnation and the earthly mission of Jesus Christ, these realities have not changed.  What has changed is humanity’s lack of awareness of these marvelous acts of the Son of God.  The “New Evangelization” is really a call to awaken in us a renewed appreciation for Jesus Christ present among us, continuing to live in our midst and alive in our hearts if we only open our hearts to receive Him.

The “New Evangelization” is not a program or another strategic plan; it is not another proposal; it is not something, but Someone, the very person of Jesus Christ: His life, His words, His presence, His union with us in the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist.  The “New Evangelization” is the Incarnation coming alive in our own age.  The “New Evangelization” means accepting the Child born at Bethlehem and unreservedly following Him.  The essence of the birth of Christ, the essence of the “New Evangelization,” is powerfully captured in the words of Benedict XVI: “From the moment of His birth, He belongs outside the realm of what is important and powerful in worldly terms.  Yet it is this unimportant and powerless child that proves to be the truly powerful one, the one on whom ultimately everything depends.  So one aspect of becoming a Christian is having to leave behind what everyone else thinks and wants, the prevailing standards, in order to enter the light of the truth of our being, and aided by that light to find the right path.” (Pope Benedict XVI, The Infancy Narratives, Jesus of Nazareth, 2012, p. 67).

The “New Evangelization” is not recreating a product, rather it is recreating ourselves in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.  It means joining the shepherds and Magi at the crib and realizing there is the Savior of humanity, and in that recognition redefining who we are as God’s children, making a conscious effort to follow the Lord in all things.

Once again, the means for renewing ourselves in Christ are present and call for a rediscovery of them on our part.  It is almost impossible to speak of renewal without speaking of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a Sacrament that sadly is forgotten by many in the community of the faithful.  Yet it is so very powerful in its effects as so beautifully taught by Blessed John Paul II in Reconciliatio et paenitentia: “It must be recalled that… this reconciliation with God leads, as it were, to other reconciliations, which repair the others breaches caused by sin.  The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his innermost truth.  He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way offended and wounded.  He is reconciled with the Church.  He is reconciled with all creation.” (31, 5).

Once we have experienced the Lord’s mercy, we have placed ourselves in more intimate communion with the Lord culminating in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist.  One cannot understand or appreciate the One who is the “New Evangelization” without entering into the Mystery of the Paschal Lamb, Who forgives our sins and nourishes us with His very body and blood.  The primary concern, the first concern of the “New Evangelization” should be welcoming back, encouraging and reaching out to our brothers and sisters who no longer attend Holy Mass.  Without this emphasis upon the importance of participation at the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the “New Evangelization” is without a subject.  In his first encyclical letter, Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis writes: “The Eucharist is a precious nourishment for faith: an encounter with Christ truly present in the supreme act of His love, the life-giving gift of Himself.” (44).

The “New Evangelization” is the wood of the crib at Bethlehem become the wood of the cross on Calvary.  It is Christ upon the cross who speaks to us of the “New Evangelization.”  In Him crucified we see the two great commandments lived fully: love God, love your neighbor.  Do not these two great commandments unveil anew the meaning of the “New Evangelization”?  “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.” (cf. Mt. 22:37-40).  Many have forgotten the meaning and the power of the cross.  “The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, ‘the one mediator between God and men’.  But because in His incarnate divine person He has in some way united Himself to every person, ‘the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery’ is offered to all people.  He calls His disciples to ‘take up (their) cross and follow (Him)’, for ‘Christ also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example so that (we) should follow in His steps.’  In fact Jesus desires to associate with His redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries.  This is achieved supremely in the case of His mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of His redemptive suffering.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 618).

This, my brothers and sisters, is the message of the “New Evangelization”!  The cross is not a mere symbol, only to be depicted on decorative jewelry or other ornamentation – the cross is real, Christ’s death is real, Christ’s resurrection is real and this is the reality of the “New Evangelization,” the message that needs to resurface and rise above the voices of secular society that either ignores God or denies His existence!  The birth of Jesus Christ ushered in a new moment in humanity’s history, new in every age and in every circumstance because in its transcendence it breaks the limits and boundaries of all that is human and introduces humanity to eternity! “The human existence of the Son is the glory of the Father.  In the crib and on the Cross, the glory of God is raised aloft in this world.  And wherever men follow this God, a new humanity begins, and peace on earth begins, even if only in a fragmentary fashion.” (Benedict XVI, The Blessing of Christmas, 2007, pp. 108-109).

As we celebrate this great solemnity of the birth of Our Savior, let us embrace as a diocesan family the “New Evangelization,” for, in fact, we are embracing Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever!  And may our faith in Him cause us to be mindful of those among us who suffer in any way; may we be instruments of joy and peace for them according to our particular gifts and talents.  Let us also remember those in military service, away from family and friends, who defend our freedom.  May they return home safely and may peace, the peace of Christ, the peace of that first Christmas, bless our world once again!

I wish you all a very blessed Christmas and a joyous and peace-filled New Year!

Devotedly yours in Christ,

The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop Designate of Rochester

• Catholic Ministries Appeal
• Superintendent’s Hardship Fund
• Bishop Matthew Clark Youth Fund

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
EVANGELII GAUDIUM
OF THE HOLY FATHER
FRANCIS
TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY,
CONSECRATED PERSONS
AND THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL
IN TODAY’S WORLD