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.

Please also join us in the nation’s capital Jan. 22 for the 2015 March for Life! Click here for more information.