Maribeth Mancini receives F. Sadlier Dinger Award

Diocesan director receives F. Sadlier Dinger Award

Maribeth Mancini,  director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester’s Department of Evangelization and Catechesis, has been honored with the prestigious F. Sadlier Dinger Award. The award was presented May 20, 2014, during the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership in St. Louis, Mo.

The award, given annually since 1980 by William H. Sadlier Inc., a longtime publisher of educational and religious education materials, honors outstanding contributions to the ministry of religious education in America. Previous recipients have included Cardinals Joseph Bernardin, Pio Laghi and Terence Cooke,  author Rev. Andrew Greeley,  and many other distinguished men and women.

Mancini came to the Diocese in 1982, serving in a variety of roles in religious education and faith formation. In 1989 she became the first lay director of the Department of Religious Education and later was named Diocesan Director of the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis and coordinator of diocesan Faith Development Services. She holds a master’s degree in theology from St. Bernard’s Institute and a bachelor’s degree in English from Nazareth College. In 2001, she served as president of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership and has served on the organization’s board of directors.

Mancini has lead a number of major initiatives for the Diocese, including a three-year diocesan spiritual renewal, Spirit Alive!, from 2007 to 2010, coordinating education around the annual Diocesan Day of Penance, safe-environment training of catechists and volunteers, lifelong faith formation initiatives, expansion of programs for people with special needs, and several spiritual renewal campaigns.

In 2013, Mancini and her staff received the Diocesan Award from the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership, based in Washington, D.C., for a multi-faceted initiative using technology, including the development of an online Learning Center, online marriage preparation, resources for catechists, and new websites for spiritual enrichment and understanding, including  The Spiritual Pilgrim, (http://spiritualpilgrim.dor.org); Homelinks, a family faith formation website; and Forgiven, a website to promote celebration of the Sacrament of Penance (http://forgiven.dor.org)