On March 14, the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners honored Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney in Paterson as part of their Irish-American Heritage Month Celebration. Bishop Sweeney is pictured at the ceremony, which included dancing and bagpipes. County Commissioner Terry Duffy presented the bishop with a letter.
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney presided at the annual Acies convocation of the Legion of Mary on March 12 in St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Morristown. It was attended by Legion of Mary members and priests. During the Acies each year, Legion of Mary members recommit themselves to the Holy Spirit and to Mary. The event included Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by the recitation of the rosary.
St. Bonaventure Church in Paterson hosted a Noche Blanca, or “White Night,” retreat for Hispanic youth and others on Saturday, March 11. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney attended the beginning of the event to welcome participants.
Ecuador Quilt, Inc., founded in the year 2000 by Our Lady of Consolation of Wayne parishioners and incorporated in 2006, seeks, per its website, to provide “adequate health care, nutrition, and relevant training and education that will lift residents out of poverty to create a path to a self-sustaining future.” Father Desmond Dalton is the priest who serves the poverty-stricken fishing village in San Pablo, Ecuador. Twenty-three years ago, his sister’s (a Wayne resident) son began discussing its prevalent severe plight and famine with the son of an Our Lady of Consolation parishioner.
Father Duberney Villamizar, the pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Morristown, said he feels blessed to have the opportunity to become “the voice of the Latino faith community in the leadership of the diocese” with his new role as episcopal vicar for Hispanic Affairs.