By The Catholic Free Press 

JANUARY 

The year began and ended with great concern over the spread of the virus that plunged the world into a pandemic. But the work of the diocese continued with a new resolve as ministries pivoted to remote digital tools to spread the Good News. In early 2021 while reflecting on the pandemic and capsulating the pandemic’s effect on the church, African Ministry Chaplain, Father Enoch K. Kyeremateng, said, “With God, we stand in faith and hope. This, too, shall pass.”  

   The annual March for Life was dealt a serious blow by the pandemic. Instead of going on the traditional March in Washington, D.C., diocesan students made signs for an online slideshow.  It was called a Virtual March for Life. The year marked the 48th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. The day was designated a day of prayer and penance. Allison LeDoux, director of the Worcester Diocese’s Respect Life Office usually coordinates the diocesan trip. “Since we can’t participate physically in the D.C. events, we decided to do a virtual March for Life,” she said. 

The diocese added two new revenue sources to help alleviate the annual deficit in the priests’ retirement account. Parishes were to be assessed an additional 1 percentage point on their cathedraticum payment, to be used exclusively for priests’ retirement expenses in years when needed. Also, a diocesan wide parish collection for retired priests was held on Ash Wednesday. It will continue each year.  

FEBRUARY 

 Ash Wednesday reception of ashes was also affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Msgr. James P. Moroney, director of the diocesan Office for Divine Worship, advised parishes about a more safe process that involved the sprinkling of ashes with holy water without saying anything. Bishop McManus recommended that to avoid transmission of the virus, yet maintain the usual manner of distribution, that ashes be applied to each person’s forehead with a Q-tip, with each Q-tip discarded after it is used once.   

 The College of the Holy Cross named its first lay, and its first black president in its 178-year history. Vincent D. Rougeau, dean of the Boston College Law School, was chosen as the college’s 33rd president. Mr. Rougeau succeeded Jesuit Father Philip L. Boroughs, who announced in September that he would be leaving the college at the end of June, after serving as president for almost a decade. President Rougeau was installed Oct. 22.  

As the second Lent affected by the coronavirus pandemic approached, parishes looked at ways to enable worshipers to safely and conveniently participate in devotions and receive faith formation. Among options were in-person gatherings with masks and social distancing, online get-togethers, programs and devotions that individuals could access - live or later - and printed material. Among the many programs offered in the diocese, Romeo Marquis, faith formation facilitator at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Worcester, said he created an online Lenten program similar to the one he offered for the first time in the previous Advent. 

The pandemic created hardship, but also opportunity. Father Kenneth R. Cardinale, pastor at St. John Paul II Parish in Southbridge, said, “It forced us into the 21st century.” Attendance at Mass dropped because some people did not feel safe around others, so pastors needed to find ways to reach parishioners. Like many pastors, Father Cardinale continued to hold Masses in person at the parish’s two churches, Notre Dame and St. Mary, for those who felt comfortable attending, but for those who did not, he live-streamed Masses for the first time. “It’s helped us appreciate most intensely what you might take for granted when times are good,” Father Cardinale said of the pandemic. “In one way, you’re worrying that it’s hurting your faith community, but in some ways it’s an opportunity to grow.” 

MARCH 

 In his letter accompanying the annual report for Fiscal Year 2020, Bishop McManus stated the mission of the Church did not stop because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mission “continued, adapting programs and services as so the face of Christ was present to offer hope during these dark times,” he said in the letter. The report showed operational deficits of $1.74 million, but a total surplus of $2.96 million, after accounting for realized and unrealized gains on investments, bequests, and forgivable PPP loan proceeds. 

Because of gathering size restrictions imposed by government officials during the pandemic, the 20th annual Worcester Diocesan Catholic Men’s Conference was remote. Participants watched a pre-recorded welcome by Bishop McManus, talks and Mass – while either at home or in small groups in churches. Traditionally, the conference has drawn more than 1,000 men to Assumption University for a day of talks, confessions and fellowship. Among speakers was theologian Scott Hahn. He told a virtual audience about spiritual journeys and God’s stance on the global pandemic.  

APRIL 

 For his Easter 2021 message, Bishop McManus told the faithful it was time to prepare for a return to Mass and the Eucharist. 

“On this Easter Sunday, after a year of COVID isolation, when we seek peace and joy amidst doubts and losses, we can profitably reflect on the importance of gathering at the Eucharist. As Jesus came to the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem so, too, He is most present to us, not in our individual reflections upon the Scriptures, but when the Scriptures and Eucharist are celebrated at Mass. It has been a long year with necessary and prudent precautions keeping many of us from Sunday Mass. Given the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID pandemic, personal prayer, reading the Scriptures and watching the Mass live-streamed have been prudent choices for many. However, such choices are all inferior to being present at Sunday Mass and receiving the Holy Eucharist, which the Second Vatican Council proclaimed as the source and summit of the Church. Like St. Thomas and the disciples on the road to Emmaus, it is harder to recognize Jesus, ward off doubts and avoid being downcast by the trials and tragedies of life when we are not nourished by the Eucharist at Sunday Mass. As signs of progress in the COVID pandemic begin to give way to hope for a return to a more normal life, and as vaccines become more widely available, it may be time to begin to consider prayerfully a return to Sunday Mass” 

The former St. Mary’s Schools and Visitation House property was sold. The school building will house a new school and Visitation House will remain in the former convent building after purchasing it from the new owners. CIG The Daniels Building LLC purchased the properties on Richland, Dorchester and Endicott streets for $2.45 million. The school, a former convent, a playground and a parking lot were part of the property. Visitation House helps mothers in need and their babies. 

Catholic Charities Worcester County began its planning to prepare for an expansion of its 50-year-old Crozier House to serve dozens more men in recovery – at a time when pandemic stresses contributed to increased substance abuse. Crozier House, for men addressing substance use and post-traumatic stress disorders, is attached to the Catholic Charities administrative office building at 10 Hammond St. in Worcester. The long-term goal is to find another location for the offices, renovate the building and add Crozier House beds where the offices are, according to Timothy McMahon, executive director of Catholic Charities Worcester County.  

All three Catholic colleges in the Diocese, the College of the Holy Cross, Assumption University and Anna Maria College, announced requirements for COVID-19 vaccinations for on-campus students in the fall. Each said they would allow exemptions from the requirement. 

The Diocese offered guidance on the varied COVID vaccines. The Catholic Church made it clear that, in general, getting vaccinated to both care for your own body and as an act of charity toward others by helping to stem the spread of the virus, is important and worthy of support. Each individual, however, has the right to accept or decline a vaccine, the guidance stated. The guidance referenced a statement by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that it must be voluntary. 

Also affected by the pandemic in 2021 was the Partners in Charity campaign. It wasn’t the same as previous years. “Before COVID we were always recommending that parishes conduct in-pew Sundays as the backbone of their appeal,” said Michael P. Gillespie, director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development. “Obviously in 2020 that approach would not have worked, given that churches were first closed, and then in-person Masses only saw partial attendance.” 

The 2020 appeal was a learning experience, according to Mr. Gillespie. There was a much heavier reliance on using mail appeals and online invitations to participate through Flocknote, a contact management system in place in most of the parishes. By the end of the campaign, Partners in Charity reached 89 percent of $5 million goal. 

Abbot Francis Xavier Connelly, O.S.B., who stepped down from his post at St. Benedict Abbey in Still River in March, died April 8. He was succeeded by Abbot Marc Crilly. In August, Bishop McManus participated in a Rite of Blessing of an Abbot at a Mass for Abbot Crilly at St. John the Evangelist Church in Clinton. 

MAY 

 Bishop McManus ordained Carlos Francisco Ardila and Jose Fernando Carvajal the two latest Colombians to become priests for the Worcester Diocese. Family and friends, locally and from Colombia, gathered at St. Paul Cathedral for the ordination. 

A ceremonial ground-breaking for the Grace Rett Athletic Complex and Education (GRACE) Center was held at St. Mary Parish’s center. The GRACE Center is being built behind Our Lady of the Valley Regional School in Uxbridge. The building is named for an OLV graduate who died in a motor vehicle crash while on a training trip in 2020 with the Holy Cross Women’s rowing team, a day after her 20th birthday. The project will fulfill her dream for her school to have its own indoor athletic space. Construction on the building continued throughout the year. And a fundraiser in December brought in an additional $400,00 for the building project, leaving it about $150,000 short of its total goal. 

The Diocese released a pastoral letter, “Coming Home to Mass,” inviting people who have been away from church during the pandemic to come back. Physical restrictions caused by the pandemic were lifted and full occupancy of churches was allowed. “As a community of faith we have been praying for this moment during these many long months of the pandemic. Now our ability to be present personally at Mass is a blessed reality,” the bishop said in his letter. The bishop also restored the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.  

JUNE 

 A 95-year-old football game tradition ended with St. Peter/St. John high schools. St. Paul Diocesan Junior-Senior High School of Worcester and St. Bernard High School of Fitchburg announced plans to begin a Thanksgiving football rivalry next fall replacing the former Thanksgiving Day rivalry. St. Peter-Marian High School and Holy Name High School merged to form St. Paul’s, which opened in the fall of 2020 on Holy Name’s renovated campus. St. Bernard’s won the inaugural Bishop’s Cup Thanksgiving game with a score of 48-14. 

  St. Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High School held its first graduation with a baccalaureate Mass on the school’s football field. Bishop McManus and Michael Clark, head of school, presented diplomas to St. Paul’s first graduating class. There were 158 diplomas awarded.  

 About 200 people attended an ordination at St. Paul Cathedral. Fathers Lucas M. LaRoche and John L. Larochelle grew up in the Worcester Diocese. Bishop McManus gave the new priests the traditional instruction about being holy, administering the sacraments, and following the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served but to serve, and to seek and save the lost. 

t Later in the month Bishop McManus ordained permanent Deacons John William Ladroga, Donald John Pegg and Scott Joseph Camilleri at a Mass in St. Paul Cathedral in Worcester. Their wives, children, grand-children and other supporters participated 

JULY 

 Bishop McManus issued a statement regarding Pope Francis’ apostolic letter on the traditional Latin Mass in which he reinforced the theological principle that “the bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome constitute the visible principle and foundation of the unity of their particular Churches.” The bishop promised to serve the spiritual well-being of all. 

 AUGUST 

 News of a destructive earthquake in Haiti saddened the faithful in the Diocese, many of whom have supported their Haitian brothers and sisters in the faith.  Father William C. Konicki, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Hopedale learned that the parish’s twin parish, St. Gerard Church, was demolished by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake. For 20 years, the parish has twinned with the Pont Salmon parish, erecting schools, chapels and other buildings, and providing $900 a month for support. Father Claude Renel Elysee, St. Gerard pastor, emailed Sacred Heart photos of the church and parish center, both of which had collapsed. Sacred Heart helped to build the parish center. Other parishes in the Diocese also received bad news from their twinning parishes in Haiti. Parish communities supported by St. Roch Parish in Oxford and St. Gabriel the Archangel in Upton were also devastated.  

 The pandemic was bad, but it was good for enrollment at Catholic schools in the diocese.  Enrollment increased from the 2020-2021 school year in most of the Catholic schools. Data showed that schools had more students enrolled in 2021 than the previous year. Superintendent David Perda said, “Most of those gains … are double digit gains.” 

 SEPTEMBER 

 After a mandate from the Worcester Health Department, that included all schools in the city, Catholic schools were required to implement mask-wearing indoors. Later in the fall the city required masks in all public buildings, including churches. As the year ended, the mask mandate was still in place. (Photo on Page One.) 

The Worcester Catholic Women’s Conference returned in 2021 and focused on evil in society. The conference drew about 360 women from the Diocese and beyond to St. Joseph Basilica and School in Webster. In his homily at the closing Mass of the conference at St. Joseph Basilica, Bishop McManus noted that attempts to curtail the Catholic Church are prevalent in the United States. The country is filled with institutions and social movements – such as the political left, cultural and academic elites and media – that have an agenda to curtail the Catholic Church, he said. “We are the last institution in American society that will not bend the knee” to their radically secular social and political agenda, and this infuriates them. 

Maintenance work got under way on the bell tower of St. Paul Cathedral, thanks in part to the Legacy of Hope capital campaign. Repairs included repointing of the tower. After a pause because of the pandemic, Legacy of Hope resumed in-parish visits and fund raising and concluded at the end of 2021 on the way to its $32 million goal. (Pledge payments will continue through 2025, in some cases.) 

Nativity School of Worcester received a $1.8 million gift from the late Catherine Butler. The school is funded by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Ms. Butler’s estate gift is the largest gift in the school’s 18-year history. The donation will significantly increase the school’s endowment and advance its mission to provide a tuition-free Jesuit education for middle school boys.

OCTOBER

St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury named a “makerspace” after an alumnus, who is also the parent of a former student, from whose estate the school is to receive $1 million. The Thomas J. Kelley Makerspace for Robotics & Engineering is a 2,400-square-foot lab which is home to St. John’s engineering program and robotics team. The gift will be used to create an endowed fund to support the operation of the makerspace, which opened in 2017, and to provide professional development for faculty. 

The Serra Club of Northern Worcester County held its 70th anniversary/priest appreciation celebration on Oct. 7. The club promotes vocations. Bishop McManus celebrated Mass in St. Leo Church in Leominster. 

About 250 people attended the 8th annual Celebrate Priesthood! Gala, held at St. Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High School. The in-person gala returned after a virtual event in 2020 and raised more than $200,000 for the care of retired priests. 

 NOVEMBER 

Thirty-four couples, with 1,371 years of marriage, registered for the Mass to celebrate marriage in the diocese. God and faith are important for a lasting marriage was one message the participants heard. The messages came from those involved in the diocese’s annual wedding anniversary Mass, held at St. Paul Cathedral. 

A shrine that has drawn parishioners and neighbors to prayer was blessed by Bishop McManus. Parishioners started building the shrine of the Blessed Mother of Grace at Our Lady of Vilna Church on July 5, 2019, Father Tam M. Bui, pastor, told The Catholic Free Press. But the pandemic hit, delaying the bishop’s blessing of the shrine. The statue of Mary, which stands atop large boulders, was made in Vietnam and donated by a family in the parish, Father Bui said. (The former Lithuanian parish now serves primarily Vietnamese Catholics.)  

The U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly voted to approve a new document on the Eucharist that highlights the sacrament’s indispensable role in the life of the Church. The vote, coming during the annual fall assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, was 222 to 8, with three abstentions. Bishop McManus, a member of the Committee on Doctrine which worked on the document, said, “This document is fundamentally important to who we are as Catholics. We are a eucharistic community.” In an interview, Bishop McManus said the overwhelming success of the vote had a lot to do with the fact that the bishops spent the entire opening day of the fall assembly in prayer together. 

The speaking program for the 21st annual Men’s Conference, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 2, 2022, at Assumption University was announced. “In 2020 we were all disappointed when the conference had to be cancelled two weeks before it was to take place because of the pandemic. This past year we had a virtual conference for the same reason. But now we are so delighted to go forward with an in-person conference again,” Msgr. Thomas Sullivan said. 

DECEMBER 

A pilgrimage organized by Father Juan Escudero, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish, in Northborough, closed out the Year of St Joseph. Parishioners visited St. Joseph Church in Worcester to hear about the saint and the church from Msgr. Robert K. Johnson, pastor of Holy Family Parish.  

The diocesan Office of Fiscal Affairs hired a financial consultant to be a liaison between the office and parishes. Stephen Sycks, with experience in banking and non-profit fund raising, is to help parishes with administrative issues. 

Priests in the Diocese who died in 2021 

March 3: Father Dennis Timothy O’Mara, 69 

May 25: Father Andre M. Gariepy, 90 

July 17: Father Dennis J. O’Brien, 70 

Oct. 14: Father Joseph M. Nally, 77 

Oct. 16: Father Laurie L. Leger, MS, 93 

Nov. 1: Father Thomas B. Fleming, 71 

Dec. 5: Father John F. Gee, 94 

Dec. 21: Father George J. Ridick, 76