St. Patrick and local Catholics honored by parade committee

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
 
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Past bishops of the Worcester diocese were among those honored by the St. Patrick’s Parade Committee this year. Numerous floats, vehicles and people marched down Park Avenue at this year's 43rd Worcester County St. Patrick's Parade including first responders, local businesses, schools and public officials.

St. Patrick himself was honored at the committee’s 43rd anniversary Mass Saturday at Christ the King Parish in Worcester, which included a prayer of the saint’s, a hymn to him and a homily about him.  

The parade program booklet was dedicated in memory of Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly, fourth bishop of Worcester, along with Francis R. Carroll and Helen Hogan Donlan.

It is rare to dedicate one program to three people, but these parade supporters all died in the past year, Erin Zamarro, 2024/2025 parade chairperson and Christ the King parishioner, told The Catholic Free Press.

Bishop Reilly was the parade grand marshal in 1998 and Mr. Carroll in 2003, the program says. Mrs. Donlan carried the banner at the front of the parade each year with her family, some of whom carried it this year, Mrs. Zamarro said.

Other grand marshals included Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan in 1983, Bishop Timothy J. Harrington in 1984 and Bishop George E. Rueger in 1990.  

This year’s grand marshal was Cathryn “Kate” McEvoy, of St. Peter Parish in Worcester and vice-president for corporate relations at UMass Memorial Health Care. She has also volunteered for non-profits, is on various boards of directors and has received several awards.

A grand marshal should be a person of Irish extraction with “an exemplary lifestyle” who has made contributions to the community and “tries to live up to the Christian ideals of our patron, St. Patrick,” according to guidelines Mrs. Zamarro sent to The Catholic Free Press.
 
She said she thought Bishop Reilly had also been a parade chaplain.

“He was very supportive of the parade,” she said. “He was there every year.” When he couldn’t walk, parade committee member Debra Donovan, of St. John Parish in Worcester, drove him in her convertible.

Bishop McManus has celebrated Mass before the parade and attended a parade committee dinner when able, Mrs. Zamarro said.
 
Mr. Carroll was “a business and civic leader” and philanthropist who, among other contributions, “spearheaded the effort to fund and maintain the St. Francis Xavier Center Food for the Poor at St. John’s Church,” the program notes. He received honorary doctorates from Assumption University and Anna Maria College and was a member of The Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic organization.  
 
Mrs. Donlan, a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, served children through the Massachusetts Department of Social Services and was involved in volunteer organizations, including the Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network, the program says.

The program also gave biographies of people who received awards at the Grand Marshal Banquet in January, most of whom are Catholics.

Sheila Caggiano, a member of the parade committee and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians was raised in Marlborough “in a large, loving Irish Catholic family” and is “well known to the Our Lady of the Angels parish community” in Worcester where she is a member, according to the program and Mrs. Zamarro. She did social work at the State Department of Youth Services.

“Because Sheila is the epitome of the Irish Spirit, selflessness and warmth,” the parade committee recognized her with Virginia Boulay Hospitality Award, named for a deceased charter member “whose warmth and generosity truly personified the Irish greeting, ‘Cead Mile Failte’ or ‘One Hundred Thousand Welcomes.’”
 
Jeremiah “Jerry” F. O’Rourke, of Christ the King, received The Cathy Donahue Good Neighbor Award, named for a late parade committee member and past chairwoman, and awarded to individuals who contribute to parade committee goals.

Mr. O’Rourke graduated from Holy Name Central Catholic High School, Assumption University and Anna Maria College, worked for the Worcester Police Department and enjoyed working with the parade committee.
 
Mary Shea Stratford, of St. Peter Parish in Worcester, received The Agnes Sheehan Community Service Award, named for a late parade committee charter member and grand marshal and awarded to people who give of themselves to improve their community.

Ms. Stratford worked with the Worcester District Court and Superior Court and is coordinator of St. Peter’s Food Pantry, which she got involved with more than 17 years ago through her brother, Father James Shea, now deceased.
 
Mary Ellen Murphy, of Christ the King, an active parade committee member since 2009, received The Judy Wilkinson Award. It is named for a late parade committee member and presented to a committee member who promotes the organization’s work and friendships within the membership.
 
Receiving the Quiet Hero Award was Jean Neale, owner and operator of Jean’s Place restaurant on Cambridge Street for more than 40 years. The program says she has hosted a free Thanksgiving dinner, provides meals to those in need and supported the parade in many ways.
 
At Saturday’s Mass Mrs. Zamarro read the roll of honor, naming deceased parade committee members or chaplains,  including Bishops Reilly, Harrington and Flanagan and some priests.

Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, pastor, preached about St. Patrick suffering as a teenaged slave in Ireland, encountering God, being a man of prayer, escaping, becoming a priest, returning to Ireland and converting the country.

He and those who came after him planted the faith deep in the Irish soil, Msgr. Sullivan said. The seeds took root and produced, among other holy people, missionaries - new Patricks, who traveled throughout the world.