BRAINTREE -- Jack Connors Jr., the Boston advertising mogul, legendary philanthropist, and founder of the Campaign for Catholic Schools, died in his Brookline home on July 23 at the age of 82. The news of his death sparked an outpouring of tributes from the Catholic institutions that he spent so much of his life serving.
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HULL -- When Father Scott Euvrard, pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Hull, told parishioner MaryJane Silva that she was going to receive the Cheverus Award, she was watering the flowers in front of the altar.
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BRAINTREE -- Deacon Franklin Mejia, his wife Wendy, and their two children, 20-year-old Gabriel and 17-year-old Isabella, drove 16 hours from Boston to Indianapolis to attend the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, held at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center from July 17-21.
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BOSTON -- The Catholic Schools Foundation (CSF), one of the largest non-profit organizations in the Greater Boston area, which provides aid to low-income students to attend Catholic elementary and high schools, named Brennan and Colin Howley "Volunteers of the Year" at the annual School's Out Summer Celebration in June. Brennan and Colin, Boxford-born brothers who both graduated from St. John's Prep, chair the CSF's Young Leader Committee and led efforts to raise funds to provide aid to 300 new in-need students at area Catholic schools.
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This week, on Monday, I traveled to St. Joseph Cathedral in Burlington, Vermont, for the ordination of Bishop John Joseph McDermott. He is replacing Archbishop Chris Coyne, who has been recently named the Archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut. Bishop Coyne was a Boston priest. He was in Rome for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, to receive the pallium from Pope Francis. He was one of the two co-consecrator bishops along with Bishop Sal Matano who had been the bishop of Burlington before him. It was a beautiful ceremony.
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(Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley issued the following statement July 23, 2024.) Jack Connors has gone to God and left us all with the legacy of a life lived in the service of others. To his wife Eileen, to his four children and their spouses, and his thirteen grandchildren I extend my prayers and consolation.
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BRAINTREE -- Five people in the Archdiocese of Boston, three priests and two laypeople, are receiving special recognition from the Holy Father at Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley's request. Father J. Bryan Hehir, the archdiocese's secretary of health and social services, and St. John's Seminary Rector Father Stephen Salocks will each receive the title of monsignor in honor of their service to the archdiocese.
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Pope Francis turned to the Merrimack Valley, specifically to St. Anthony of Padua (Maronite) Parish and its pastor, Father Elie Mikhael, when looking for someone to lead the Maronite Eparchy (diocese) in Mexico. Its actual name is the Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico City of the Maronites. The territory of the eparchy is the entire country of Mexico.
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Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, metropolitan archbishop of Boston, ordained another one of his suffragan bishops, Most Rev. John J. McDermott, as the 11th bishop of Burlington at St. Joseph Cathedral, Burlington, Vermont, on July 15, 2024. Just about two months ago, he had ordained Bishop James T. Ruggieri as the 13th bishop of Portland; Burlington and Portland are New England's first twin dioceses, both separated from Boston on July 29, 1853. The other New England twins are Bridgeport and Norwich, both separated from Hartford 100 years later, on August 6, 1953.
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"In the schools, teach whatever is necessary to equip the students for life." These words of St. Julie Billiart, founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, written to the first Sisters of her young congregation, have continued to inspire them throughout the years in all their educational ministries. In the early days of the congregation, teaching what was "necessary to equip the students for life" meant teaching sewing and lacemaking in addition to catechism. As the world's needs changed, so did what was "necessary." So, the Sisters responded by founding elementary schools, comprehensive high schools, and colleges that taught a wide range of subjects while always focusing on educating students about the good God.
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Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley relesed the following statement July 13 after news of an assassination attempt on former President and presidential candidate Donald J. Trump during a rally in Butler, PA. During the incident, one spectator was killed and two spectators were critically injured.
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JAMAICA PLAIN -- Father Andrea Povero, parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Jamaica Plain, didn't know what to do with his pews. Since January 2022, St. Thomas Aquinas had been closed for an extensive renovation following the designs of Spanish icon painter and Neocatechumenal Way founder Kiko ArgÜello, intended to beautify the 153-year-old church building and aid in evangelization.
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CHARLESTOWN -- Everyone knew him as Danny. Or Danno. Or Father Dan. Or, simply, Dan. Father Dan Mahoney, the longtime Boston Fire Department chaplain who died on June 19 at the age of 94, was given a hero's farewell during a funeral Mass celebrated by Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Charlestown on June 27. Father Mahoney served as pastor at St. Francis de Sales Parish from 1978 until his retirement in 2022. That was also the year he retired as chief chaplain of the Boston Fire Department, a position he held since 1991. He had been a chaplain in the department since 1964.
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BRAINTREE -- The June 18 meeting of the Boston Survivor Advisory Council, a support group for survivors of clergy sexual abuse that works alongside the Archdiocese of Boston, started off with a joke.
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BRAINTREE -- The Pilot earned four Catholic Media Awards at this year's Catholic Media Conference, held from June 18 to 21 in Atlanta, Georgia. The awards are sponsored by the Catholic Media Association, which annually honors the best in Catholic journalism. Each year, Catholic newspapers, websites, and magazines submit entries that are judged by a panel of independent experts. The Pilot, the oldest Catholic newspaper in the U.S., has been recognized each year for more than two decades.
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BOSTON -- In 1778, at the height of the American Revolution, Mercy Otis Warren had a warning for Abigail Adams. That year, after France allied with the Thirteen Colonies, a French fleet came to Boston. Many of the French naval officers were Knights of Malta (as the order was then called) because Malta provided better naval training than France. The home of Josiah Quincy served as a headquarters for these officers and a place for them to socialize. In a 1778 letter, Warren wrote to Adams that "Knights of Malta are sometimes dangerous companions."
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I want to begin this week by saying how saddened we were by the passing of Father Dan Mahoney. Father Mahoney was beloved by his parishioners and the wider community, where he served the people of the archdiocese for nearly 70 years as a priest. For over 60 of those years, he was a trusted friend and chaplain to the brave men and women of the Boston Fire Department, including 31 years as chief chaplain.
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Emmanuel College is a Catholic, co-educational, residential institution with a beautiful 17-acre campus in the heart of Boston's educational, scientific, cultural, and medical communities. Emmanuel provides a welcoming, rigorous, and values-based educational experience rooted in the vision of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who opened the college in 1919.
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As the school year and the spring sports season comes to an end, The Pilot extends congratulations to the following schools for winning state title championships. Boston College High School won two Division 1 state titles. The baseball team beat St. John, Shrewsbury, 5-1 on Saturday evening, June 15, at Polar Park in Worcester. Led by Coach Steve Healy, the boys end at 20-5. The baseball team last won a state title in 2009. The rugby team beat Xaverian 40-38 on Saturday, June 15, at Curry College in Milton. Led by Coach Paul Carty, the team ends at 6-0-1. The championship is the fourth for the sport at the school.
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