September 20, 2021

St. Mary Parish honors Father Creane, Sister Lavoie at Founder’s Day celebration

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Stephen Kiltonic

WESTFIELD – On Sept. 18, St. Mary Parish, here, held a special Mass to commemorate its second annual  Founder’s Day and honor this year’s two award recipients: Father Anthony Creane, a longtime pastor of the parish; and Sister of St. Joseph Christine Lavoie, former principal of the K-8 elementary school.

During the Mass, Father John Salatino, pastor, spoke about the achievements of both honorees and of the important role each played in the parish history.

“We remember the people who’ve done so much for our parish in years past. We have a wonderful parish here and it exists because of the people who’ve gone before us and it’s a reminder for us who are here today to continue the work they began,” said Father Salatino.

He added that while the Founder’s Day celebrates individual and collective achievement, it’s also an important occasion for the whole St. Mary community to get together, to do things together and to remember that St. Mary’s is an important and strong community. A previous pastor, Father Brian McGrath, was the first Founder’s Day recipient last year.

Father Creane served as pastor at St. Mary’s for 21 years, from 1978-1999. “Father Tony was very much a company man. He loved the church. He loved what the church stood for. He loved the mission of the church and of taking care of the least important ones,” said Father Salatino.

Among Father Creane’s many achievements were renovating all of the buildings on the St. Mary campus, inside and out, some more than once. This included redoing all the roofs, boilers, heating systems, and windows of the church, the convent, the elementary and high schools, and rectory.

“He just rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He raised money. He rallied people together and he just was able to accomplish a lot. I think he was so successful here because the people saw that he walked the walk and talked the talk,” said Father Salatino, who worked four years at St. Mary’s with Father Creane, who is nearing 92 years old. He was unable to make the trip from Hollywood, Florida, where he is retired and still playing golf on a regular basis.

Sister Lavoie, the last Sister of St. Joseph to work at St. Mary’s, was principal from 1999-2014. She was hired by Father Creane the year he retired.

“These were wonderful years for me. I loved everything about St. Mary’s. Father Brian (McGrath) and I were here together 12 years and that was a great experience,” said Sister Lavoie, who felt her major accomplishments included starting the pre-K program and helping the school attain accreditation in 2004.

“That was a real pride for me. I was really happy about it. We got glowing remarks about the school,” said Sister Lavoie. “We knew that pre-K and preschool were the answer, in many ways, to increasing enrollment, and Father Brian and I firmly believed that if we wanted to give them this great education starting at 6, why not start it at 3? That was really part of the reason why we did it and it was very successful.”

Enrollment in the elementary school increased dramatically after the pre-K program was established.

“A consummate teacher. She was able to keep order in the place but she wasn’t strict. She was loved and respected by the students and the staff,” said Father Salatino about Sister Lavoie.

In addition, the parish honored her legacy by establishing the Sister Christine Lavoie Scholarship which will be given to children who attend St. Mary Parish School. And the Growing Tree Endowment, which was created by Father Creane while pastor, was renamed by the parish in his honor. 

Following Mass, a reception was held outside the church at the Marian Garden. Unveiled in front of the pre-K building was a new pre-K sign indicating its founders, Father McGrath and Sister Lavoie.

“It’s a great honor. I’m sure my mother and father are so delighted to see my name on a sign,” laughed Sister Lavoie who teaches reading and a course in the liturgical calendar at St. Mary Academy in Longmeadow. “I love it. I’m in my 48^th year in Catholic education. So, I hope to make it to 50,” said Sister Lavoie.

A video version of this story will be featured on “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 on WWLP-22NEWS.