December 31, 2018

Bishop celebrates Mass with seminarians on feast of Holy Family

REGIONAL
Story and photo by Carolee McGrath

Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski celebrates Christmas with seminarians for the Diocese of Springfield, Saturday, Dec. 29 at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – On the feast of the Holy Family, Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski celebrated the 4 p.m. Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield, Saturday, Dec. 29. He was joined by the seminarians for the Diocese of Springfield and their families.

Vocation co-directors Fathers Michael Wood and Matthew Alcombright concelebrated the Mass. The annual Christmas tradition with Bishop Rozanski celebrates the commitment of the seminarians and their families, who are open to God’s call to serve the church.

“It is exciting because the men who will be ordained deacons (transitional), I have been here during most of their formation. It’s wonderful to see how they progressed along the way,” said Bishop Rozanski about the Mass and dinner which followed.

At the dinner, the seminarians were presented with cards of support from parishioners throughout the diocese.

Seminarian Matthew Barone was instituted as an acolyte earlier in December. He is in his third year of theology at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass.

“It’s nice to know there’s support from all the parishioners in the diocese. They know we’re working hard to come back and be priests and serve them in the diocese,” he said. Along with Barone, Stanislaus Achu and Valentine Nworah were also instituted as acolytes. The three men will be ordained transitional deacons in May.

“Actually, I wanted to be a journalist. But when I went to college to study for that, God showed me and made me understand there’s a better call, a higher call,” said Nworah. He said his strong Catholic upbringing instilled in him a love for Christ.

“He’s everything. He’s my life. He’s the air I breathe,” he said of his relationship with Jesus. He said he hopes to share this love with the people he will one day serve.

“He (Jesus) is the one who sustains us,” he said.

Paul Norman, Dennis Skowera, and John Duy Le, who are  transitional deacons, will be ordained to the priesthood next spring.

Currently, there are nine men in priestly formation for the Diocese of Springfield.

A video version of this story will be featured on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22NEWS and in the Berkshires Sunday mornings at 5:30 on Albany’s Fox 23, WXXA.