Honoring catechists
Polly Russell of St. Paul Parish in San Pablo
smiles after receiving recognition from Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone
for 30 years of service as a catechist. The recognition event took
place after the Sept. 12 Mass for catechists at the Cathedral of Christ
the Light. |
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‘Yes I Can’
An enthusiastic group of students at St. Leander
School in San Leandro kick off the “Yes I Can!” metal
can recycling program to raise funds for musical instruments for the
school. They are, back row from left, Lois Largoza, Dane Delaney,
Axel Cabato, Nina Daluz, Camille Santiago, Ivana Santos and MaryJane
Pediguerra. Front row from left, Saia Lorenzo, Mia Lorenzo and Leo
Lorenzo. |
International Peace Day
RIGHT: Seventh-graders at St. Jerome School
in El Cerrito (from left), Lexi Driscoll, Olivia Lozano, Haley McDermott,
Lily Driscoll and Devin Whigham declare their belief in peace during
the school’s observance of International Peace Day, Sept. 21.
Students grouped into “school families” made peace wreaths
(above) that will be on display in the corridors for the school year.
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International Day of Peace
St. Ignatius Parish in Antioch observed International
Day of Peace, Sept. 19, with 14 ecumenical and interfaith traditions
participating in a variety of activities including the planting of
a peace pole (left) and the Dances of Universal Peace, led by the
Rev. Brian Rouse (above) of Concord. Antioch Mayor James Davis presented
a proclamation to Father Tom Bonacci of the parish.
JOSé LUIS AGUIRRE PHOTOS |
Unusual classic
Jayne Archer, staff member at St. Michael’s
Cemetery in Livermore, holds the first place trophy for most unusual
car won by this 1968 hearse during the St. Charles Festival and Classic
Car Show. The hearse publicized the services of Holy Angels Mortuary
Services at the cemetery. |
Composer’s first Mass to
debut
October 17 will be a day that Frank La Rocca
won’t soon forget. On that date the composer’s first Mass,
“Missa Cordi Sacro,” will debut at his parish church, St.
Margaret Mary in Oakland, during 12:30 p.m. Extraordinary Form High Mass.
His new composition has deep meaning for La Rocca, who returned to the
Catholic Church during Lent 2009 after a lengthy absence. “The composition
and debut of this work is an occasion of tremendous personal and spiritual
satisfaction to me,” he told The Voice.
“My musical style is focused on reconciling tradition with modernity,
and a Mass is in many ways the perfect vehicle for that sort of effort,”
he said.
The parish’s Chorus Magnificat, a mixed schola for the singing of
Gregorian Chant under the direction of Brenda Bonhomme, will sing
the Mass. David Sundahl will play the organ.
The Mass is dedicated to Father Jean Marie Moreau, the Episcopal
Delegate for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in the Oakland Diocese.
The priest, in residence at St. Margaret Mary, served as spiritual advisor
to La Rocca’s wife, Lucia, when she converted to Catholicism about
the same time La Rocca returned to the Church.
“We both feel profound love and gratitude for all he has done and
continues to do and I wanted to honor him in some way that reflects his
unique mission in our parish,” said La Rocca
A longtime music professor at California State University East Bay, La
Rocca was recently awarded second prize in the 2010 International Sacred
Arts Composer Competition for his a capella composition, “Credo.”
Thanks for the memories
StoryCorps, a national oral history project,
will be at the heart of the “Sharing the Stories of Elders”
celebration at Oakland’s Salem Lutheran Home, Oct. 24. While
StoryCorps records the stories of several elders, family members and friends
will have an opportunity to learn how to ask questions and record conversations
that can become invaluable stores of memories and information.
The celebration, which marks Salem Lutheran Home’s 86th anniversary,
will include entertainment, refreshment and tours of Salem’s five-acre
campus at 2361 East 29th St. Salem Lutheran Home is part of the Elder
Care Alliance, a faith-based, non profit that includes six communities
in the Bay Area, including Mercy Retirement and Care Center, also
in Oakland.
RSVP: (510) 534-3637.
SPRED retreat
Community-wide support from 45 participants and 35 volunteer
catechists from across the diocese helped to make the 33rd SPRED (Special
Religious Education) Labor Day retreat at San Damiano Retreat Center
in Danville an event to remember, said Holy Family Sister Aurora Perez,
SPRED director. Father Paul Minnihan, pastor at St. Paschal
Parish in Oakland, presided at the Mass. Katie Harding and
her family from St. Michael Parish in Livermore were the music
ministers.
Around
the Parishes
Holy Rosary Parish in Antioch will host Immaculee
Ilibagiza, who survived 91 days in a small room with seven other women
to escape the tragic Rwandan genocide, on Oct. 30 at 6:45 p.m. All are
invited to hear her story of faith, hope and forgiveness. Tickets are
$25. Information: (925) 757-4020 or www.holyrosaryca.org.
The Legion of Mary at St. Edward Parish in Newark organized
a Rosary Rally on Oct. 2 that included Mass, followed by an outdoor procession
around the church.
Members at Fremont’s Holy Spirit Parish brought their family
pets to the school’s parking lot yesterday (Oct. 3) for the Blessing
of the Animals in honor of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
Catholic women of all ages are invited to join WINGS (Women in God’s
Spirit) at St. Raymond Parish in Dublin. The group, which encourages
spiritual growth through prayer, Scripture study and faith sharing, meets
every Wednesday from 9 – 11:20 a.m. in the parish’s Moran
Hall. The theme for the fall season, which begins Oct. 6, is “Our
Relationship to God, Self, and Others.” Information: Cora at (925)
829-7593.
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Around
the Schools
Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School (BOD)
recently hosted two cousins of the school’s namesake last month.
Katherine O’Dowd Alexander and Kieran O’Dowd
had a tour of the campus, Sept. 1. Bishop O’Dowd, who served as
superintendent of schools while auxiliary bishop in the San Francisco
Archdiocese, helped plan and establish more than two dozen Catholic schools.
At the time of his death in 1950 at the age of 42 in a car accident, he
was making plans to establish a Catholic high school in the East Bay.
The Oakland school was named in his honor.
Speaking of O’Dowd, William Du (’13) spent four weeks
at UC Davis in July working on projects in computational bio-physics and
robotics.
O’Dowd senior Jesse Harder is one of some 16,000 high school
seniors across the country named a semifinalist in the National Merit
Scholarship program. Tamara Savage, a senior at Oakland’s
Holy Names High School, is also a semifinalist as well as an AP Scholar
based on her outstanding academic performance on the Advanced Placement
Exams.
Four members of the varsity cross country team at Alameda’s St.
Joseph Notre Dame High School volunteered as pacers for the San Francisco
Marathon to benefit AIDS research. Louis Rodrigues (’13),
Nick Ratto (’12), Brendan Chai (’11) and Mitchell
Mein (’11) signed on to be pacers at the last minute when The
West Valley Track Club, a running group that normally provides pace runners
for the marathon, were not able to do so because of injuries to many of
its runners.
A record 630 runners launched the start of the diocesan Catholic Youth
Organization (CYO) Cross Country season at the first meet on Sept.
1 at Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland. The teams, made up of four age groups
of boys and girls from third to eighth grade, have been running at meets
each week since. Their season will culminate at the diocesan meet at Joaquin
Miller Park on Oct. 15.
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Among the Religious
Deacon Jeffrey Burns, who is assigned to St.
Lawrence O’Toole Parish in Oakland and is archivist for the
San Francisco Archdiocese, delivered an address, “Turmoil
and Triumph: The Era of Constructing St. Mary’s Cathedral,”
at the Festival of Flowers, Sept. 30 – Oct. 3, St. Mary’s
Cathedral in San Francisco.
The late Father William Macchi, who served as vicar general and
financial secretary of the Oakland Diocese during the administration of
Bishop John Cummins, will be remembered on the first anniversary
of his death, Oct. 9, during the 5:30 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of
Christ the Light in Oakland.
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Names, News, Notes
As part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of
its Care Center, the Mercy Care and Retirement Center in Oakland
will honor five individuals with its Heart of Mercy Awards, Oct.
9 at St. Elizabeth Church in Oakland. The awardees are: Else Kiefer,
the first lay administrator of Mercy Retirement and Care Center who started
the effort to build a skilled nursing facility that promoted a healing
atmosphere; Dr. Gordon Lake, the current medical director at Mercy
who is known for his attention to the residents’ “whole being”;
James McCloud, who as chair of the capital campaign to build the
Care Center solicited hundreds of donations from individuals, corporations
and foundations; Dr. Rod Perry, a doctor of internal medicine,
who was a physician to some residents when the Care Center opened and
served as a teacher for the nurses and staff; and the late Mercy Sister
Mary Jean Meier, the beloved development director who used her compassion
and financial acumen to help launch the $2.5 million capital campaign
to build the Care Center on 34th Avenue. Sister Meier died on Aug. 8.
Congratulations to Dick and Peggy Boerger, members at St. Michael
Parish in Livermore, who are celebrating 55 years of marriage.
Roll up your sleeves and save a life! American Red Cross, Northern California
Region, will have mobile blood drives at St. Joachim Parish hall,
21250 Hesperian Blvd. in Hayward, Oct. 12 from 2 – 7 p.m. and at
St. Michael Parish hall, 326 Maple St. in Livermore, Oct. 30 from
8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-733-2767
or go to redcrossblood.org. The sponsor code for St. Joachim is HAYWARD
and for St. Michael is KNIGHTS4588, sponsors of the Livermore blood drive.
A new television series “God in America,” examining
the historical role of religion in the public life of the U.S., will air
on public television’s KQED 9 on Oct. 11, 12 and 13 at 9 p.m. The
six-hour series will examine the complex interaction between religion
and democracy and the American concept of religious liberty. It will also
explore the spiritual experiences of several key figures in American history
including Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, Reform Rabbi Isaac Meyer
Wise, evangelist Billy Graham, civil rights leader Martin Luther King,
Jr., and the Moral Majority’s Jerry Falwell.
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