Parishioners of Our Lady of Fatima (OLF) in Highland Lakes gathered for Mass recently for the consecration of a new altar — a new Eucharistic Table, made of granite — a wood-colored slab of stone that not only tells its own geological history, but also helps mark a new era of extensive physical and spiritual revitalization for this rural faith community. OLF’s new altar was the result of fine craftsmanship, in part, by the human hands of a parishioner, Tadeusz Flig.

Catholic schools in the Paterson Diocese will be much safer, thanks to legislation that will provide an additional $11.3 million in security funding to non-public schools across the state. The new law doubles the amount of security funding per student from $75 to $150 for non-public schools. The expanded state funding will allow non-public schools to update and strengthen the security at their schools.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Joseph Church in Paterson and celebrated Mass for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 13. Concelebrant of the Mass was Father Janusz Rzadca, pastor of St. Joseph Parish.

The parish community of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Wayne welcomed Bishop Serratelli, who made a pastoral visit and celebrated the vigil Mass for the Baptism of the Lord Jan. 12.

As many pro-lifers prepare to travel to the nation’s capital for the 46th annual March for Life tomorrow, Jan. 18, New Jerseyans have the opportunity to be a voice for the voiceless closer to home on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the N.J. Right to Life’s annual Rally for Life in Trenton.

Audiences watched spellbound as the lights went down in the auditorium at St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton and the curtain went up for the red-carpet premiere of a new local independent film in early December. Some young people here viewed it with fascination, while some older parishioners cried — all getting swept up not in the latest art-house movie, but in “Greater Works,” a homegrown documentary about the real and just-as-powerful 75-year history of St. Philip’s, now on DVD and Blu-Ray.

An analysis by the Pew Research Center shows that the new, 116th Congress is slightly more diverse when it comes to religious affiliations than the prior Congress.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Michael Parish in Netcong where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family, Dec. 30.