Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Rose of Lima Parish in East Hanover and named Father Maciej Kranc as pastor of the parish during the vigil Mass marking the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Oct. 12. Father Kranc had served at St. Rose of Lima as parochial vicar before being named administrator earlier this year.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Pompei Parish in Paterson Oct. 13, where he served as main celebrant and homilist of the 10:30 a.m. Mass for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time. After Mass, he blessed a new prayer garden behind the church, which encourages people to “pray for an end to abortion, for women in crisis, for the healing of men who lost fatherhood and for women who are suffering trauma,” according to Father Frank Agresti, pastor. At the garden’s center is a statue of Our Lady Help of Christians with the Christ Child.

Two years ago on World Mission Sunday, Pope Francis called for Extraor­dinary Missionary Month to be observed during October to foster greater awareness on those evangelized throughout the world because of the sacrifices made by missionaries. “This missionary mandate touches us personally: I am a mission, always; you are a mission, always; every baptized man and woman is a mission. People in love never stand still: they are drawn out of themselves; they are attracted and attract others in turn; they give themselves to others and build relationships that are life-giving,” he said. “As far as God’s love is concerned, no one is useless or insignificant. Each of us is a mission to the world, for each of us is the fruit of God’s love.”

Bishop Serratelli has decided to rewind salvation history back to the beginning in teaching his latest Scripture course by taking students on a dive deep into the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, which throughout, he said, depicts man’s “gradual upward movement to Jesus” as their Savior. Students hung on every word of Bishop Serratelli’s on the night of Oct. 8 of the first lecture of his new Scripture course, “Pathway through the Pentateuch,” at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard in Madison.

Without priests, there would be no Mass and without the Mass, there would be no Eucharist for the faithful to receive. This is a situation faced by many Catholics in mission lands where receiving the Eucharist is often rare. Fortunately, in the Paterson Diocese in the past decade and a half, almost 90 men have been ordained to the priesthood, ensuring the mission of Christ will continue for generations to come.

The Evangelium Vitae Medal is given by the University of Notre Dame to champions of the pro-life movement. The announcement Oct. 6 during Respect Life Month that the recipient of this cherished award would be Vicki Thorn, founder of Project Rachel and executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing, is deserving of applause from the entire pro-life movement.

On Oct. 4, Filipino Americans came to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson to celebrate two saints — St. Lorenzo Ruiz and St. Pedro Calungsod — during a Martyr Mass that has become a tradition in the Diocese. Bishop Serratelli concelebrated the Mass along with several priests from the Diocese.

Bishop Serratelli installed 14 men of diverse backgrounds to the office of acolyte, during a Mass on Oct. 1 in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany. This is the last step before their ordination to the diocesan Permanent Diaconate in June 2020.