Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Clifton Aug. 17 where he celebrated the vigil Mass to mark the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Concelebrating the Mass with the Bishop was Father Jeider Barraza, parish administrator; Msgr. Patrick Scott, a retired priest of the Diocese, and Father Stephen Prisk, priest-secretary to the Bishop.

The parishioners of St. Thomas More Parish in Convent Station welcomed Bishop Serratelli during his pastoral visit. During the visit, he celebrated Mass marking the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Aug. 18.

Bishop Serratelli marked the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Our Lady of Victories Church in Paterson where he celebrated Mass on Aug. 15. The feast day observes the Assumption of Mary into heaven and it is a Holy Day of Obligation.

August brought much joy to the Salesian Sisters as 15 women either made or renewed their religious vows. Additionally, four women entered the interprovincial novitiate in Newton, entrusting themselves to the guidance of novice director, Sister Karen Dunn. The eastern United States and Canadian Province of the Salesian Sisters has experienced a strong growth in vocations, attributed to the efforts of the vocation office and the prayers and sacrifices of the sisters.

Lily Bogardus and her fellow fourth- and fifth-graders at St. Patrick School in Chatham made a fascinating discovery, after testing out a new toy — a plastic frog game — that they created on the school’s pre-k to eighth-grade student population: the younger children were able to master the game more quickly than the older children.

From his heroic efforts as the former captain of a U.S. Merchant Marine cargo freighter that saved thousands of Korean refugees to the quiet moments of prayer at a Benedictine abbey in Newton, the life of Brother Marinus LaRue is now being examined by a diocesan Tribunal panel as part of his cause for sainthood.

For their work for championing the pro-life cause above all in their lives, three people — Cheryl Holley, Marian Desrosiers and Chuck Donovan — were honored Aug. 5 at the 2019 People of Life awards for their contributions.

The parish community of St. Nicholas in Passaic welcomed Bishop Serratelli, who celebrated the vigil Mass for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time during his pastoral visit Aug. 10. The Mass was a bi-lingual English/Spanish celebration for the community.