Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Bishop Serratelli ordained eight men as priests of the Diocese of Paterson during Mass on Saturday, May 11 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson — the mother church of the Diocese. He challenged these new priests to carry out their priestly ministry “with constant joy and genuine love, attending not to your own concerns, but to those of Jesus Christ.”

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Joseph Parish in Passaic and was main celebrant of the Mass May 12 for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which was also Mother’s Day. During the Mass, 10 children of the parish made their First Communion, receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist for the first time.

Czarina Alfonso, 17, a parishioner of St. Philip the Apostle in Clifton, believes that vaccinations save lives. Her belief is so strong that protecting young children from serious illnesses has become her mission. A graduate of St. Philip Prep and currently a junior at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, Alfonso is founder of “Give It a Shot,” a non-profit organization that provides pneumococcal vaccines to daycare-aged children in the Philippines. According to UNICEF data, pneumonia remains the leading cause of death among children under five, killing 2,400 children a day worldwide.