English
Italian
Polish
Spanish
Grasping her program booklet and St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation, Claudette LaFlamme of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Waterbury talks to Father Roberto McCarthy after the ceremony on March 19. (Photo by Shelley Wolf)
HARTFORD – It was a day for celebrating the volunteers who make a parish a living faith community.
On March 19, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair awarded 188 parish volunteers drawn from 148 parishes for their exemplary service with the St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation in a ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
Each year, the archbishop bestows the honor on nominees who were selected at their parish for commendable service. Recipients give of their time and talent to enhance their parish communities in numerous ways. Some are religious education teachers, sacristans and extraordinary ministers of Communion, while others publish their parish bulletins, serve the homebound or coordinate parish events.
This year, the cathedral was filled to overflowing with the medal recipients, the pastors who nominated them for recognition and the honorees’ families and friends.
Archbishop Blair, the principal celebrant at the daytime prayer service, congratulated and thanked the honorees.
“Thank you for all the selfless and devoted service you have rendered over the years,” he said, “and continue to render to the Lord and his church, and to your local faith communities and neighbors.”
The archbishop stressed that all were gathered “to offer a Christian answer, a counter-cultural witness” to the Me Generation in which too many people put themselves first.
“We recognize, honor and thank people whose life’s motto is not ‘me, myself and I,’” he said, “but rather the motto is ‘God, neighbor and parish.’”
Archbishop Blair also took the opportunity to share his thoughts on how everyone might rise to the challenge of the archdiocese’s pastoral planning process.
He urged all those present to talk to the Lord “face-to-face” for the wisdom, belief and graces needed “to truly be the church that we are called to be and to fulfill the mission that Christ has given us.”
He also suggested the congregants to look to former Pope Benedict, who said that every great reform of the church has been linked “to the rediscovery of belief in the Lord’s eucharistic presence among his people.”
“The archdiocesan pastoral plan that we are currently undertaking can very well be looked upon as a great reform in light of our current situation and the challenges of today,” the archbishop said.
“From the beginning, I’ve asked that pastoral planning meetings begin with prayer and eucharistic adoration for the very reason that Pope Benedict gives,” he explained. “After all, what did Jesus say elsewhere in the Gospel? ‘Apart from me, you can do nothing.’
“Every bishop and priest and deacon knows it. And every one of you who devoted your life to service knows it, too,” he said. “It’s Christ alone who makes it possible for us to live a life of faith and to extend ourselves, not just with philanthropy in this world but truly with the service that comes from the heart of God ... to other people.”
Archbishop Blair then invited all present to join him in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He also blessed the St. Joseph medals and bestowed the awards on the recipients.
At the conclusion of the prayer service, honorees were invited to have their photo taken with the archbishop. While waiting their turn, a few medal recipients commented on the day’s events.
Claudette LaFlamme of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Waterbury said, “It’s unbelievable. It’s just breathtaking. I’m just in awe.”
LaFlamme said she volunteers in her parish as a sacristan, an extraordinary minister of holy Communion “and a few other things.” She said she’s been helping out for 14 years.
Marcel LaFontaine of the Shrine of St. Anne in Waterbury, who sat beside LaFlamme, said, “Same thing. I’m a eucharistic minister, run bingo, run all kinds of trips. I’m an usher.
“It’s an honor. I don’t think I deserved it,” LaFontaine added, referring to the medal and special recognition. “It’s a lot of volunteer work but you just do it. It’s just natural.”
LaFlamme concurred. “We just volunteer because we want to do it.”
Recipients
The following are the recipients of the 2017 St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation:
Eric and Janice Albetski, St. Catherine, Broad Brook
Beata Bagi, St. Elizabeth, Branford
Cecile Baker, St. Timothy, West Hartford
Christopher Ball, St. Francis of Assisi, South Windsor
Peter Bassermann, St. Therese, Branford
Alex Bednarek, St. Patrick, Farmington
Debbie Belisle, St. Louis, West Haven
Marion Berard, St. Peter Claver, West Hartford
Michael and Margaret Bianchi, St. Peter, Torrington
Jadwiga Borkowski, SS. Cyril and Methodius, Hartford
Joel Brehm, St. Peter, Canaan
Alphonse Brosseau, Holy Angels, South Meriden
Cynthia Calvert, St. Francis, New Haven
Peter Carbine, Ascension, Hamden
Eileen Carlone, St. Rose of Lima, Meriden
Susan Carlone, Our Lady of the Lakes, New Milford
James and Marianne Cassidy, Our Lady of Mercy, Plainville
Carol Chiappinelli, St. Gabriel, Milford
Norman and Joanne Choiniere, Holy Infant, Orange
Dorothy Cialfi, St. Ann, Avon
Daniel and Joan Ciesielski, St. Jerome, New Britain
Nicholas Cimmino, St. Stephen, Hamden
Marion Colella, St. Leo the Great, Waterbury
Diane Coleman, St. John Vianney, West Haven
Lino and Lucila Colon, Sacred Heart-Sagrado Corazon, Waterbury
Edward and Joyce Conlan, St. Mary Magdalen, Oakville
Marie Connors, St. Clare, East Haven
Marilyn Coppola, St. Thomas, Southington
Rose Marie Cox, St. Ann, Milford
Gerard Crotty, Sacred Heart, Bloomfield
William Curtis, St. Bridget, Manchester
Vincent and Sandra D’Agostino, St. Anthony, New Haven
Thomas Deasy, St. Elizabeth Seton, Rocky Hill
Patricia Devanney, St. Joseph, Winsted
Timothy and Mary Pat Devanney, St. James, Manchester
Luis and Carmen Diaz, Sacred Heart, New Haven
Agnes Dickinson, St. Catherine of Sienna, West Simsbury
Ann Dilling, St. Peter, New Britain
Ann Donato, Good Shepherd, Seymour
Emile Drillon, St. Thomas, Thomaston
Denis Duclos, Holy Family, Enfield
Herold and Rose Duphrezin, St. Justin, Hartford
Robert Egan, St. Michael, Beacon Falls
Shirley Erickson, St. Jude, Derby
Nicholas Fanelli, Immaculate Conception, Norfolk
Susan Ficaro, St. Brigid, West Hartford
Aurora Figueroa, St. Mary, New Britain
Margaret Fisher, St. John the Evangelist, Watertown
Carol Flament, St. Thomas the Apostle, Oxford
Thomas Foligno, St. Dominic, Southington
John Fowler, Christ the Redeemer, Milford
Guiseppe Fretto, St. Mary, Torrington
Karen Gagnon, Immaculate Conception, Terryville
Francis Gargano, St. Michael, New Haven
David Gaudreau, St. Christopher, East Haven
Evelyn Gomes, Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Waterbury
William and Blanche Grego, St. Bernadette, New Haven
Joseph and Judy Grimard, Sacred Heart, Suffield
Peter Guandalini, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Hamden
Nelson and Anaida Guzman, St. Margaret, Waterbury
Carol Hall, Sacred Heart, Kent
Barbara Henry, St. Patrick Mission, Roxbury
Richard Hill, St. Aloysius, Plantsville
Alice Hines, St. Mary, Branford
William Hoch, St. Bartholomew, Manchester
William Ianniello, Blessed Sacrament, Hamden
Rose Jacobs, St. Therese, Granby
Stanislaw Jankowski, Sacred Heart, New Britain
Leon and Halina Jerman, Holy Cross, New Britain
Michael Jordan, St. Mary, Windsor Locks
John Jurkowski, St. Mary, Derby
Marion Kingsbury, St. Patrick-St. Anthony, Hartford
Karl and Lynn Krieg, St. Thomas Becket, Cheshire
Alese Kummer, St. Augustine, Seymour
Rachelle LaBrecque, St. Mary, East Hartford
Claudette LaFlamme, Blessed Sacrament, Waterbury
Marcel LaFontaine, Shrine of St. Anne, Waterbury
Stephen and Mary Leslie, St. Margaret Mary, South Windsor
Sebastian and Marie Listro, Mary Our Queen, Plantsville
John Lodovico, St. Anthony, Bristol
Robert Loiseau, Sacred Heart, Southbury
Irene Loman, St. Michael, Derby
Carlos and Luz Stella Lopez, St. Peter, Hartford
Raymond Lussier, St. Bridget, Cheshire
Manuel and Joyce Luzio, St. Francis, Naugatuck
Mary Lou Mancini, St. Maurice, New Britain
Anne Marchi, St. Margaret, Madison
Charles and Delores Marshall, St. Thomas, Goshen
Michael and Patricia Martucci, St. Stanislaus, New Haven
Gerald and Ellen Maust, Our Lady of Fatima, Yalesville
Carol Mazurkivich, SS. Peter and Paul, Waterbury
John McCormick, Jr., Our Lady of Sorrows, Hartford
Sandra McDonald, St. Francis Xavier, Waterbury
George McKeon, Our Lady of Victory, West Haven
Edwin and Joan Mercier, St. Francis of Assisi, New Britain
Louise Messier, St. Joseph, Meriden
Leonard and Barbara Mierzejewski, Sr., St. Stanislaus, Meriden
Dianne Miller, St. Helena, West Hartford
Carole Mulready, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, West Hartford
Regina Murawski, St. Casimir, Terryville
Denise Musco, St. Michael, Waterbury
John Narowski, Immaculate Conception, Southington
David and Regina Neri, St. Francis of Assisi, Torrington
James and Jean Nolan, St. Dunstan, Glastonbury
Carmel and Aldona Onalfo, St. Joseph, Waterbury
Jeannine O’Neil, St. Gregory the Great, Bristol
Mary Ann Parlapiano, St. Gabriel, Windsor
Ignazio Petraroia, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Waterbury
Joseph and Anne Petrini, St. Ann, Hamden
Marta Piccirillo, St. Barnabas, North Haven
Robert and Mary Piche, St. Patrick, Waterbury
Barbara Pickett, St. John of the Cross, Middlebury
Anna Pinto, Assumption, Manchester
Margaret Pinto, St. Rita, Hamden
William and Marie Pitney, St. Bernard, Tariffville
John and Barbara Pogue, St. Mary, Lakeville
Yvonne Proscino, St. John the Baptist, New Haven
Michael Quinn, Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford
Teresa Richard, St. Philip, East Windsor
Mary Anne Rockwell, Nativity, Bethlehem
Amilcar and Nancy Rodriguez, St. Joseph, Bristol
Peter and Linda Romano, St. Matthew, Forestville
David Sansoucie, Our Lady of Hope, New Hartford
William and Maria Santos, Sacred Heart, Hartford
Mary Scott, Sacred Heart, Wethersfield
Rose Selander, St. Joseph, New Britain
Richard Selinga, St. Mary, Unionville
Barbara Sellberg, St. Stanislaus, Bristol
William Shea, St. Hedwig, Union City
Eva Sittnick, SS. Peter and Paul, Wallingford
Mary Ellen Sorcinelli, Holy Rosary, Ansonia
Theresa St. Gelais, St. Patrick, Collinsville
Joan Anne Streib, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Washington Depot
Sharon Szczerba, St. Luke, Hartford
Joseph and Judith Tatta, Resurrection, Wallingford
Luz Toro, St. Lawrence O’Toole, Hartford
Anthony and Irene Torsiello, Holy Spirit, Newington
Pauline Totaro, Assumption, Ansonia
Vernette Townsend, St. Michael, Hartford
Barbara Travisano, St. George, Gilford
Frank Tyszka, St. Joseph, Ansonia
Beverly Usher, Our Lady of Grace, Bantam
Eleanor Violette, St. Isaac Jogues, East Hartford
Michael and Jennifer Volpe, St. Joseph, Poquonock
James and LouAnn Warren, St. Mark the Evangelist, West Hartford
Kenneth and Baerbel Weber, St. Robert Bellarmine, Windsor Locks
Mary Yorkshaitis, St. Mary, Union City
Rose Yurgalevicz, Sacred Heart, Torrington