Thursday evening (April 29), I attended the annual fundraiser for the Catholic Charities Laboure Center. They had it in the new venue, Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in South Boston, and it was very well attended.

They were honoring John and Margarete McNeice for all of their support. Jack Shaughnessy and many members of his family were also there, as were many supporters of Laboure.

They had an auction and one of the items was a “brunch with the Cardinal,” which brought in $5,000. That will be at the cathedral some time soon. I look forward to it!

Confirmations

On Saturday, I had confirmations at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Westwood, Father Chris Coyne’s parish. It was a very large class. I think there were almost 70 young people there.

Confirmation, of course, is a very important event in the lives of young people. As the archbishop, I am always delighted to be able to be a part of that and to encourage them in a life of discipleship and fidelity to the Lord. I also invite them to reflect on the importance and centrality of the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics, to be part of a worshiping community, and also talk to them about the personal vocation that we have. I always highlight the priesthood and marriage.

Centennial Mass

On Sunday, I went to St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish in Melrose to celebrate a Mass to mark their centennial anniversary.

It was an overflow crowd with standing room only. They had people in the downstairs church watching it on closed-circuit television.

Two of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus who are working in the parish were there. Their order started the school 100 years ago and these women are still working in the parish and the Catholic school is still thriving.

The mayor of the town, Robert Dolan, spoke.

Also, the man whom they call “the mayor,” was there too, sitting in the front row. He had been mayor of the town for 20 years and he is still is the organist at the parish. He is 100 years old. He was born something like a week before they opened the church. He could have been one of the first baptized!

The principal, the faculty, the students, and their Board of Trustees were all very much in evidence there. They had a wonderful group of very well-trained servers.

Among the concelebrants were Father Bernard Shea and Msgr. Alfonso Palladino, who both are in residence at the parish. Msgr. Palladino has been a priest for 67 years so he was ordained before I was born, and he is still very active. Father Shea has been a priest for almost 60 years and he is also in great shape.

Athletes for Life

On Wednesday, I met with Chris Godfrey from Athletes for Life in my office at the cathedral.

Chris has helped us in the past with chastity education programs. He is the founder and president of Life Athletes, an organization of current and former professional athletes who help our young people understand how to live a virtuous life, realize the benefits of abstinence, and foster a respect for human life.

He played most of his professional career for the New York Giants, and was the starting right guard on the team that won Super Bowl XXI. That year, he earned All-Pro NFL Films honors, and was named All-NFC by the Associated Press and United Press International. He also played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets.

After football, he graduated from law school at the University of Notre Dame. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Michigan.