On Saturday (6/16), I was very happy to celebrate the ordination for the Capuchins of St. Mary's Province. I ordained two priests, Fathers Ernest Bedard and Salvatore Cordaro and two deacons, Deacons Richard Mattox and Michal Ramos, at the Mass. There were several people from Boston in attendance because some of the Friars had been studying here and helping out in parishes. It is always a great privilege and joy to ordain priests and deacons knowing that the Sacrament of Holy Orders allows Christ's pastoral ministry to continue to touch people through the sacraments and through the breaking open of the word. It is also very special joy to be able to ordain brothers from my own religious community. We pray that the Lord will continue to bless the order with vocations to be able to serve God's people.

Visit with Msgr. Russell

That night (6/17), we had a visit from Msgr. Paul Russell, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston who is the chargé d'affaires of the apostolic nunciature in Taiwan. He has been a member of the diplomatic corps for several years, and has been stationed in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and now in Taiwan serving the Church in this very important mission. It was fascinating to hear from him firsthand about the Church in China and in Taiwan. For exmaple, he explained that the Church has a huge institutional footprint in Taiwan -- health care facilities, hospitals, schools and universities -- even though the Catholic population is comparatively small.

Regis Haiti Project

The Regis College Haiti Project is a program to train nurses from Haiti in graduate studies so that they can lead training programs for nurses back in Haiti. In the fall and spring, the faculty from Regis travel to Haiti to give courses and then, in the summer, they bring the nurses here to Boston for courses at Regis and to gain experience in Boston hospitals. Once they return to Haiti, the new nursing instructors will help teach the next group of nursing instructors, and so on. I was able to join the first group of these nurses to go through the program for lunch on Monday (6/18) along with Regis College President Antoinette Hays, who was instrumental in starting the program, and several faculty members who have been very involved with the program. There was a great spirit and enthusiasm among the women. This project is another fine example of the ways in which our Catholic organizations are still working to help the Haitian people.

Seminarian Retreat

Tuesday (6/19), I joined the seminarians for the start of their annual retreat at Sacred Heart Retreat House in Wareham. We had a holy hour, Mass and then a period of discussion. The retreat master was Father John McLaughlin, who is our chaplain at Boston University and had been the vocation director for the military ordinariate. This annual retreat is an opportunity to bring together our seminarians who are studying at different seminaries: Rome, Providence, blessed John XXIII, Redemptoris Mater and of course St. John's.



Visit to MCI Concord

Wednesday morning (6/20), I was very happy to be able to visit and celebrate Mass with inmates at MCI Concord. Deacon Tom Anthony and the chaplain Hermina Hyacinthe from the nearby Northeast Correctional Center were with us for the visit. I celebrated three confirmations at Mass and then afterward I confirmed a man who was in solitary confinement.