Meeting of the ecclesiastical province. Last Thursday all the bishops of our ecclesiastical province met in Boston. The province comprises the Archdiocese of Boston, the three other dioceses in Massachusetts -- Fall River, Springfield and Worcester -- and the dioceses of Portland, Maine; Burlington, Vt; and Manchester, N.H.

Those meetings take place twice a year in order to share with each other what is happening in our respective dioceses. We also invite the retired bishops to come. It is always a good opportunity for us to cooperate. We are blessed to have bishops in the region who are anxious to work together and to build up the Church. Among our tasks at the spring meeting is to make recommendations for candidates for bishop... But, of course, we do not give the names out!

Groundbreaking

On Tuesday I also participated at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new adolescent center for St. Anne’s Home, a childcare center in Methuen that works with children who are emotionally or behaviorally disturbed. They have about 100 young people who are residents there. St. Anne’s Home was originally an orphanage for Franco-American children, run by the Good Shepherd Sisters. Many of the sisters were at the groundbreaking. They are still very supportive of this institution. As many other orphanages, it has transitioned from a home for orphans to a residential care center for children and adolescents who have emotional and psychological problems and need special schooling. They also have children from the area who are unable to perform adequately in the public schools.

Methuen Mayor William Manzi attended the groundbreaking and expressed his support of the work that’s being done. I also met many of the children who are residents there. It is just a wonderful institution, and like so many of our agencies, it came about because of the spirit of sacrifice and dedication of the nuns who, since the beginning, staffed it. The orphanage was founded by Father Bertrand, who was at the time pastor at the former St. Anne Parish in Lawrence. He himself was an orphan.

Also in this week’s blog:

> Commenting on the release of the 2006 Fiscal Year Annual Report

> Celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation

> Visiting Harvard’s campus ministry group

> Attending a LIFT meeting