Hundreds of young adults honored with Bishop’s Youth Award

More than 200 students received the Bishop’s Youth Award at Saint Jude Parish in Mountain Top on April 4, 2022. (Photo/Dan Gallagher)

WILLIAMSPORT – Nearly 600 young adults in the Diocese of Scranton recently received honors for providing service to their parishes, schools and communities.

The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, handed out the Bishop’s Youth Award to 596 recipients at four different Masses beginning on March 28. The Masses took place in East Stroudsburg, Scranton, Mountain Top and Williamsport.

“These young people have been of service to their parish or community in a multitude of ways and are very worthy of this recognition,” Jacki Douglas, Director of Word and Lifelong Faith Formation in the Diocesan Office for Parish Life, said.

Since 1996, the Bishop’s Youth Award has recognized young people in eighth and 12th grade for their exemplary practice of faith and for their commitment to serve others. Pastors, parish life coordinators, principals, faith formation directors or youth ministers nominate students for the award.

“I think that the awards being given out this year are particularly significant. We’re just ending two very challenging years in our world, our society, our church and our families,” Bishop Bambera said. “You have all made a difference in somebody else’s life. I know I speak for your families and your pastors in saying how proud I am of all of you.”

Award recipients stand during Mass at Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Williamsport April 6, 2022. (Photo/Eric Deabill)

Luz Pomaquiza, a 12th grade student and parishioner of Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg, received the award for serving as a reader, altar server, choir member and youth group participant at her church.

“I like being able to help anyway I can,” Pomaquiza said. “You grow as a person as well.”

Zyrus Hernandez also received the Bishop’s Youth Award from Saint Matthew Parish. He helps serve meals to those in need and participates in parish fundraisers.

“It’s very humbling,” Hernandez explained of his time serving the less fortunate. “It was really an eye opener for me. It definitely allowed me to see the world differently and allowed me to see it through other people’s eyes. I’m going off to college this September and I plan on continuing service through my college’s service program and its ministry programs.”

Michelle Pierce, a senior of Saint John Neumann High School in Williamsport and parishioner of Resurrection Parish in Muncy, also received the award.

“It’s really gratifying to help other people and those who are in need,” she said of her efforts to collect food for the Ronald McDonald House in Danville.

“I feel blessed every single day that I can get the things I need. I have clothes, I have food, I have shelter, but I think it’s so important to give other people those basic needs as well.”

Award recipients serve as gift bearers at Saint Matthew Parish in East Stroudsburg March 28, 2022. (Photo/Shannon Kowalski)

Brendan Dincher received the Bishop’s Youth Award for teaching elementary students about their faith at Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Williamsport.

“Before COVID, we used to teach a class for fifth and sixth graders about the faith and lead them on service projects to let them get out there and enjoy it,” he said.

Each of the students receiving the Bishop’s Youth Award gets a special pin as a symbol of the way they have contributed to the mission of our Church by touching the lives of others in real and meaningful ways.

Michael Grandzol, an eighth grade student at Saint Jude School in Mountain Top, received his Bishop Youth Award for his participation in boy scouts, as well being an altar server and partaking in the music ministry at Saint Jude School.

“In Scripture, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples and he said ‘serve other people’ and I feel like that is what I’m doing being an altar server or whatever else I do,’ Grandzol explained. “I know I’ve gotten a lot out of the Church.”

Erin Barno, a senior at Crestwood High School, says her service efforts have helped her remain a morally grounded person.

“A lot of times you see young people worship things on social media or worship things on the internet and that is not really what we should be looking towards. We should be looking towards our relationship with God and strengthening our connection with him,” she explained.

Molly White, who serves as student body president at Holy Cross High School, received the Bishop’s Youth Award for her service efforts as well.

“When you start to serve others, the way Jesus served others, that is when you really start to connect to your faith on a deeper level,” she explained.

“Actions speak louder than words and I think through service, that is one of the best actions you can take to living out your faith. It’s a humbling action, it’s a grounding action!”

Bishop Joseph C. Bambera begins Palm Sunday Mass in the Cathedral Prayer Garden on Wyoming Avenue. (Photos/Mike Melisky)

SCRANTON – The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, began Holy Week by serving as principal celebrant and homilist at a Pontifical Mass of Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on April 10.

Hundreds of people attended the service, which was broadcast live on CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton.

“How very much we need this Holy Week to help us face the struggles, the pain, the disappointment, the fear and the anxieties engulfing our lives and our world these days and to take them to the only place where they can be transformed into hope,” Bishop Bambera said. “That place, brothers and sisters, is at the foot of the Cross of Jesus.”

Noting the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic for the last two years as well as the most recent War in Ukraine, the bishop said, “Our world and our lives just can’t seem to catch a break.”

Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday, is when the Church remembers Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem. It is the beginning of Holy Week, the most solemn week in the Church’s liturgical year.

“Our willingness to humbly turn to Jesus as the only source of our true and lasting hope has the power to open our lives to the mystery of God’s saving grace and his promise of life and peace,” the bishop added.

For the first time since 2019, the Pontifical Mass for Palm Sunday began in the Cathedral Prayer Garden on Wyoming Avenue. It was followed by a solemn procession to the Cathedral Church.

Two children hold palms during Mass at the Cathedral. Palm Sunday is the day in which the Church remembers Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem.

Inside, the faithful heard the Passion from the Gospel of Luke – a version that Bishop Bambera said explains the extraordinary compassionate and loving nature of Jesus.

“Only in Saint Luke’s Gospel does Jesus heal the severed ear of the high priest’s servant. Only in Luke, struggling under the weight of the Cross, does Jesus stop to console the women of Jerusalem who grieve for themselves and their children and only in Luke’s Passion story do we hear Jesus pray for his executioners and promise paradise to the penitent thief crucified with him,” the bishop said.

Because Jesus is both compassionate and merciful, the bishop encouraged all people to draw closer to Him this Holy Week.

“Jesus is found with all who suffer for he knows the paths they- and we – trod because he made them his own,” he said.

Pope Francis holds palm fronds as he celebrates Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 10, 2022. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Jesus obeyed the most challenging of commandments: to love one’s enemies; and he invites humanity to do the same by breaking a vicious cycle of evil, sorrow and hatred with love and forgiveness, Pope Francis said on Palm Sunday.

“As disciples of Jesus, do we follow the master, or do we follow our own desire to strike back?” he asked in his homily April 10.

Pope Francis began Holy Week with Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square with an estimated 50,000 people – the first time large numbers of people could participate since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago.

He also made a heartfelt appeal for a cease-fire by warring parties and the start of a “real negotiation,” even if it requires “some sacrifice for the good of the people.”

“What kind of victory will it be to plant a flag on a pile of rubble?” he said after the Mass and before leading the Angelus prayer. “Put down the weapons. Let an Easter truce begin.”

Clearly referring to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, the pope did not specifically name which conflict he was talking about, saying Christ died to be victorious over sin and death, “not over someone and against someone else.”

However, he denounced this “endless” war, which “daily places before our eyes heinous massacres and atrocious cruelty committed against defenseless civilians. Let us pray about this.”

A war aiming for victory according to the logic of the world, the pope said, “is only the way to lose.” It is better to let the victor be Jesus, who carried the cross and died to free people from evil and so life, love and peace might reign.

Because of ongoing difficulty walking and his doctor’s advice to rest, Pope Francis did not take part in the traditional procession to the obelisk in the center of the square but was driven by car to the altar before the start of the ceremony.

Dozens of young people carried palm branches, and bishops, cardinals and the pope held “palmurelli,” large woven palms. All the pilgrims in the square were given olive branches donated by Italian olive oil producers and several people also held large rainbow “peace” flags or smaller flags of Ukraine and other countries.

After blessing the palms and listening to the Gospel reading of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the young people, bishops, cardinals and deacons processed to the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica for the main part of the Mass, which included the reading of the Passion.

In his homily, Pope Francis highlighted how Jesus “obeyed the most demanding of his commandments: that we love our enemies.”

“How often we spend time looking back on those who have wronged us! How often we think back and lick the wounds that other people, life itself and history have inflicted on us,” he said.

Instead, Jesus teaches humanity “to break the vicious circle of evil and sorrow. To react to the nails in our lives with love, to the buffets of hatred with the embrace of forgiveness,” he said.

When people resort to violence, he said, they forget about God, their father, and “about others, who are our brothers and sisters. We lose sight of why we are in the world and even end up committing senseless acts of cruelty.”

“We see this in the folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time,” the pope said. “Christ is once more nailed to the cross in mothers who mourn the unjust death of husbands and sons. He is crucified in refugees who flee from bombs with children in their arms. He is crucified in the elderly left alone to die; in young people deprived of a future; in soldiers sent to kill their brothers and sisters.”

If people want to see if they truly belong to Christ, “let us look at how we behave toward those who have hurt us,” the pope said.

The Lord asks people respond the way he does: by showing “compassion and mercy to everyone, for God sees a son or a daughter in each person. He does not separate us into good and bad, friends and enemies. We are the ones who do this, and we make God suffer,” the pope said.

“Brothers and sisters, in the course of this week, let us cling to the certainty that God can forgive every sin, bridge every distance and turn all mourning into dancing,” the pope said.

With Jesus, things are never over, and it is never too late, he said.

“With God, we can always come back to life. Take courage! Let us journey toward Easter with his forgiveness,” he said.

“Gazing upon our violent and tormented world, he never tires of repeating: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

At the end of the Mass, the pope rode in the open popemobile to wave to and greet the crowd in the square and along the long boulevard leading to the main square, again the first time since before the pandemic began.

CANTON – Inspired by the story of Goya Foods and Shannon Hasse of Texas sending 15,000 rosaries and thousands of pounds of food to Ukraine, a parishioner of Saint Michael Parish in Canton has also decided to take action.

Lynette Ambruch wrote to the President of Goya Foods offering her help in sending more rosaries to the war-torn nation. She heard back from Goya Foods and the company has agreed to ship and distribute rosaries collected by the parish!

Ambruch has extended the invitation for anyone in the Diocese to send her rosaries by April 24 to be included in the shipment.

“We love God and we’re doing what God wants us to do. We’re helping someone who needs it,” Ambruch said.

Within the first few days of putting out the call for assistance, the local jewelry maker said she has already received more than 2,000 rosaries and her phone keeps ringing.

“I even have people that aren’t Catholic contacting me. They say, ‘I’m not Catholic and I don’t have a rosary, but what can I do?’” she said. “They just want to help but just don’t know how to.”

Rosaries can be dropped off before or after Mass in any of the three beautiful churches associated with Saint Michael Parish or at the parish office through Sunday, April 24. Broken rosaries are also welcome and will be repaired prior to shipment.

Saint Michael Church, 107 N. Washington Street, Canton, is open on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. until 10:45 a.m., Saturday from 3:15 until 4:45 p.m., Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., and Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Saint John Nepomucene Church, 133 Exchange Street, Troy, is open on Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. and Tuesday from 5:15 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Saint Aloysius Church, corner of Green Street & Division Alley, Ralston, is open on Sunday from 7:45 a.m. until 8:45 a.m.

The parish office is located at 106 N. Washington Street, Canton. Hours are Monday & Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and Thursday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. There is a bowl on the front porch where donations can be placed if the office is closed.

Dozens of people gathered April 1 at Saint Lawrence Parish Hall in South Williamsport for a Lenten soup dinner to benefit those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT – The Parishes of Saint Boniface and Saint Lawrence held a Lenten soup dinner April 1 which will benefit people who are suffering in Ukraine.

Fifteen meatless soups were prepared and donated by parishioners. Seventy-five guests brought their own bowls and spoons to join together at the Lenten table.

A good will offering resulted in more than $2,100 being raised.

Volunteers decorated the Saint Lawrence Parish Hall for the event and served all those who gathered between 6-8 p.m. after Stations of the Cross.

Fathers William Corcoran and Robert Antonelli spearheaded the church gathering to benefit those who are impacted by the war in Ukraine.

Some of the items recently collected in the Hazleton area to be donated to the people in Ukraine.

HAZLETON – Catholic Social Services in Hazleton, 200 W. Chapel Street, continues to serve as a collection drop-off site for material donations to help our brothers and sisters impacted by the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. The items will be passed along to one or more organizations in Philadelphia that are providing assistance to those in need.

In conjunction with the group, “City of Hazleton Outreach to Ukraine,” Catholic Social Services is accepting nonperishable items, including dry rations, such as freeze-dried or dehydrated foods, granola or energy bars, and other non-liquid items. Baby food is also needed, but it must be in pouches and not jars.

Medical supplies and personal hygiene items, including new underwear, thermals, bras, socks, diapers, wipes, blankets, linens, pain relievers, and medical aids, such as crutches, canes, wheelchairs, walkers, are being accepted.

Donations can be made weekdays (Monday-Friday) between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

In addition to Catholic Social Services, which is a member agency of the Greater Hazleton United Way, other collection sites include Hazleton City Hall, Northeast Counseling Services and the Lackawanna College Campus.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, delivers the homily during the Healing Mass for Survivors of Abuse April 7 at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

SCRANTON – Acknowledging that most people will never know the depth of pain that survivors of sexual abuse endure, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, presided at a Healing Mass for Survivors of Abuse on April 7. The liturgy was held at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.

“As Bishop of this local Church, I continue to apologize for the pain that has been inflicted upon far too many of you by leaders of our Church. I once again ask for forgiveness from the countless numbers of you who have suffered so much,” Bishop Bambera said. “And as I have shared many times before, I pledge to do all within my power to keep our Churches and schools safe for our children and for all of our people to worship, to pray, to learn and to grow in their faith.”

The Diocese of Scranton has celebrated a Healing Mass for survivors of abuse for four years.

“It is vital that we continue to pray for survivors of abuse. Why? Because there is still pain. A few years of public prayer can’t change a lifetime of suffering. So many survivors continue to be burdened by nightmares of inhuman behavior on the part of those who should have been trustworthy but were not,” the bishop continued.

The Healing Mass took place at the beginning of April, a month dedicated to child abuse prevention efforts. During the Mass, the faithful prayed for church leaders to continue working to protect the most vulnerable from harm and for those who have suffered abuse that they may have the courage to tell their story and find the necessary support.

During his homily, the bishop explained some of the lessons he has learned from his conversations with abuse survivors.

“They’ve taught me that if the Church is truly intent upon creating safe environments for its children and all of God’s people, the Church – and especially Church leaders – must never forget or allow time to numb us to the pain that was so willfully inflicted on innocent lives by those who postured themselves as God’s representatives and ministers of his love and mercy,” Bishop Bambera said.

He continued, “While the Church has become much more cognizant of the need to eradicate this horrific behavior from its ranks once and for all, this crisis is not over! Far too many of our members continue to suffer. And only our recognition and acknowledgement of their pain can truly prompt us to change and to create a Church deserving of people’s trust.”

Emphasizing that “time doesn’t always heal,” the bishop encouraged anyone who is struggling to give God room to step into their lives.

The Diocese of Scranton’s Child Protection and Safe Environment Policy requires mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse and the immediate removal of someone credibly accused of abuse. It also emphasizes transparency and pastoral case in abuse cases.

The policy also requires that all clergy, employees and volunteers who will encounter children while working or volunteering for any diocesan institution and/or program will undergo the relevant state and federal criminal background checks. The policy also includes ongoing education for children and youth, as well as for adult staff members and volunteers, designed to help prevent abuse from happening.

Information on the Diocese of Scranton’s Child Protection and Safe Environment Policy can be found online at dioceseofscranton.org/child-protection-victim-assistance

SCRANTON – The Diocese of Scranton continues to listen to your thoughts and opinions as we answer the call of Pope Francis to participate in the local listening phase of the 2023 Synod on Synodality. It is our hope that you will prayerfully consider each question and offer feedback about your experience as a member of the Diocese of Scranton.

The Synod survey is available on the “Synod on Synodality” page of the Diocese of Scranton website (dioceseofscranton.org) through April 29, 2022.

Since last October, thousands of people in all 11 counties of the Diocese of Scranton have participated in the online synod survey or individual parish listening sessions.

If you have already taken the survey, please spread the word – including to family and friends that may no longer attend Mass. A key component is listening to those voices who are easily ignored or marginalized.

Lainey Conway listens as Wilkes-Barre mayor George Brown reads a proclamation in her honor on April 7, 2022. (Photos/Eric Deabill)

WILKES-BARRE – Four students from Holy Redeemer High School received recognition April 7 for their quick thinking and bravery after coming to the aid of their bus driver who had a medical emergency last month.

Kaden Ayre, Lainey Conway, Max Filchak and Ryan Martinelli each received keys to the city of Wilkes-Barre, along with proclamations from the Pennsylvania Senate.

“We gather today to celebrate you and to publically acknowledge our pride in your actions,” Holy Redeemer principal Doreen Dougherty said in welcoming everyone to the ceremony. “Not only did you chart a course on March 21 during the bus incident but you blazed a trail, recognizing an issue existing, you acted decisively, definitively, cooperatively in the midst of a hazardous situation.”

On March 21, a total of 13 high school and elementary school students from Holy Redeemer and Saint Nicholas/Saint Mary School were on a Rinehimer bus, headed from Wilkes-Barre to Mountain Top, when the driver began experiencing a medical emergency on Blackman Street in Wilkes-Barre Township.

That is when the four Catholic school students jumped into action.

“We worked almost like it was rehearsed, everyone just got to work,” Conway, who was responsible for calling 911, explained. “Kaden and Ryan went to help the driver; they unbuckled him so they could get to the brake. We started rolling backwards so they stepped on the brake. We hit the car behind bus but we would have kept rolling if they didn’t step on the brake.”

Martinelli, 17, a junior, was sitting in the very back of the bus listening to music when the emergency started to unfold. His first instinct was to assist the driver as he dashed to the front of the bus.

“I loosened his jacket, took off his seat belt to see if he could get some air because it looked like he was having trouble breathing and then apply pressure to the brake to stop us from rolling backwards because we had hit the car behind us at that point,” he said.

Martinelli is a member of the United States Navy Sea Cadet Corps. Prior to the incident, he had received training on responding to car accidents that was held by both active and retired police officers.

“I felt calm during the event,” he added.

Scott Henry of Rinehimer Bus Lines presents a framed newspaper article to Ryan Martinelli as a gift for helping his bus driver.

While Martinelli was attending to the driver, Ayre held the brake pedal down to keep the bus from rolling backward.

“Buses don’t have park on them, it’s only a foot brake. We didn’t know that until we had the bus driver out of the seat,” Ayre said. While the incident lasted only about a minute, the teen added, “I think God was with us that day.”

While Ayre and Martinelli were attending to the driver, Filchak got the other students off the bus and out of danger.

“I didn’t really think at all, I was just on my toes,” Filchak explained.

Family members of each student, along with classmates, lawmakers and the media attended the recognition ceremony.

“It is such an honor and privilege to join you today in what I deem a celebration of community, a celebration of the Holy Redeemer School, a celebration of faith and a celebration of young men and a young woman who showed us all what it is to be a true hero,” Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said.

“The courage that you showed on March 21, I want you to continue that through your high school education, through your college education if you go to college, or in the military, whatever your chosen field is, continue that courage and as you get out into the workforce, continue that courage,” Wilkes-Barre mayor George Brown added.

Kristen Donohue, Catholic Schools Superintendent in the Diocese of Scranton, also lauded the students’ actions.

Max Filchak recieves a “Key to the City” of Wilkes-Barre from Mayor George Brown during a ceremony at Holy Redeemer High School.

“I know God’s presence was working through you, as your quick thinking and calm approach to an extremely complicated situation kept your classmates safe and provided the rapid medical attention for the bus driver,” Donohue stated. “Your teamwork and confidence is truly remarkable. We are incredibly proud of each of you.”

Scott Henry of Rinehimer Bus Lines also attended the recognition ceremony. He said the bus driver is recovering thanks to the valiant efforts of the students.

“My brother and I were raised Catholic. We’re thanking Saint Christopher for putting you guys on the bus that day,” Henry said.

While each of the students say they appreciate the attention and recognition they’re getting, they don’t belief their actions were “heroic” in nature.

“We just did what we had to do,” Conway said.

“I don’t know if I deserve it. I just did what I thought was right. I reacted to the situation how I knew how to,” Martinelli added. “I’m confident that many of my peers would do a similar thing if they were in that situation.”

Kaden Ayre, one of four students who jumped into action to help his bus driver on March 21 discusses the events with media members.

WILMINGTON, Del. – The Most Rev. William E. Koenig, Bishop of Wilmington, Del., celebrated the Rite of Institution to the Ministries of Lector & Acolyte on Saturday, March 19 at Saint Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jan Carlo Perez received Ministry of Lector.

William Asinari, Thomas Dzwonczyk, and Andrew McCarroll received Ministry of Acolyte.

Lectors proclaim the Scriptures at liturgical celebrations and serve as catechists. Acolytes serve at Eucharistic celebrations and bring the Eucharist to the sick and homebound.

Please keep them in your prayers as they continue their formation to serve our local Church as a Diocesan Priest!