Beyond The Beacon
Join Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., as they discuss current events and topics relevant to the local Church in Paterson and the global Catholic Church. Bishop Sweeney answers questions from listeners, interviews guests, and shares reflections and insights helpful for all striving to live a life of faith, hope, and love.
Beyond The Beacon
Bishop Kevin shares how to deepen your spiritual life with a jubilee pilgrimage and more!
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Does a bishop get time off in the summer? Find out on this week's episode, when Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney and Jai Agnish catch up for a mid-summer episode. They discuss a wide array of current events and topics, including what's happening in Rome for the Jubilee Year of Hope, and the excitement around local pilgrimages and events in the Diocese of Paterson.
Show Notes:
https://rcdop.org/jubilee-2025-rcdop
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Email questions and topic ideas to Bishop Kevin at beyond@patersondiocese.org.
Produced by Jai Agnish, Bishop Kevin Sweeney, and Cecile Pagliarulo for the Diocese of Paterson. Engineered by Cecile Pagliarulo and Jai Agnish. Edited and theme song by Jai Agnish. Illustrations by Dennis Dalelio.
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Every three years, each Diocese in the USA has the graced opportunity to make a scheduled pilgrimage as one Diocesan family with their Bishop to the National Shrine in the nation's capital. 2026 is once again "our year!" Please note the two-day and one-day options: Oct. 16, Friday, and Oct. 17, Saturday. Visit the Diocese of Paterson website here to learn more!
On Coffee with Kupke, we have a cup of coffee and sit down with diocesan archivist, Monsignor Raymond Kupke Ph.D., to delve into the history of Catholicism in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J. Hosted by Father Paul Manning and Msgr. Kupke. Listen to Coffee with Kupke wherever you get your podcasts, or watch it on the St. Paul Inside the Walls YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@stpaulinsidethewalls.
Welcome to Beyond the Weekend with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for conversations about our Catholic faith, and together let's strive to live a life of faith, hope, and love. I'm Jay Agnish. With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Bishop, how are you? I'm okay, Jay. How are you doing? Doing well. It's been a little while since we've been together, so uh it's good to be back in a kind of a midsummer checkup, I guess, as it were.
SPEAKER_01Uh midsummer. Uh where's the summer going? It's terrible. Goes so fast. Uh but July 31st, the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Um and tomorrow, um August 1st, the Feast of St. Alphonsus Lagori, the founder of the Redemptorist. So we've say a special prayer for Cardinal Tobin. Oh, okay, yeah. Uh and also remember in our prayers, the class of 2020. Um, five priests were ordained for our diocese on August 1st, 2020, because uh I was ordained on July 1st, and they had been scheduled to be ordained in May, um, but were delayed because of the pandemic and lockdown. And when it was announced that I was coming, Bishop Saratelli said that I should the new guy do. Yeah, exactly. Um so um nice thanks to Father Stephen Prisk and the MCs uh for turning the noting the right page in the book to be on, and uh but um uh um yes uh little more than that, I'm sure. Well uh yes, absolutely all the practice, right? But with masks and distancing and uh limited number of guests, uh but um Father Chris Hahn, Father Adam Wosowski, um Father June Viscara, Father Jake Perinus, and Father Nico Quintos were um the class of 2020, I think I have that right. Uh so um we wish them a happy anniversary tomorrow and uh hard to believe we're already gonna be in August. Um and uh another big feast day um for priests, especially parish priests. Um August 4th is the feast of Saint John Viani, the court of ours, um the uh patron saint of parish priests, the diocesan priests.
SPEAKER_02Okay um so um we um we'll pray in a special way for our help me run my church, please. So help me run my my parish. Right, right, right, exactly. Um yeah, we have a lot of awesome priests doing great things.
SPEAKER_01And I'll be going on Saturday, I think, to um we have one parish in the diocese of St. John Viani in Stockholm, uh not Sweden, but Stockholm. Stockholm, Ariston, I believe. Uh right on the border of Morrison, Sussex, I believe. Um so I'll be going there for mess um on Saturday for the Parish Feast Day.
SPEAKER_02Awesome.
SPEAKER_01All right, well, why don't we uh you want to open up in prayer before we're still in the we're now um seven months into the Jubilee of Hope and five to go. And so uh we'll talk a little bit about pilgrimage uh as we continue in this Jubilee year, but we'll um pray the Jubilee prayer in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Praying for the church, for Poblio, for our diocese, for all Christians as pilgrims of hope, and for peace in our world, let us pray together the Jubilee prayer. Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us your son Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of faith charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your kingdom. May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when with the powers of evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, pilgrims of hope, yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you, our God, eternally be blessed, be glory and praise forever. Amen. Our Lady Seed of Wisdom, Our Lady of Hope, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us. All holy men and women, pray for us. Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
SPEAKER_02Right, amen. So so how has your your summer been going? Like, do you get downtime? Like, do you get some golf time in there? Or family time?
SPEAKER_01Five days uh in um in the Poconos with three priest friends, and we played golf each day, so that was very nice. There you go, nice. Um but um yes, family time actually, um I had a niece and a nephew who graduated from college this past spring. Um my sister's youngest of three um is now working as a nurse in Washington, D.C. Um having graduated from Catholic University as her sister did before. In my four out of five um nieces and nephews, um the two uh nieces went to Catholic U. And two of my nephews, my sister's son and my brother's older of two, both went to Binghamton. Uh so and four nieces and nephews in college, only two schools, two in Catholic U, two in Binghamton. And um my brother's older of two. Uh my nephew Ben just graduated from Binghamton, although he's going back for a year um to do a master's in business. So we were together um for a little celebration of that after my sister and niece returned from Fatima and Lures and they had a good time uh on a pilgrimage. Uh uh and it's like a sweeney destination lately. Right, right. And uh not really knowing, it turned out eight days later we got together again, most of us. Um my Aunt Nora was with us both times, uh, because we had a cousin visiting visiting from Ireland or a cousin's son visiting from Ireland. So um we were together twice in eight days, which was very nice.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I saw my family in British Columbia, Canada. Right. It was uh my my two-week uh trip, annual trip. It was it was uh it was awesome. I had a really good time. It was good to see them. They're growing up quickly and uh do some outdoor things in the Yeah, a lot of swimming in the in the rivers and um I've actually I've been swimming laps like at the gym and there they have an outdoor pool there that I was able to use in the morning and we did some hiking and lots of photos. I got new wallpaper screensavers for my for my phone, this beautiful hike where there were waterfalls and little swim holes, but it's pretty magical time and a refreshing time, so it was it's good to get away and uh to be able to do that. So go back to work. Yeah, oh yeah. Jumping headlong into it. So um all right, good. So we wanted to cover a few different topics, but maybe start with the universal uh universal and local. So we were um been reading and following a lot of what's been happening in Rome um with the jubile in particular the Jubilee celebrations. So just recently there was the Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers. How cool is that title, right? And you know, I it occurred to me like, hey, wait, you're an influencer, right? You have your Instagram account and which is now up to 4,000 followers. And uh so Cardinal Luis Antonio, is it Tagley? Tagley. Tagley. So he um he s was one of the celebrants at the closing mass, and he emphasized that everyone is an influencer and at the same time everyone is influenced. He said that when um when these aspects of life are corrupted in turn uh pointing out that families, neighborhoods, schools, and other social settings are constantly influencing us. When these aspects of life are corrupted, they in turn impact who we are and what type of society we create. Like something from a per a personal thing that I've been thinking about more and more. It's just how what I do, so it my the little things that I do in my interactions, you know, I could make a conscious decision to try to make the world a better place or a worse place in little interactions. And when you think about adding all those interactions up, like they could contribute to a better society. But anyway, it got me thinking about that. But um Pope Leo had some great quotes from from at the Mass where he said that um nothing man-made should be used to undermine the dignity of others, and he said he encouraged those there in Rome to promote Christian humanism in our culture and to uh uh more than simply creating content, Pope Leo urged these digital missionaries to create encounters among hearts. I thought that was beautiful.
SPEAKER_01Right, right. Uh speaking of influencers, um Bishop Barron in his most recent podcast uh uh took a look at um the challenges of artificial intelligence. So I think there's a connection there and uh certainly to hear Pope Leo talk about um the importance of encounter um yeah um uh material uh content. Um uh well there's a lot of different kinds of content and uh some more valuable and helpful to a uh uh a Christian human human Christian experience and some less so. So um uh um you know I'm sure um a lot of good will come out of uh the opportunity for those who are really, I mean, use the term digital missionaries, but um that's uh that's that's mission territory.
SPEAKER_02Um, yeah, it's interesting to think of it that way. And then also the opening of the Jubilee of Youth. So the Jubilee of Youth is happening right now. And uh I know that um Bishop, you uh have participated in, you know, Wor World Youth World Youth Days and and I know you're very active in our parishes, in our schools with students and and uh any thoughts on the um Jubilee of how was it the jubilee of the. Young adults, I believe. Jubilee of the U.S.
SPEAKER_01Young Adults, right, right, right. Uh some said it's uh Poplio's first really uh large encounter with the youth and young adult community, so I'm sure it will be a good uh uh experience. Um I think some might have been a little bit disappointed or made their plans in advance because it was going to be the uh canonization of uh Pier Giorgio Frasati. Um but then Poplio decided to move that to September 7th and and do the two canonizations of Pier Giorgio and Carlo Acudis together. So um um uh but I'm sure they'll have a great time. And I know there's a group from Brooklyn over there, I know, with Bishop Brennan uh for the uh Jubilee uh at the moment.
SPEAKER_02And you're gonna be there, not not too far off from now. You're gonna be there. End of September. And yeah, at Italy pilgrimage with Bishop Sweeney. There are still uh some slots available. Um and that's gonna be yes, September 26th, October 4th. Nine-day pilgrimage to Rome and a Sisi. Check out our uh Jubilee website for more information.
SPEAKER_01I'll put it in the show notes and uh and we'll get to uh participate in the ordination of um uh um seminarians from the North American College, one of which is Lucas Folan, who's studying for our diocese and uh will be ordained the deacon um I think it's October 2nd. Oh, that's so cool. So the group on the pilgrimage will participate in that.
SPEAKER_02Great. All right. Well, shifting gears to more uh any anything else on what's happening at in at the Vatican in Rome or with the Pope? Are you uh you're reading his book, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, yes. How's that how's that? I I meant to bring a copy with me, but uh we can put it in the show notes. Uh uh the sisters of uh the Salesian sisters, I was with them a couple of times recently. Uh yesterday, they have a wonderful summer camp uh in North Heldon where the campus of Mary Helpa Christians High School and their motherhouse um uh the previous visit they had given me um a book by Matthew Brunson who's uh works for EWTN. Um and uh he wrote uh Portrait of the First American Pope uh Leo XIV. Uh so it I put a wrote a little note to our priest for um um Feast of Gioviani and I mentioned it and uh um it would must have been a hastily written biography at this point, but um but it doesn't read like it's hastily written, and it's um it's he does a very good job. And uh so um uh also uh uh our friends uh at um American Media uh and uh inside the Vatican uh Jesuitical and inside the Vatican. Inside the Vatican did uh for those who like podcasts, uh three-part deep dive on who is Pope Leo, told by his uh some of his close friends. And they have interviews with a guy who was with him from the beginning of the seminary and is an Augustinian priest now, and uh but that does a great job on his time in Peru. Um Inside the Vatican, we can put that in the back.
SPEAKER_02I mentioned Judge Riddlecool because I know they had another author who wrote a book about Pope Leo. Right.
SPEAKER_01I was wondering if he was I I'm not sure. I like to check that right. Uh yes, they did have uh I think towards the end of June they had that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he talked about how he did a lot of prep work leading into the conclave. He had different scenarios written up, depending on who and then and then it was like once once the Pope was elected, he was Anyway, um All right, well good. So um you looking forward to the word to Rome or what?
SPEAKER_01Yes. Uh but uh we're having some local pilgrimages as well. Um last Friday, um I the uh the end of July and the beginning of August have it's like a hit parade of saints, uh the feast days that we celebrate in the midst of the summer. Um uh last Friday, July 25th, Feast of Saint James, also known as Santiago of Compastela, um, the Camino, um, it's all about pilgrimage to where the burial place of St. James, the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred, um, and uh the patron saint of uh pilgrims. Um so uh uh we had our own little uh Camino or pilgrimage to um Montague in the northwest corner of our diocese. Uh St. James, the Apostle of St. James the Greater Parish in Montague. Yeah. Uh and it was one of four local pilgrimages that we've done or are doing. And um the next um will be um at St. Bernard's Parish, as I like to say in Mount Hope, but I'm learning it's in the town next to Mount Hope, it's in technically in Borton. But yes, uh if you're riding on Route 80, especially going um west, um I think it's exit 34 is uh Mount Hope. So um and that's the exit you get off to go to St. Bernard's. Um Father Ed Rama's recently installed as pastor there, and uh um so in the Jubilee of Hope uh we have an opportunity to climb Mount Hope. I'm not sure if there's an actual Mount Hope. I just learned from Steele that there's a Mount Hope Lake, I believe, but uh uh uh but it's in so many of the different beautiful parts of our diocese. Uh and uh so I believe that is on uh Sunday, August 17th. We'll have a nice little healthy uh 1.2 mile walk um uh before mass and then have mass. Uh so uh followed by a barbecue. Consider joining us um for the that local pilgrimage.
SPEAKER_02And then you tell us more about so the one that just there before before the Montague one, there was the one in at St. Luke's in Long Valley back in June. Correct. Seems probably seemed feels like a lifetime ago for you. Yes, right, right.
SPEAKER_01But that was memorable because uh the road that we took to pilgrimage on, and we thanked the you think it was the Long Valley Police Department who was with us, but it was there was a little more traffic on the road than I think we expected. Okay. Uh so uh we did find Sister Teresa was a big help in one of our seminarians, uh Eric Hasenbach, and they were helping with traffic. But yeah, it was a lengthy walk um in a on a hot day, but we we did well and we had in evening mass, and uh um Father Michael Schwartz, the pastor, had a reception afterwards, so there was a great spirit. Um and uh yeah. Right, and then in May we had had the one um uh uh in the southern part, St. Joseph's shrine in Sterling. We met at St. Vincent de Paul Parish and we processed to um the shrine and then had mass as part of the Jubilee of Families, and we had the family fun day there.
SPEAKER_02Um my wife and I are planning on going there this weekend. Um we are excited to go to different um shrines now. We w we stumbled upon a shrine up in Middletown, New York, which I sent you some photos just kind of on accident because we were up there to get have our uh dog fixed um at this nonprofit organization. And uh I was just looking for like, oh, where can we go for afternoon mass? And it was the uh Our Lady of uh Lady of Mel Carmel shrine in Middletown, and oh man, it was such a cool experience.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I said mass there a few years a couple of years ago. And thank you for the reminder because August 13th, um uh week from Wednesday, um I'll be at the Blue Army Shrine in um in Asbury. Asbury, thank you. Uh uh it's uh in the diocese of Matutchen. Um and uh they've invited me the last few years. They have a devotion to Our Lady of Fatima there, so on the 13th um of each month they have a a special mass and rosary procession and uh nice thing to do in in August. So come on out. Um we'll put the times up. I think it's uh the masses in uh around midday, early early afternoon. Um uh uh but Wednesday, August 13th, uh another you could make your own pilgrimage out to uh the Blue Army Shrine.
SPEAKER_02And I I think I might have prayed my first novena leading up to the feast day of our Lady of Mount Carmel, which I thought was was wonderful.
SPEAKER_01Um the Haloap, as we're coming to uh today, the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, they they offer um a 30-day retreat experience in Ignatius Spirituality. Um I did the first few days, I have to get back to it, but uh um uh the Haloap really has some great resources.
SPEAKER_02My wife's doing it. Okay. Okay, so that's the pilgrimages. So uh what next? Do you want to talk about uh your your most recent column in the Beacon was on Blessed Father Michael McGivney, who uh he's the founder of the Knights of Columbus, right? Yes, yes. Do you want to talk about him a little a little bit?
SPEAKER_01Sure. Um many I hope would know about him or at least know about the Knights of Columbus. And uh I had mass with them for um I think the second Saturday of July the 10th, um uh the installation of their state deputies, uh state officers and district deputies. Um Jim Sweeney, um member of our diocese, longtime leader in the Knights of Columbus, is now the state uh deputy, I believe, this year. Um and uh so it was a privilege to have that mass and have the knights at the cathedral from all over the state. Um Bishop Paul Bukowski, the Bishop Emeritus of Metuchin, is their state chaplain. Um and um so in preparation uh years ago I had read this biography of Father McGivney called Parish Priest, a great name for a book, uh, and um written by um a well-known um historian, Brinkley, I think is the last name, uh, and um a co-author. Um and uh it is um it's just such a well-written book. And it's if you like history, um America in the mid and late 1800s um um was um uh quite must, you know, didn't have the conveniences in medicine that we have today. Um the life expectancy, I think, was not um what we have today. There's a little picture of the book.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, and I rem w something that struck me too in the column was uh was I guess Catholics back then were very much persecuted or or not. Well no one was well perfect.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the there was the no know nothings and um there was a lot of anti-Catholicism, the real suspicion that if if Push came to shove, we would go with the Pope instead of the president or uh uh the Vatican instead of the country. Um but you know I think uh thanks be to God and might have taken a couple of world wars, but uh I think we've proven our patriotism over the last century or so. So um uh so um uh and now we've produced a pope for the um that now maybe there'll be less concern for those who might have been concerned about uh directions of the uh of the Holy Father. But if you're looking for uh uh some good reading, um the uh Parish Priest by Father Michael McGivney. Not excuse me, Parish Priests, the life of Father Michael McGivney, written by I think it's Brinkley, um, we'll put it up in the notes. Um so I went back to it uh in preparation for the Mass, and uh as I started reading it, um I um actually uh I listened to it um uh but um audio book uh yeah unabridged and uh just uh it's um they almost broke up. They they they made no progress for their first year and a half. Um and uh Father McGivney had all these other challenges, and um he counseled uh uh uh uh someone on death row for almost a year. Um uh it was um family's life in the seminary, um just um really uh an incredible story because that they were this close to not making it, and now you go on their website. And they're the largest fraternal organization in the in the world. I think I've said it before, it was during the sadly time of the when the Russian-Ukrainian war broke out, Cardinal Dolan went to visit um uh and they were refugees were leaving um and they were setting up these uh on the on the Polish side of the border, you know, and uh uh he goes and he says he he walks in across into the place and who's there but the knights of Columbus, you know, serving food. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um so they're everywhere. They they they do great work. I think they're actually having their national convention at the moment. Sorry, Kovatis. They're at Kovatis. They made a great barbecue. Uh yeah. And um so um uh so yes, thank God for the Knights. And I think they're having their actually their national convention in um in Washington, D.C. either this weekend or um or next week.
SPEAKER_02We'll have to get the skinny from Jim.
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_02Maybe have them on one of these times.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's right. Um and thank you for mentioning uh Quo Vatis, uh, because um our vocation director, Father Charlie Lana, um an idea that was started with our previous vocation director, Father Ed Rama, a couple of years ago. Um yes, they do vocalis and many other things each year and throughout the year, but this is the first year that we had a seminarian and discerner service retreat at um Loyola Um retreat house in uh Morristown and uh from Sunday evening till Thursday morning. Uh um and Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, they went to um some of our Catholic charity sites, our DPD houses and um food pantry and uh um helped the um Carmelite Sisters in Morristown and did a number of different kinds of service and came back at the end of the day for some reflection and uh it was um it was a really really wonderful.
SPEAKER_02We had we had coverage on social media. Cecile posted a bunch of photos and uh also Mike wrote an article in the beacon about it. Is that so that's something new that you first time you worked on with the other dioceses have done it?
SPEAKER_01You know, groups will go to Appalachia or other places do a service experience, which is wonderful. Um but there's also people in need right here, you know, uh outside our doors. So um uh um uh so it it was it was it took a lot of planning. Yeah. Um Father Charlie really did well and uh uh and we thank the places that you know received the service. Um but it's a mutual um uh uh um uh interchange. Um but um but a lot of blessings. It was really, really great.
SPEAKER_02So it might happen again, you think?
SPEAKER_01Please God, yes, please God, yeah.
SPEAKER_02All right. And uh so you do you want to talk about Covatis at all I uh usually we've been we've been having our remote podcast episodes right there, but not not this last time.
SPEAKER_01How did it go? It was great. It was great. Um I think they had more than 50 young men for the day at a really great spot, um Camp Shiloh in Hewitt, I believe.
SPEAKER_02The Hewitt neighborhood of West Milford.
SPEAKER_01There you go. Yes, uh right. So um uh yeah, really, really great. Um Good, yeah. Um the last week of June it was, so that's a well.
SPEAKER_02Pictures looked awesome. Yeah, I guess it was a little while back now. Um and you in your uh on your Instagram, you recently wrote about Blessed Stanley Rother. Would you like to talk about him?
SPEAKER_01The Shepherd Who Wouldn't Run. Um It's a moving story, isn't it? It is, it sure is. Um there was a parish when I was growing up, we used to play them in baseball, uh North American Martyrs. Um sometimes it's called American Martyrs, and uh that was uh John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues. Katiri wasn't martyred, but she was around at that time. The um uh those were French missionaries who came and served the Native American community and brought the gospel, and um some were martyred. Um so but um uh so it sounds like there were American martyrs. Yes, there were people who are martyred in the United States, but I believe Blessed Stanley Rothar is the first born and bred United States citizen to be martyred for for the faith um in um Guatemala, I believe. Um, and uh another fascinating story, uh similar to St. Giaviani, who sometimes has the reputation for not being a very good student, couldn't pass Latin. And uh that was the case with Stanley, and uh he actually had to leave one seminary because he couldn't keep up with the academics, and then his bishop uh got to know him and wanted to give him another chance. He ended up at Mount St. Mary's seminary in Emmitsburg. Um and uh there's a shrine there to him now in Maryland? In Maryland, I believe, yeah. And the faculty were very helpful. He got ordained. Um he was working in like a camp, youth camp area in his diocese, but at that time uh um uh I think from um Pope Paul VI uh uh and coming out of the Second Vatican Council and and Saint Joe Saint Pope John Paul II as well talked about the the church in the so-called first world connecting with the church in the so-called third world and um an intercambio, uh uh changing of resources and sharing. And um so many dioceses um in the United States in the 70s and 80s um uh would have sent missionaries uh to Central Latin America um to get to know the church there and serve. And uh and that was the case. Um there's uh Oklahoma City and there's another diocese that um I think there was one and now there are two. Um but um Stanley's diocese had this mission parish in uh Guatemala, and um he went there. He ended up being, and he was kind of like the oddball. He kind uh uh the all the others um you know had been there more experienced and but he the others had to leave eventually and he was left by himself. And when things got bad and the government and the group was persecuting the church, they knew he was in danger, and um, I think he was even on a list to be eliminated, and they got him out of the country. Um he was home, I think, for a couple of weeks and he said, I can't stay here, I gotta be with my people. And so he went back and and eventually was killed in the in the parish house. His heart is still in the parish there in Guatemala. He's buried, there's a now a shrine to him in, I believe, in Oklahoma City.
SPEAKER_02Um and uh that's where I read some of the background about him. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And uh he had a gift for language eventually because he translated the scriptures, or at least the New Testament, um, into the native indigenous dialect. Um not Spanish, but some native indigenous dialogue.
SPEAKER_02I read that he also did end up learning Spanish. So we're not a conquered Latin, but we have to conquer two other languages.
SPEAKER_01That's pretty cool. So um, yeah, um his feast day was recently, and um uh yeah, so I wanted to not miss that.
SPEAKER_02That was great. And uh well I'm starting to run out of stuff here, Bishop. So uh what uh let's see, upcoming, we kind of went over uh what else? What else is going on?
SPEAKER_01Try to keep the summer going as slowly as possible. That's uh that's the goal. But uh um no, looking forward to the trip to um um the um um The pilgrimage. The pilgrimage. Well, the Blue Army Shrine and the and the local pilgrimage. Um and um I think we have mass with the Sisters of Christian charity towards uh the later part of August and uh a few parish visits and um uh few other things on the you know what it's crazy that struck me.
SPEAKER_02There were t not one, but two hundredth anniversary masses this month.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Uh Notre Dame of Mount Carmel in Cedar Knowles, and this past Sunday uh St. Paul's in Prospect Park.
SPEAKER_02Um and uh So what does that say about when our parishes were were, I guess, established?
SPEAKER_01That you in groups, uh Listen to Coffee with Cup. Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_02There you go. Plug for coffee.
SPEAKER_01It's all there, it's all there in Livingstones, yes, yes, yes. Uh yeah, no, parishes were built as the need. Monsignor Kupke, I reached out to him when I in preparation for the mass last Sunday um and he gave me this whole wonderful story about how these parishes in the outer rim of Patterson, you know, uh I guess like the countryside. Uh no, right here in the neighborhood. Uh Our Lady of Lores used to cover North Heldon and Hawthorne, where uh St. Paul's and St. Anthony's were established. Now on the east side of Patterson, uh St. Teresa, in um uh uh I guess they call it Elmwood Park now.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah, so as the need, as populations grew at that time, excuse me, uh they um they would establish churches and um Bishop Rodimer, I know, um uh opened uh uh a number of parishes during his years. And so some some go way back some of our parishes are much older than the diocese, right? Um diocese is gonna be 90 years old, but those parishes would have started in the Archdiocese of Newark.
SPEAKER_02And then true, yeah. And then this when the SWID happened. Okay.
SPEAKER_01And St. Joseph's in West Milford uh goes back to the Revolutionary War, I think. That's pretty good.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. In my hometown there, I I'm a Queen of Peace uh parishioner.
SPEAKER_01Um but um All right, well And uh this coming Tuesday, August 5th, um three Salesian sisters are gonna make their um final vows. No solemn profession, yeah. Okay. So looking forward to that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. All right. Well stay tuned to the beacon and our social media to keep up on what's happening and join us on these join the bishop on on these pilgrimages and uh check the show notes for information on these various happenings. And uh thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_01Enjoy the summer and get outside and uh enjoy the fresh air as the heat is gonna cool down, hopefully, and we'll just have nice warm weather as opposed to oppressively hot weather. Um, and uh we'll pray for not too many storms.
SPEAKER_02We hear we hear some rain coming in right now. All right. Well, thank you for joining us. Please subscribe, comment, and leave a positive rating. Get to know us better by following Beyond the Beacon on Facebook or Instagram. Email questions and podcast topic ideas to us at beyond at pattersondioces.org. Discover our other podcasts, Coffee with Cupkey and the Paul Street Journal. See you next time.
SPEAKER_01Thanks, everybody. God bless you.
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