Jan. 6, 2015

By Mary Lou Kilian
Editor/General Manager

While the jubilee Year of Mercy didn’t begin until the final weeks of 2015, the months leading up to that Advent declaration were filled with moments of mercy in the Diocese  of Ogdensburg

In his letter for the jubilee year, printed in the NCC on Dec. 2, Bishop LaValley wrote that “ many grace-filled opportunities to celebrate God’s mercy will be made available to all the faithful in the North Country, both in our local parishes and at special diocesan celebrations.

“These will be occasions when we come together as a family of faith,” the bishop said, “to celebrate our God’s unconditional love and limitless mercy and then, as the Holy Father urges, ‘we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God’ to others. In this way, we can be living sources of water from which others can drink, introducing them to the healing presence of Jesus Christ, building up our parish families with Living Stones.”

This doesn’t sound much different than what took place in the Diocese of Ogdensburg in 2015, as our church took significant steps toward realizing our “Christ-fed, Christ-led, hope-filled” diocesan vision.

During the past 12 months, several of our goals were met.

• Under the direction of St. Joseph Sister Shirley Anne Brown, a diocesan wide census was conducted in parishes throughout the diocese, with hundreds of Catholics knocking on the doors of thousands of their neighbors.
• Under the priority of “strengthening faith formation in family life,” Father Christopher Carrara and his committee established diocesan standards for youth ministry, saw more than 30 parishes bring on “competent, qualified leaders” and organized a weekend youth ministry training weekend to assist with their training.
• Father James Seymour led a Living Stones Planning committee which met regularly to determine the best way to meet pastoral needs with the declining number of priests
• Pam Ballantine and her committee have been working to prepare their report for providing family catechesis for the seven sacraments in each parish, due early this year.
• And the committee to create a culture of vocations, led by Father J. Roger McGuinness has made great strides towards establishing a “We are Called” vocation awareness plan and preparing for Inspire, a summit on vocations set for this coming September in Lake Placid.
Other events during the year have also shown the diocesan commitment to sharing the love of Christ.
The observance of the Year of Consecrated Life continued through 2015 and featured a special day during which four religious communities in Watertown opened their doors to visitors. Religious jubilarians were honored in October, and a Precious Blood Sister and two new Sisters of St. Joseph made new commitments to religious life.
On a sadder note, the diocese bid farewell to the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart who left the North Country in December after nearly 100 years of service.

Youth ministry
Youth ministry took center stage during the year as work on this diocesan goal continued.

In addition to the strides made in parish youth ministry, a new camp program – Catholic Heart Work Camp – brought young people to Wadhams Hall for a week in June. Jackie Francois Angel was the featured speaker at a very successful youth rally held in Plattsburgh in April and Kelly Donnelly served as camp director for another great year of summer camp at Guggenheim. Later in the year, Kelly was named diocesan director of youth ministry, succeeding Deacon Brian Dwyer.

In clergy news in 2015, the diocese mourned Father Robert Cotter who died Feb. 1 at 92 and jubilarians were honored at the annual presbyteral assembly.

Deacons gathered for their annual convocation in May and, during the summer, elected members to a newly established deacon council.

Special events
Special events during the year brought hundreds of Catholics of all ages together for prayer and education. The events included:
• Intentional Disciples workshop in Potsdam
• Commissioning of 77 lay ministers
• Family pilgrimage to Isle la Motte shrine
• Celebrate Christ in Lake Placid for Catholic school teachers and parish religious educators
• Catholic Scout Mass in Tupper Lake
• Harvest Mass in Croghan
Special people

Awards and honors for Catholics in the North Country were announced throughout the year.

Diana Jones of Augustinian Academy in Carthage was named Catholic School Teacher of the Year and St. Joseph Sister Diane Marie Ulsamer received the Sharing the Life of Faith award from the diocesan Faith Formation department.

Janice Shoen, former diocesan development director, received national recognition as a newly appointed member of the National Advisory Council of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops.

Catholic Charities presented two awards at its 2015 Caritas Dinner: John and Jane Pinkerton were presented with the Caritas Award and Timothy and Jeannine McLellan, the President’s Award.

Bishop LaValley also presented the Bishop Edgar P. Wadhams Award for Distinguished Service to the diocese to Henry and Huguette Domingos of Potsdam.

As with most Catholics in the United States, a highlight for people of the Diocese of Ogdensburg was Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. in September. Bishop LaValley joined other bishops of the country for papal events in Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Busloads of Catholics traveled from the north country to Masses at Madison Square Garden and in Philadelphia.
A delegation of family life leaders of the diocese also took part in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia held in the days before the pope’s arrival.

Bishop LaValley, who celebrated his fifth anniversary as Bishop of Ogdensburg April 30, 2015, celebrated special liturgies at parishes and schools and for diocesan gatherings throughout the year. He also guided the diocese in embracing the messages of Pope Francis on the environment, family life and mercy.