Bishop Kevin Sweeney was the main celebrant and homilist for the Diocese’s sixth annual Firefighters Red Mass on Oct. 13 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. The Mass honored a firefighter who died in the line of duty and five active duty firefighters who died in the past year. Concelebrating the Mass with the Bishop were Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar of special projects, and Father Brendan Murray, a retired diocesan priest who has served as a fire chaplain.

On Palm Sunday, Dan Venezia, a personal trainer, life coach and former pro baseball player, landed in the hospital, gasping for breath and trying to hold on to hope in God while fighting his toughest — and deadliest — opponent: COVID-19. A parishioner of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, he engaged in the fight of his life using his own “playbook” with strategies to strengthen his spirit, mind and body — in that order — to help defeat this fearsome enemy.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Joseph’s Rest Home in Paterson run by the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood on Oct. 12. The facility is home for elderly women, who are surrounded with a warm and homelike atmosphere under the care of the sisters. During the visit, the Bishop celebrated Mass in the chapel that was attended by the Precious Blood Sisters and residents of the healthcare facility. Sister Alphonsa Kunnel marked her 50th jubilee in religious life at the Mass.