USF remembers slain Jesuits in El Salvador
Students gathered at the University of San Francisco,
Nov. 16, to mark the 20th anniversary of the murders of six Jesuit
priests, their housekeeper and her daughter at Central American University
in San Salvador, El Salvador. Above, a participant at the USF vigil
plants a cross bearing the name of one of the murdered priests. In
San Salvador, El Salvador’s President Mauricio Funes gave a
medal to Catalina Montes, sister of Spanish-born Jesuit Father Segundo
Montes who was among those massacred by the military on Nov. 16, 1989.
JOSé AGUIRRE PHOTO |
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Supporting Catholic schools
Bishop Salvatore Cordileone proudly displays
a jacket he received from Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward during
the school’s 15th annual dinner honoring the partnership between
parishes, parish schools and parents in furthering Catholic education.
With him are Terry Lee (left), Moreau’s president, and Lauren
Lek, principal. |
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Blood drive for Aaron
A blood drive will be held Nov. 30 to help a young Antioch
boy at the center of a family’s quest to find him a new heart and
kidney. Four-year-old Aaron Tanner, whose family are members at
Holy Rosary Parish in Antioch, needs blood for a successful transplant
operation.
The blood drive will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Eastside Church
of Christ, 1020 East Tregallas Road in Antioch. Donors with O positive
blood are especially encouraged to donate. For more information about
donating blood visit the website, www.givelife.org.
Learn more about Aaron’s story at www.saveabrokenheart.com.
Tax-deductible donations can be made to The Aaron Tanner Foundation, c/o
Ecc Bank of Agriculture, 2251 Balfour Road, Brentwood, CA 94513.
LEO celebrates 15 years
The LEO (Lasallian Educational Opportunities) Center
in Oakland recently celebrated its 15th anniversary during the organization’s
annual Friends of LEO Dinner for its benefactors at Mont La Salle in Napa.
The center, sponsored by the Christian Brothers, offers after homework
help to 6th through 12th graders as well as English and computer classes
for adults.
During the event, Christian Brother Robb Wallace, the LEO board
chair, announced the dedication of the Center’s main room in memory
of Christian Brother Chris Bassen, one of the Center’s founders.
A portrait of Brother Chris by former center volunteer Rosa Kadera-Redmond,
now religious education director at St. Monica’s Parish in Moraga,
was unveiled.
The LEO Center is located on the corner of 40th Street and Martin Luther
King, Jr. Way.
Around
the Parishes
The Heavenly Harmony Children’s Choir at
St. Bonaventure Parish in Concord participated in the regional
Pueri Cantores music festival for parish and school choirs Nov. 7 at St.
Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. The event brought together young
voices (grades fourth through 12th grade) from the Archdiocese of San
Francisco and the dioceses of Oakland, Fresno, Sacramento, Monterey, San
Jose, Santa Rosa, Stockton and Reno.
Members of the Filipino community at St. Joan of Arc Parish in San
Ramon held a successful relief drive for victims of Typhoon Ondoy
in the Philippines. The effort resulted in about 250 boxes of donations
including canned goods, clothing, medicine, toiletries, medical supplies,
and bedding. The donations, packed by volunteers, were shipped free of
charge by Manila Box Cargo and Alpha Cargo to ABS-CBN Foundation and Operation
“Tulong Bayan” in the Philippines.
The centennial year at St. Ambrose Parish in Berkeley is coming
to an end and the community will come together for a concluding Mass and
luncheon reception Dec. 6 at 11:30 a.m. Bishop Salvatore Cordileone
will be the main celebrant. Information: contact the parish at (510) 525-2620.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Brentwood is sponsoring a new cancer
support group that meets every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. in the 2nd floor
conference room at the John Muir Outpatient Center, 2400 Balfour Road,
in Brentwood.
St. Clement Parish in Hayward held a community health fair on Oct.
25. Sponsored by the parish’s Filipino Advisory Board, the fair
included 18 health care, nutrition, and educational institutions and 11
nurses from various hospitals and clinics who provided blood pressure
monitoring, diabetic screening, and CPR orientation.
The choirs of the cluster parishes of St. Albert and St. Philip
Neri in Alameda lifted their voices for an evening of sacred song
on Nov. 21 that was part concert and part sing-along.
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Around
the Schools
Students at St. Joseph School in Pinole took
part in the second annual Veterans Day Memorial and Flag Retirement Ceremony
Nov. 11 at Fernandez Park in Pinole.
Over 100 first, second and third graders at St. Felicitas School in
San Leandro celebrated the lives of the saints with a festive march
around the parish and school in honor of All Saints Day. The children
sang “When the Saints Go Marching In” while holding up signs
and pictures of their favorite saints.
Salesian High School in Richmond “e-hosted” a signing
event on National Letter of Intent Day when seniors Desmond Simmons and
Malina Terrell committed to Washington State University and University
of San Francisco, respectively. Simmons is a standout varsity basketball
player and a member of the Salesian 2009 Division IV State Championship
team, while Terrell will play volleyball at USF after leading Salesian’s
2009 BSAL league championship team to victory.
Spencer Dial, a June graduate of Oak-land’s Bishop O’Dowd
High School and member of Boy Scout Troop 11 in Alameda, has earned
the rank of Eagle Scout and will be honored at an Eagle Scout Court of
Honor Nov. 28. For his Eagle Scout project, Dial led a crew of over 25
volunteers in building a structure for Ploughshares Nursery, a
non-profit organization in Alameda that provides training and employment
in nursery sales and management to low-income residents of Alameda. Dial
attends Sonoma State University where he is majoring in business.
Jessica Brunelli, a junior at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward,
recently became one of 10 finalists to earn a spot in NASCAR’s Drive
for Diversity. She traveled to the Motor Mile Speedway to tryout for the
diversity program, designed to give young minority and female drivers
opportunities to compete with established NASCAR teams at the grassroots
level. According to an Associated Press article, Brunelli is planning
to move to Charlotte, N.C., to continue her training.
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Among the Religious
The Sisters of the Holy Family, who have ministered
in the Hawaiian Islands for the last 62 years, gathered at their Fremont
Motherhouse Nov. 22 for an afternoon of prayer, talking story and celebration
in honor of the newly canonized St. Damien of Molokai. Photos of
the Sisters’ ministry on the islands were displayed.
Dominican Father Michael Sweeney, president of the Dominican School
of Philo-sophy and Theology in Berkeley, delivered a talk on Catholic
education in America on Oct. 27 at the Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage,
Alaska.
Deacon Dave Rezendes, known to many as “Deacon Dave,”
will once again host the Annual Blessing of the Christmas Lights and
Procession at his home, the House of the Dove, on Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m.
The opening ceremonies will include Marshall Kamena, the mayor of Livermore.
The display of Christmas lights and decorations will open nightly at 6
p.m. and close at 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 10:30 p.m.
on Friday and Saturday, except during adverse weather. Admission is free.
This is the 27th year for Deacon Dave’s “Ministry of Lights.”
Information: www.casadelpomba.com.
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Names, News, Notes
On Nov. 22 Vietnamese Catholics in the diocese
were to celebrate the feast of the Vietnamese Martyrs with a Mass at the
Oakland cathedral with Bishop Salvatore Cordileone as presider.
Congratulations to Angela and Gilbert Cortez, members at Assumption
Parish in San Leandro, who celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary
this month.
What’s on EWTN? Special programs scheduled to air on the Eternal
Word Television Network (EWTN) include a documentary about young people
journeying to the March for Life and a Mass in remembrance of the late
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
“Thine Eyes: A Witness to the March for Life” follows
actress Jennifer O’Neill as she tracks young people traveling across
the U.S. to attend last January’s March for Life 2009 in Washington,
D.C. The documentary airs Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 28 at 2 a.m. (1hr)
The Mass for Archbishop Sheen, marking the 30th anniversary of
his death, will be celebrated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New
York City. The Mass will air live on Dec. 9 at 2:30 p.m. A prolific spiritual
writer, the archbishop appeared on radio and television for many years
EWTN is carried on Comcast Ch. 229, AT and T Ch.562, Astound Ch. 116,
DISH Satellite Ch. 261 and DirecTV Ch. 370; in Alameda Comcast airs EWTN
on Ch. 30. Visit www.ewtn.com
for more information.
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