Newtown Welcomes Bishop Lori With Music And Celebration

By Kaaren Valenta

William Edward Lori, new bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, came to Newtown last week to celebrate Mass at St Rose Church. He brought the message, for young and old alike, that faith will set you free.

“If you give in to peer pressure, it becomes your prison. The truth sets you free,” Bishop Lori said. “Don’t ask ‘Is it cool? Is it fun? Is it in style?’ The questions you should ask are ‘It is true? Is it right? Is it good? Is it loving?’”

“Sometimes the competitive workplace be comes a white hot furnace where decisions are made that are less than ethical and that compromise our faith and our values,” he said. “But with faith we will be agents of change in our culture, in our homes, in our schools, and in the places where we go to relax.”

When he was installed last month as the fourth bishop of Bridgeport, Bishop Lori took over a diocese that includes 87 parishes with 370,000 members, 265 priests, 433 nuns, 88 deacons, 33 elementary schools, five high schools, and an array of private schools.

“Every parish is a corporation and I am the president of the corporation,” he said. “I inherited a good, solid diocese from Cardinal [Edward] Egan.”

At a small reception in the rectory before Mass, Bishop Lori talked with St Rose Pastor Robert Weiss and First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, who said that 40 percent of the town’s population, about 10,000 residents, are Catholics. St Rose has a membership approaching 3,000 families. As the population of the town grows, so does the parish membership, a situation that poses many challenges for the operation of the church, Pastor Weiss said.

As Bishop Lori walked from the rectory to the church, he was greeted by a performance of the Newtown High School band. Members of Hook & Ladder Volunteer Fire Company stood by with the aerial truck, an American flag flying from the end of its ladder.

At the end of the Mass, Father Weiss announced that the parish had assembled many tokens of Newtown as gifts for the bishop. Gerry and Harry Waterbury presented, from the Parish Council, a book on the history of Newtown. John Taaffe presented a replica of a rooster, the town’s logo, on behalf of the Knights of Columbus; Jennifer Dunseith of the St Rose Senior Youth Group gave the bishop a set of Newtown cufflinks, while Matthew Cullinan presented him with a game of Scrabble, which was first marketed from Newtown.

 Because Newtown was once known for its production of tea bags and the Upham tea garden in Hawleyville, Junior Youth Group members Caitlin Kimball and Derek Calderara presented a tea bag and tea pot. Debra Sennefelder of the St Rose Women’s Club and Bill Calderara of the Men of St Rose presented wine from McLaughlin Vineyards. Sally O’Neill, coordinator of the Parish Nurse Ministry, presented honey, the product of many backyard beekeepers.

Joan Dwyer of the Social Concerns Committee gave the bishop a Newtown dishtowel designed by Nina Frankonis of Newtown Business & Professional Women. Autographed books by local authors – The 13th Wall: A History of Vietnam and Jamberry – were presented by confirmation candidates Kyle Lyddy and Jennifer Curran, while Jackie Curran gave a tape of the “Gloria” concert, Meghan Kelly presented two tickets to the “I Am” concert, Jeff Levaseur presented a plate designed by artist David Merrill, and Danielle Iodice presented an Ida Van Tassel plaque that featured the Newtown flagpole.

Queta Donovan from the Pro-Life/Pro-Family Committee gave the bishop a hand-painted ornament of Newtown.  St Rose School students Adam Drummond and Katie Murphy presented gift certificates for the Inn at Newtown and Cheffields. Religious education students Brian Grimes and Michelle Greenfield presented a five-year subscription to The Bee. Fran Van Zanten presented Bishop Lori with a St Rose School sweatshirt on behalf of the school faculty. And Judy Curran, a religious education catechist, presented the bishop with a gift certificate for the Sandy Hook Diner, where Father Bob regularly eats breakfast.

“These gifts will serve to remind me of an evening that I will never forget,” Bishop Lori said. 

Following Mass, a reception was held in the parish center, where several hundred people stood in line to welcome the bishop.

Bishop Lori was scheduled to return to Newtown to celebrate the 3 pm Mass on Good Friday.