{"id":24802,"date":"2023-06-14T16:28:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T20:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/?p=24802"},"modified":"2023-11-06T17:44:11","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T17:44:11","slug":"bishops-blog-restoring-and-preserving-our-mother-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fallriverdiocese.org\/pt-pt\/bishops-blog\/bishops-blog-restoring-and-preserving-our-mother-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoring and Preserving Our Mother Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n2023 Lumen Christi Gala<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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On Wednesday, June 7, the Diocese held its second annual Lumen Christi Gala<\/a> to raise awareness and the necessary funds to restore and preserve our Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. The Cathedral has served as the center of our Diocese since 1904 at the very formation of the Diocese of Fall River. The current building has come together through various projects and additions over the years, with the original structure erected between 1852 and 1856. With older buildings comes natural wear and tear, requiring repairs and replacements, which have become increasingly expensive in our current economic times.<\/span>
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\nIt was wonderful to see so many people from across the Diocese coming together with such positive support for the restoration and preservation of our Mother church. Their presence and generosity made the collective statement: this is my church; we feel this is indeed our Diocesan home, and we wish to see the continuation of the celebration of sacraments and special liturgies there for years to come. As I spoke to different people in attendance, it was clear how much each valued and understood the great importance of raising the necessary money to make the repairs to St Mary’s Cathedral.<\/span>
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St. Mary\u2019s Cathedral Choir, led by Madeleine Grace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, it was such an encouragement to see many clergy in attendance also showing their commitment to the ongoing care of our Diocese’s spiritual center. I want to offer a special thank you to the Gala Committee, particularly the Committee chairs, Nicholas Christ and Maryellen Sullivan Hughes. <\/span>
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During the evening, with the Bishop\u2019s Luminary Award, we posthumously honored Jack and Susan Dawley for their legacy of faith, service, and philanthropy. Their son, John Dawley, traveled here from Pennsylvania to accept the award for his parents. John mentioned how his parents’ commitment to supporting the church and helping others was their beautiful legacy of faith that he and his siblings are dedicated to continuing. They wanted to pay forward to their beloved church for all the blessings they’d received, and now their children intend to continue building on that legacy.<\/span>
When the pandemic began to shut down the world, our Catholic Schools were able to pivot to online learning quickly and efficiently, due in great part to the generosity of Jack and Susan Dawley, whose generous donation had provided for up-to-date and state-of-the-art technology throughout our Diocesan school system. <\/span>
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