St. Bernard Parish in the Mount Hope neighborhood of Rockaway Township on Dec. 15 welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated Mass on the Third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday.
Father Ed Rama, St. Bernard’s administrator and vocations director of the Paterson Diocese, concelebrated the Mass with Bishop Sweeney.
During his visit, Bishop Sweeney blessed a new statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary donated by a parishioner in the grotto on the grounds outside. He also blessed St. Bernard’s newly constructed confessional, which is now open for the sacrament of reconciliation.
Matt Strassor, a parishioner, volunteered his carpentry skills to help build the confessional, working many evenings and weekends.
“Seeing our new confessional at the back of the church should remind us of God’s mercy and love for us,” Father Rama wrote in the parish bulletin. He invited parishioners to experience the healing power of reconciliation.
— Michael Wojcik
BEACON PHOTOS | JOE GIGLI
