Assumption College for Sisters (ACS) in Denville will honor Steve and Kristy Goulart, Chris Powers, Rod Donnelly, and Msgr. Geno Sylva for outstanding service to the Church and community at its annual Caring Basket Gala on Thursday, March 27, at the Sheraton Parsippany.
The Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham sponsor ACS, a fully accredited, Catholic two-year liberal arts college offering a liberal arts and theology program. Students are religious from various congregations in the United States and lay students. The gala raises scholarship funds for about 20 sisters each year from developing nations to live and study at ACS.
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Steven and Kristy Goulart will receive the Family Life Award. They have been involved with Assumption College for Sisters for many years. Kristy has been on the Board of Trustees since 2017 and served on the Facilities Committee.
Married in 1980, the Goularts have four daughters, three married, and nine grandchildren. They are also former foster parents, with a grandchild adopted from foster care. Kristy also served as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for foster youth.
Native Californians, the Goularts live in North Palm Beach, Fla., after living in Mendham for more than 30 years.
The Goularts endowed the Goulart PROMISE Scholarship at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., which supports foster youth and temporarily homeless students. They also established the Kristy Goulart Book Buddies Endowment, enabling education students to facilitate literacy programs for area families.
Steve and Kristy were honored by Catholic Charities of the Paterson Diocese during its annual Caritas Gala in 2014 and by CASA of Morris and Sussex Counties. Steve is a former trustee of the Tri-County Scholarship Fund and recipient of its Hall of Fame Award in 2021. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Augustine Institute in Florissant, Mo.
Rod Donnelly and Christopher Powers will receive the Spirit of the Heart Award.
Powers began working at Donnelly Construction in Wayne in high school and continued while at Seton Hall University in South Orange. He went full-time with the firm in 1985. Powers and his wife, Patricia, met at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne and married in 1989. They have three children and live in Denville.
Powers supports educational and charitable efforts that provide youth and underprivileged people opportunities. He has coached local sports and served on the Board of Directors for the Denville Blue Angels football program.
Powers also served on the Board of Governors for Morris Catholic High School (MCHS) in Denville and belongs to the MCHS Buildings and Grounds Committee. He guided MCHS and ACS when moving the college from Mendham to the former MCHS convent, which Donnelly Construction transformed into a college/residence building.
Donnelly of Wayne is the founder and CEO of Donnelly Industries, Inc. He and his wife, Alice, have three sons, all married, and eight grandchildren. The Donnellys attended Catholic schools all their lives. Their children also graduated from DePaul and Catholic colleges. Some grandchildren attend a Catholic elementary school.
Rod and Alice support Catholic education and have provided need-based and merit-based scholarships to students. They have also given funds for facilities and maintenance to various schools in the diocese. Rod has been a member of DePaul’s Board of Trustees and Buildings Committee for more than 20 years. DePaul honored the couple as Apostles of Charity.
Eva’s Village also honored Donnelly Industries at its Vision of Hope Gala for its financial support and commitment to service.
Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson and diocesan vicar for special projects, will receive the Education Award.
Ordained a diocesan priest in 1993, Msgr. Sylva earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.; a bachelor’s in sacred theology from the Seminary of the American College in Louvain, Belgium; and a licentiate and doctorate in dogmatic theology at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Msgr. Sylva was a teacher, coach, chaplain, and president of DePaul. He founded the Young Prophets Teen Outreach in Paterson and was the founding executive director of St. Paul Inside the Walls, the diocesan Catholic evangelization center in Madison. Msgr. Sylva was the diocesan vicar for evangelization from 2012 to 2018.
In Paterson, Msgr. Sylva is a founding member of the Paterson Prep Charter School. He also is chaplain for the Paterson Police and Fire Departments, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, and the New York Division of the FBI.
Msgr. Sylva is also the Vatican’s English Language Official for the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him to the Holy See’s Dicastery for Evangelization.
For more information about the Caring Basket Gala, visit www.acs350.org
