I want to express my sincerest and most appreciative thanks and gratitude to those involved with   planning and executing the November 16th 50th Anniversary Gala dinner and celebrations at The Riverview in Weatogue last Saturday night.

To be direct and honest, it was the singular event of the parish and I have not only not heard one  complaint, but have only heard a plethora of praise for the food, the hors d’oeuvres, the cocktail hour, and the mixture of parishioners—from newlyweds to middle-aged and to our senior founders. It was truly a wonderful evening and I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people who worked diligently to make all this happen. 

I specifically wish to thank the Parish Council members who began the plans for our 50th Gala months ago: Kathleen Mangiafico, Colleen Langlais, Mike Daly, George Couture, and John Provencher. They began the ball rolling. I thank them for working with The Riverview staff, who did an exceptional job with the layout, the food and all the details as well as their serving staff who attended to the needs of all our parishioners and did it with wonderful smiles and concern for our good time. A special thanks to Jennifer McClintock, who works at The Center for Catholic Education & Formation, my former office, who designed the Gala invitations that were sent out to all our parishioners. To Lisa Cerchia and Kathleen Mangiafico for their detailed work on the   reservations list and the seating chart, which had some special requests, and for their thoughtfulness in trying to meet the needs of all. And, last but not least, Barbara Hopkins, Kathy Caputo, Steve Cerchia and Gabby Gaddi for preparing and mailing the invitations. 

And to our parishioners who attended the evening gala, thank you for being part of this honoring of our past—the foundational efforts of so many good people who built the successes of our parish that we now stand on and add to—and for making the celebration such a success. Thank you!   

And finally, a word of thanks and love to a wonderful lady, the late Dorothy Ianzito. Dorothy left our  parish a bequest two years ago when she returned home to God. But while Dorothy was here at St. Catherine’s, she was fully a part of the fabric and life of our parish. She loved the people here and their spirit of faith. She loved the way you all support our youth ministry and our children’s faith formation program—the present and future of our parish. She loved the way we celebrate the liturgy and she was proud to Believe it, Live it, and Share it. In her bequest, Dorothy asked (actually directed) me multiple times to ensure two things happened with her legacy: first, she always said the celebration of the liturgy was all about the beauty of our Mass. She said good vestments, flowers and the mystery of our faith was what draws people into the Eucharistic meal. And, second, she said always “build the community—bring the people together and celebrate who we are.” Her generosity and her   spirit helped to ensure that our gala reception was available to all—that price shouldn’t stop people from   celebrating. She always was and is in heaven, I am sure, a wise woman. So, in thanks to Dorothy Ianzito, I believe we celebrated ‘worthily and well.’” Thank you!