Diocese of Fall River, Mass.
F riday , January 30, 2015
Miracles abound in the life of Sister Mila By Linda Andrade Rodrigues Anchor Correspondent
ATTLEBORO — In the wake of Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, the world watched the apostolic visit of Pope Francis, including Mother Superior at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. Sister Maria Milagros Dela Cruz, SNDS, was born and raised in Ramon, Isabela, in the far north of the Philippines. A visit by the pope is a great blessing to the Filipino people, according to the vibrant, animated nun, affectionately known as Sister Mila, 65. “I watched the Mass in Manila, and it was raining,” she said. “We Filipinos don’t get discouraged when it rains. The old people would say it is a blessing from God.” Sister Mila came from a very large family of 17 children, including eight girls and nine boys. Her parents would also
adopt another son. “I was number 10 and a blue baby,” she said. “The doctor told my aunt that they did their best, but the baby was dead. The doctor left, and then my aunt said I started crying. My aunt reported to the doctor that the baby came alive.” Consequently, the doctor baptized the preemie Maria Milagros (Miracles). Her siblings walked to school, which was two miles away; but Sister Mila was too weak to walk a long distance. “My father would come with us, and he put me on his shoulders,” she said. He also gave her a small dog so that she would never be alone. She named him Pepsi. “I had him for 16 years,” she said. Learning to write her long name in first grade was a trial. Her classmates’ names were Turn to page 18
Sister Maria Milagros Dela Cruz, SNDS, serves as Liturgical coordinator at Our Lady of La Salette Shrine in Attleboro for acolytes, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, altar servers, and sacristans — and also assists the priests. (Photo by Linda Andrade Rodrigues)
Deacon designs program to welcome those with autism By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff
PITTSBURGH, Penn. — According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, about one percent of the world population has an autism spectrum disorder; the preva-
lence in the United States is estimated at one in 68 births with more than 3.5 million Americans living with autism. Lawrence Sutton, Ph.D. is an ordained deacon and licensed psychologist specializing in autism. He is nationally-recognized for developing a unique Religious Education Turn to page 14
Attached is a photo taken of the group of pilgrims from St. John & St. Vincent’s parishes in Attleboro following the closing Mass of the March for Life at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington last Friday.
A group of pilgrims from St. John and St. Vincent’s parishes in Attleboro gathered for a group photo following the closing Mass of the March for Life at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Cape Verdean faithful express joy over first-ever cardinal appointment
By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
(in our parish).” Fellow parishioner Arlindo Rodrigues remembers joking with the bishop about them sharing the same first name. “He’s very friendly; he almost seems like someone I knew before,” Rodrigues said. “We talked a lot about the Church and he was a very nice man. People find him easy to talk to.” Although Rodrigues said Bishop Furtado doesn’t seem to him to be a “political person,” he thinks he will be a great cardinal for Cape Verde. “I am excited that he’s go-
ing to be a cardinal,” he said. “He’s a very good man and very humble.” Father Stan Kolasa, SS.CC., director of the Sacred Hearts Retreat Center in Wareham, was serving as pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish at the time. “He’s a lovely, simple man,” Father Kolasa said. “I’m delighted, of course, that he’s been named a cardinal because he’s a good priest and a good bishop. That he’s (a native) of Cape Verde is also good; but I think it’s more important that
NEW BEDFORD — Ten years ago, when Maria “Matuca” Freitas hosted the bishop of the newly-established Mindelo Diocese in Cape Verde at her home in New Bedford, little did she know that he would one day become the first-ever cardinal named from her native Cape Verdean islands. But earlier this month, Pope Francis announced that Arlindo Gomes Furtado, current Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde, would be the first cardinal appointed from the PortuTurn to page 18 guese-speaking archipelago. “I think it’s wonderful,” Freitas recently told The Anchor. “Everybody is happy that they’ve appointed (Bishop Furtado) as a cardinal. The bishop is such a nice man.” Bishop Furtado will be among 20 men elevated to the College of Cardinals at a February 14 consistory at the Vatican. “He came here for the 100th anniversary of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in 2005,” Freitas said. “Everybody in the Cape Verdean community knows me so I had a big feast Cardinal-designate Arlindo Gomes Furtado, current Bishop of Sanfor him here at my house. We tiago de Cabo Verde, will be the first cardinal appointed from the really enjoyed having him here Portuguese-speaking archipelago. (CNS photo)