Candlelight procession and Mass for Peace in Fall River is October 10
FALL RIVER – Members of the Fall River Diocese are invited to join Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., in the annual Procession and Mass for Peace on Monday, October 10, the Columbus Day holiday. Participants in the procession should meet by 5:30 p.m. in the area of St. Anne’s Shrine, across from Kennedy Park on South Main Street in Fall River, to march approximately one-half mile to St. Mary’s Cathedral. The procession will begin at 6 p.m. Marchers will carry candles, recite the Rosary, and sing Marian hymns. Upon arrival of the procession at St. Mary’s Cathedral, located at the corner of Second and Spring streets, Bishop da Cunha will celebrate the Mass for Peace. The bishop will be homilist at the
liturgy as well. Those who are handicapped or disabled should proceed directly to the Cathedral, where a special area will be designated for them. “I encourage our faithful to join us either in person or in prayerful solidarity,” said Bishop Cunha. “We’ll gather this year as war continues to rage in Ukraine, as divisions impair our nation, and as too many bear scars from violence and injustice. “Our Columbus Day procession and Mass is a response to the urgent appeal of the Blessed Mother in Fatima in October 1913 to pray for peace. That need clearly remains today.” The Mass for Peace will be live streamed on the diocesan Facebook page at www.facebook/ fallriverdiocese.
Important Notice The Anchor, on its fall hiatus, will not publish October 14. The next edition will publish on October 28.
Diocese of Fall River, Mass. † Friday, September 30, 2022
Diocesan agency asked by state to assist in caring for Venezuelan migrants By Dave Jolivet Editor
davejolivet@anchornews.org
BOURNE — “They are us, and we are them.” That’s how Susan Mazzarella described the 48 migrants who made a perilous journey from poverty-stricken Venezuela to Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard, and then to Joint Base Cape Cod in Barnstable County. Mazzerella is the Chief Operating Officer of Catholic Charities Diocese of Fall River (formerly Catholic Social Services). Mazzarella and her staff were asked by the Commonwealth’s Governor Charlie Baker to assist in helping the migrants to get settled and ultimately find permanent housing, jobs and earn a living for themselves — some for their families as well — and also to contribute to the community in which they call home. Two of Mazzarella’s staff who went to Joint Base spoke Spanish and the immigration lawyer from the Fall River office of Catholic Charities went as well. Realizing the immigration issue is politically polarizing, Mazzarella and her staff concentrate on the corporal works of mercy aspect of this emotionally-charged story. “We at Catholic Charities-Fall River
follow Matthew 25: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger,” Mazzarella told The Anchor. “The people we have here on Cape Cod are all legal, having initiated the asylum from Venezuela process, a South American country torn by extreme poverty, drug problems and crime.” Mazzarella said that the 48 include four families. “There are nine women,
came here to find a better life for their families and themselves.” The story first broke on September 14 when the migrants were put on a chartered aircraft bound for Martha’s Vineyard. Shortly after the migrants arrived on Cape Cod, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., released a statement which in part read, “Here in the Diocese of Fall River, which encompasses Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, we must do all we can to ensure a humanitarian response to this crisis. Now that the state has relocated the migrants from the island to a military base on the Cape mainland, bilingual staff from Catholic Charities-Diocese of Fall River (Catholic Social Services) is there to welcome them in their native language and to assist officials in assessing their needs, immediate and long term. The agency has committed its resources to address these needs working alongside the state and other relief agencies. Pastoral outreach including Mass and the sacraments will be made available from our parishes in the region, and parishes may also be called upon for other support depending on
some part of those families, eight children from ages two through eight, and some single males. “They each volunteered to come to Martha’s Vineyard even though they didn’t know where it was or anything about it. They did have the same common goal, to find a home and a job and support themselves and the community. “I know there are those who have a different view of these people, but all of us, except for the Native Americans, originate from immigrant familiesSeptember30, who 2022 † to page eight 1 8 Turn