Diocese of Fall River, Mass. † Friday, October 4, 2024
Bishop da Cunha celebrates 10 years leading Diocese By Joan D. Warren Editor
joandwarren@anchornews.org
FALL RIVER — On Sunday, October 6, 2024, the Diocese of Fall River will celebrate Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha’s tenth anniversary of installation. He is the eighth Bishop of the Diocese. In the past ten years, the bishop has embraced his spiritual family, made necessary changes to streamline chancery operations, weathered a pandemic and continues to lead the Diocese through a Eucharistic revival. In a recent interview, the Bishop said, referring to Jesus, ‘‘It is his Church. He just hired me.” He was installed as Bishop of the Diocese on September 24, 2014, taking the helm from his predecessor, the late Bishop George W. Coleman. He was installed in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, and Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha is congratulated by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM, Cap., after being installed as the eigth Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River on September 24, 2014.
A Mass in his honor will be held on Sunday, October 6 at 3 pm in the Cathedral. The Mass will also observe the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Fall River. A native of Brazil, Bishop da Cunha came to southeastern New England from the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey where he spent 11 years as one of five auxiliary bishops in a Diocese of 1.3 million Catholics - six times the size of the Fall River Diocese. “I wasn’t in charge of the entire Diocese in Newark. I had one of five areas where I was an Auxiliary Bishop, as well as a Vicar General. I arrived with a lot of experience but I had to learn about this Diocese, the priests, and the culture,” he said. To his advantage, his ability to speak Portuguese was helpful with the abundance of faithful who speak the language. “There were many people of different cultures and languages in New Jersey. I felt comfortable coming to Massachusetts,” he said. One of the first priorities he sought to 8 Turn to page 10
Cathedral renovations ready for 120th anniversary Mass By Joan D. Warren
op’s anniversary celebration and 120th anniversary of the Diocese are October 6. I think when people come to the Mass, they will be amazed at how much more detail they can see in the craftsmanship of the Cathedral.” He gave credit to Deacon Alan Thadeu for the lighting upgrade. “It was Alan’s idea to let donors ‘see’ where there donation money goes. “We have increased lighting by 200 percent. Toggle switches were installed to the light panel to make control of illumination easier. We moved to LED which is much more efficient. The uplights were replaced, the pendant lights changed to LED as were the track head spotlights. The stations of the Cross will have
Editor
joandwarren@anchornews.org
FALL RIVER — God said, “Let there be light” and there was light. The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River has received God’s light for 120 years, but now, the lighting inside the church is brighter, thanks to the latest round of renovations recently completed. The work, which began on August 18, was conducted by Palanza Group, Inc., a Mansfield company owned and operated by Deacon Tom Palanza. He and his team have 34 years of experience renovating churches in the Diocese and have worked on the cathedral through past renovations. “We had a timeline to adhere to. The Bish-
New interior lighting illuminates the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption.
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