HOBOKEN, New Jersey — Brother Brian Sullivan, OFM Cap., a member of St. Matthew Parish in Charlotte, will be ordained to the priesthood May 30 by Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Boston, Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap., at St. Ann Church in Hoboken.
The Franciscan brother, who is being ordained during the Jubilee Year of St. Francis, is a member of the Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis.
His path to the priesthood began at St. Patrick Elementary School in Smithtown, New York, then continued at St. Anthony High School in Huntington, New York. He earned a degree in philosophy at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami and completed his studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall in South Orange, New Jersey. His parents are Pat and Ralph Sullivan also of St. Matthew Parish.
He will celebrate his first Mass of Thanksgiving May 31 at St. Ann Church in Hoboken. He will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at his home parish, St. Matthew in Charlotte, at a date to be determined after receiving his priestly assignment from his province.
— Ralph H. Sullivan
HICKORY — Father Larry LoMonaco, pastor of St. Aloysius Parish, recently dedicated a Memorial Garden for the Unborn that sits on the side of the church’s original chapel.
“They put hundreds of crosses here in January, so I was looking at the blank space and looking at the crosses and thought this would make a great memorial for the unborn,” Father LoMonaco said.
So when Eagle Scout Isaac Nolte approached Father LoMonaco looking for a project, the idea crystalized.
“He built the pergola, the bench and the memorial structure,” Father LoMonaco said.
The garden features a granite gravestone quoting Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born, I consecrated you.”
Above the grave is a handcrafted white pergola with a rose bush already budding up the sides. In the middle sits a fountain, while a nearby sculpture depicts a 10-week fetus held in transparent palms attached to a red metal heart.
— Lisa M. Geraci