Diocese marks Catholic Schools Week with Mass

On Sunday, Feb. 2, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Albany Diocese will celebrate a "Catholic Schools Mass" at St. Stanislaus Church in Amsterdam, honoring the Diocese's 38 parish and regional Catholic elementary schools, four Catholic high schools and five private Catholic schools.

The Mass will be concelebrated by Rev. Walter Czechowicz, pastor of St. Stanislaus parish, and several other priests of the Diocese. This year's Catholic Schools Week theme is "Catholic Schools -- Schools You Can Believe In."

The Albany Diocese has a total enrollment of more than 12,700 students in its Catholic schools, from pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Each year, administrators, faculty and families of the schools come together for a communal liturgy as part of their celebration of Catholic Schools Week.

During the celebration, several awards will be presented to those who have made contributions to diocesan Catholic schools, including:

* the St. John Neumann Award, given this year to Kevin A. Langan and Joseph A. Reagan (in memoriam);

* the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Distinguished Principal Award, to Sister M. Bernice Pikul, CSSF, principal of St. Stanislaus School in Amsterdam;

* the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Distinguished Teacher Award, to Sister Martha Marie McCaffrey, CSJ, research-library-media coordinator at Sacred Heart School in Troy;

* the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School Support Award, to Milly Therrien, a volunteer at St. Helen's School in Schenectady; and

* a special award to Rev. J. Joseph Delaney, pastor of St. Mary's parish in Clinton Heights, in gratitude for his support of Catholic education.

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