DRIVEN BY FAITH

YEAR IN REVIEW: The stories of faithful who shaped their community this year

An angel statue (from l.) marks the grave of 8-year-old Loretta inside St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands. The statue is one of many interesting stops along the St. Agnes tour, which Kelly Grimaldi, Director for Education and Program Development for Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, led staff writer Emily Benson on in October. (Emily Benson photo)

Closing out the year is always a bittersweet time for me. The hecticness of the holiday season has started to slow, and families everywhere will be sending off loved ones and making plans for the next visit in the new year. 

My favorite time of the Christmas season is always this: gathering friends and family to share stories over good food and wine. It’s a reminder of how important our community is and how taking time to sustain our relationships with loved ones, even with our crazy schedules, is crucial work.

I thought of this as I looked back on my favorite stories from 2024. I thought of how many parishioners, teachers and laity go the extra mile to support the faith they love. It’s a well-timed reminder as we enter a new year, one that will no doubt bring new changes to our parishes, families and communities, as new years always do. 

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Each year, without fail, someone always steps up to help out their local community. I had the pleasure of meeting a number of these people this year, people who poured their hearts into their faith, their church, their work. People whose joy and hard work ethic were so palatable, it was inspiring to be around. 

I hope their stories provide some inspiration and hope for Evangelist readers to take into the new year!

Daniel Palm (l.) and Dick Popp stand on the grounds of the newly revamped Sacred Heart Parish Cemetery in Stamford. Both men, along with volunteers and members of Buildings and Grounds, helped restore their parish cemetery. (Emily Benson photo)

REVAMPED!

Daniel Palm was one of the first people I interviewed in 2024, and it really set the bar for the year. 

Since 2018, Palm, 80, has been spearheading the revival of Sacred Heart Church’s 1,700-plot cemetery (currently with 1,200 active plots.) Along with two fellow Building and Grounds Committee members, Dick Popp and Len Marigliano, the trio has been working to revive the Stamford cemetery. 

The cemetery’s overhaul was no small project. Thanks to Palm’s guidance, and countless amazing volunteers, the crew removed shrubs, planted trees, installed over 400 feet of split-rail fence, uncovered 100 small ground-level monuments, installed signs and a kiosk with map, reset a whopping 90 monuments, and installed new grave mapping software to properly locate and map grave plots — just to name a few things! 

It was a labor of love, one that — thanks to Palm’s initiative — made the community and parish a little bit brighter. Looking out at the cemetery, Palm had told me, “It looks like someone cares.”

Blessed Sacrament School teacher Kim Wilson was aptly given the 2024 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Distinguished Elementary School Teacher Award, a homage to her dedication and love for her students and classroom. (Emily Benson photo)

A BLESSED TEACHER 

Kim Wilson looked right at home in her classroom at Blessed Sacrament School in Albany, and it makes sense as to why. Wilson, who has been teaching at the school for 18 years, was aptly given the 2024 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Distinguished Elementary School Teacher Award, a homage to her dedication and love for her students and classroom.

“You gotta teach them like kids,” she told me, “they’re not your product because you have to meet these requirements; they’re coming to you, and you have to treat them like your child.”

Speaking to Wilson about her award felt more like talking with a friend. She was humble in her work but excited to share her joy of teaching. The connections she had made with students and families carried for years after students graduated from her class, which speaks volumes about the quality teacher she is.

It was inspiring to see someone so in love with their job, someone who knows where they are called to be and who pours their whole heart into it. I think the world needs more teachers like Wilson, and I’m glad Blessed Sacrament has her. 

Katie Grogan (l.) and Shaunda Penny have been working to create Miscarriage Ministries in parishes across the Diocese. (Emily Benson photo)

HOPE FOR HEALING 

Katie Grogan and Shaunda Penny are women on an important mission. In March, the women organized a Memorial Mass and Healing Liturgy for anyone who has experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or early infant death. 

Both Grogan and Penny know the pain of miscarriage; they also know the pain of not knowing how or who to talk to in the church for support. It was their own experiences that inspired them to build a better path forward, and both women have been working to create Miscarriage Ministries in parishes across the Diocese.

I am in awe of Grogan and Penny, two kind and smart women who had to carry the cross of experiencing a miscarriage and came out the other side determined never to have another woman feel alone or lost should it happen to her too. It’s a brave and beautiful journey they started this year, and I’m hopeful to see how their ministries will help women and families going forward in communities around the Diocese.

SACRED GROUND

I had the pleasure of being led on a guided tour through St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands this fall by Kelly Grimaldi, Director of Education and Program Development for Albany Diocesan Cemeteries. 

Grimaldi is a joy every time I talk with her, and always dedicated to her work. Each new area of St. Agnes we visited carried countless stories in it that Grimaldi knew by heart. She even wrote a book on the historic cemetery when it celebrated its 150th anniversary.

From leading grave cleaning workshops, to sharing stories of the dearly departed on the Albany Diocesan Cemeteries blog, Grimaldi is an always kind and capable friend to many, and her presence is helping to keep the community around her strong.

“They helped shape our community, and that’s why I think it’s so important that we appreciate just them being here,” Grimaldi said of sharing the stories of the departed. “They came, worked hard and they carved this path.”