Last Updated on October 31, 2025 by Editor
ABOVE: Bev Franz, left, came to our parish after being a parishioner Blessed Sacrament Church. She was raised Lutheran and converted when she married. Carol Trinco was a communicant of St. Agnes Church before it closed. Now they call Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament their home. They volunteer in the parish office and in other ministries.
Bev Franz and Carol Trinco didn’t attend our parish in their younger years. Bev was a Lutheran who converted, and attended Blessed Sacrament Church. Carol attended St. Agnes School and was a parishioner there. When both churches closed, they found a new home here. Now, they each volunteer in the parish office. They also help in other areas, too.
Bev Franz
You’re a country girl at heart. You grew up in the small town of Akron, near Buffalo. You lived in the country where your paternal grandparents had a dairy farm. Please describe what life was like back then.
Life was much simpler back then. There were no computers, electronic games, cellphones and we didn’t even have TV until the early 1950s. My sisters, cousins and I all went to a one-room schoolhouse from first through sixth grade. There was no kindergarten. As kids we played outside most of the time, riding bikes, playing ball, etc., and maybe doing some light chores on the farm. Sundays we went to Sunday school and church, and on most Sundays after church we all would gather at my grandmother’s bachelor brother’s home where the women would prepare dinner and the men would play cards or croquet. It was all about family and being together.
Unlike most of our parishioners, you were not baptized Catholic. You were a Lutheran but eventually converted.
I grew up in a very religious Lutheran family. Sunday school before church every Sunday. So, when I met my husband, I never returned to my hometown after graduation. We were married a year later, and because he was Catholic and we were getting married in a Catholic Church, I would have had to sign papers that I would raise my children in the Catholic Church. As I was already attending Mass at Blessed Sacrament with my future husband and his family, I decided that there wasn’t that much of a difference in beliefs, and I converted, receiving my First Holy Communion on my wedding day and Confirmation the following year with that year’s Confirmation class. Mass was in Latin then — you followed along in your missal and there were no singing hymns. How things have changed!
How did you end up in our parish?
When Blessed Sacrament closed in 2006, I became a parishioner. It was really sad to see our church where I became a Catholic in, got married in, baptized my children in, where they all went to school and we could walk across the street to attend Mass, close. But I can truly say from Day One that I felt welcome here and have felt like home to me ever since. But I really do miss Saturday evening Mass here.
Since joining the parish, you have volunteered in many capacities — the church office since 2006, lead a money-counting team and participate in the festival. Why do you do it?
Prior to that, I was volunteering at Blessed Sacrament when the secretary had already left to work at St Joseph’s, and Mary Beth LaNeve thought it would be good to have me in the office here to help with the process of merging because I was familiar with Blessed Sacrament parishioners. So, since I had retired in 2005 and I needed something to keep me active and I could be of service to my church and get to know my new fellow parishioners, I decided to volunteer.
Now that Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament has become your “home,” do you think God has led you to where you are now?
Yes, I really do, and I am truly thankful that He has led me here. My faith has been strengthened, and I have met so many great people. God has a plan for each of us, we just need to listen carefully to what He is telling us. I feel so blessed to be a part of this faith community and “home.”
Carol Trinco
You were educated at St. Agnes School in East Utica and Proctor High School. You were a parishioner of St. Agnes and worked as its secretary for a while. Please describe your feelings when St. Agnes closed.
It was very sad when St Agnes closed. My growing up was around the church and school. It was a very close community of friends that were more like family.
Why did you choose to attend Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament?
My husband and I were baptized and married at Mount Carmel, so it seemed we were going back to our roots. We also had family and friends who were parishioners of Mount Carmel.
You mentioned you’ve traveled to Europe and the Caribbean. Where did you visit in those places and what were some of the things you enjoyed the most?
Italy, London, France in Europe. Going to Europe was like stepping back in time. I visited several of the islands in the Caribbean.
You have four granddaughters and two great-grandsons. What has that experience been like for you?
It has been awesome. I am blessed to have the experience of watching them grow. They bring so much joy into my life.
You say your favorite music is “old standards.” What and who exactly are “old standards.”
Music from the ’40s and ’50s featuring Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand.
In our parish you lector, work at the festival and take care of the altar linens. You also volunteer in the office once a week. What made you volunteer and what are those experiences like?
In order to be a part of the community of Mount Carmel. Mary Beth LaNeve and Rosemary Chiffy asked, and my immediate answer was YES. That was the beginning.
What has Mount Carmel come to mean to you?
My home away from home is filled with warm and welcoming people.