St. Mary of Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament Parish
648 JAY ST., UTICA, NY 13501 – 315-735-1482
At 104 years old, Antoinette LaPaglia is one of our longest living parishioners. She resides in Wylie Hall assisted living at the Masonic Care Community, where once a month she cooks for about 30 residents. It’s a nice place, but she still longs for her home. She’s had a rugged life but has survived for […]
One of the things that brings blessings to most Catholic Christian communities of faith — in other words, parishes — is the diversity and mix of peoples with their various traditions, customs and languages, styles of prayer and devotions, their stories of good times and difficult times back in the “old country.” In most Catholic […]
ABOVE: The major basilicas of Rome, clockwise from upper left: St. Peter’s, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major. On Christmas Eve 2024, Pope Francis opened the “Holy Doors” of St. Peter’s Basilica signifying the beginning of a “Jubilee Year.” This tradition can be traced as far back as the […]
On Sunday, April 27, 2025, 15 children received their First Holy Communion with their families and friends in attendance. The children, under the guidance of Terri Panuccio, K-6 Faith Formation director, have been preparing for this day for months. The children’s last names are not published due to diocesan guidelines that prohibit identifying children younger […]
St. Mary of Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament is renowned around the region and diocese — and beyond — for its wonderful and meaningful liturgies, beautiful music, an energetic congregation and faith-filled parishioners. Beyond its religious foundation, however, there is another important aspect — the parish’s social community.
Vicki Perritano, one of the matriarch’s of our parish, passed away peacefully early Friday morning, March 27. The following is an interview with Vicki published in “More Good News.” Please forgive me for featuring my mom one last time.
Steve Surace and Gina Reale met at a college event. Their friendship grew and turned into love. They raised two girls and now have a granddaughter. They built careers together and give back to the community — and to the parish they love.
In Catholic tradition, Lent (Quaresima in Italian) is a time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. So, before the Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5, Christians around the world will take time to party in diverse ways.
By FATHER JIM CESTA The social dimension of being a Catholic companion of the Lord Jesus starts with remembering that only three of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with God — the other seven have us consider our social relationship with other people. Sometimes, good and devout Catholic folks really fall into believing […]
Father Jim Cesta celebrated his 50th anniversary of his priesthood earlier this year. He has spent the last 15 years as pastor of our parish. Most parishioners only know Father Jim as the priest who celebrates Sunday Mass, has a sense of humor and preaches great homilies. So, we decided to learn more about the man behind the collar. We sat down last month in the sunroom of the rectory to learn more.