MORE GOOD NEWS

St. Mary of Mount Carmel / Blessed Sacrament Parish is renowned throughout the diocese and beyond for its meaningful liturgies, profound Holy Week services, beautiful celebrations at Christmas and Easter, a glorious music ministry, and a very welcoming and compassionate community of worshipers.

Hushed laughs spread quickly through the pews that Sunday. A young couple who had fallen away from the church were visiting relatives and brought their 5-year-old to Mass. The child never had seen the inside of a church. When the collection basket arrived, the child’s face lit up with a mile-wide grin. Before his embarrassed […]

Nearly everyone in the parish knows John Reale Jr. and his mom and dad. Getting to be almost equally as well known is John’s wife, Jean. They have been married for 12 years, and Jean has taken on more prominent volunteer roles in the parish.

ABOVE: Kenny Lacy also enjoys coaching sports. At age 27, Kenny Lacy says life is turning out pretty good. He’s working in his dream job, has a daughter and is about to be married. You last were featured in “More Good News” in January 2012. How has life changed for you in the last 11 […]

ABOVE: The Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville. By A.J. VALENTINI The Mohawk Valley is rich in history. From the indigenous peoples of this area and the Iroquois Confederation, through the colonial period and the American Revolution, it was a cradle of the development of our state and country even before the construction […]

ABOVE: Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini blesses the cornerstone of St. Mary of Mount Carmel Church on Sept. 15, 1901. Utica in recent years has been blessed with connections to two local saints: Kateri Tekakwitha from nearby Auriesville, and Marianne Cope, who was a parishioner across town at then-St. Joseph Church. Both were canonized on Oct. […]

ABOVE: Maria Panuccio and her fiance, Pat Hartnett, are on top of the world in New York City. When “More Good News” profiled Maria Panuccio in October 2013, she was working at Nicky Doodles before starting her freshman year at SUNY Cortland planning to become a teacher. She had a plan. So far, it’s working […]

ABOVE: Patrick Morrissey with his wife, Rosemary, and their grandchildren. Patrick Morrissey loves his life. He volunteers in our parish and in the community. He loves his faith and his family. Works hard. What more can one ask for? Family is very important to you. You come from a gang of eight children, have five […]

By FRAN PERRTANO When her Uncle Tom Averson died at age 74 this summer, Cynthia Zainchowski knew what kind of memorial he would want. “It was important for our family that he had a funeral Mass because he was a very devout Catholic,” said Cynthia, who helped plan the funeral. “Going to weekly Sunday Mass was […]

The fall issue of “More Good News” explores the topic of funerals in our Catholic tradition. I’d like to add some thoughts about common myths that sometimes accompany death. When someone says, “When are you going to get over it, the loss?” — they’re really saying your pain makes them feel uncomfortable. The myth that […]