PROVINCE CELEBRATES 18 JUBILARIANS

On September 23 the Salesian Family of St. Philip the Apostle Province celebrated the perseverance of Christ in the lives of 18 Salesians. They celebrated the jubilee years of profession or ordination ranging from 25 to 70 years of fidelity to Christ.
The Jubilee Mass was celebrated at the Marian Shrine Chapel in Haverstraw. Fr. Tim Zak, provincial, presided and preached.Celebrating jubilees of profession were Fr. Peter Granzotto, 70 years professed; Fr. Javier Aracil, 65 years; Fr. Raul Acosta, Fr. Tony D’Angelo, Bro. George Marquis, and Bro. Joe Tortorici, 60 years; Bro. Joe Ackroyd and Frs. Manuel Alvarez, Steve Dumais, Tom McGahee, and Mike Mendl, 50 years; and Bro. Don Caldwell and Fr. Mike Pace, 25 years. Ordination jubilarians were Fr. Granzotto, 60 years; Frs. Acosta, D’Angelo, and Ken Germaine, 50 years; Frs. Alvarez, McGahee, Paul Dzaitkiewicz, and Larry Urban, 40 years; and Frs. Mike Conway and Steve Ryan, 25 years. Although the longest-serving jubilarian, Fr. Granzotto, and the oldest one, Fr. D’Angelo, were present, 6 of the 18 men were not able to attend, on account of health or distance. Joining the celebration were a special guest, our Interamerica regional councilor, Fr. Tim Ploch, dozens of Salesians, and many friends and family members of the jubilarians, all of whom came close to filling the Shrine chapel.
In his homily, Fr. Zak reminded us that we are not alone in our commitment to Christ: the “cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1) mentioned in the day’s first reading encourages us to keep walking on this journey. Not only do we have examples in the saints who came before us, but also in our Salesian brothers in front of us. The life of each of the 18 jubilarians speaks to us in a loud voice saying, “Don’t give up, keep persevering, keep running the race.” The journey of fidelity to Christ entails ongoing conversion, which can only happen through letting go of the things that hold us back, such as sin, certain attitudes, hurts, attachments, and resentments, so that we can be free to do God’s will.
Furthermore, Fr. Tim reminded the Salesian Family that we have to keep in mind our call to make disciples of the young, witnessing to God in our lives even though we have our faults. Fr. Tim went on to say that it would be wrong to base our identity as Salesians on what we do; instead, we have to base it on Christ’s victory in our lives.
After the Mass, the celebration moved to Patriot Hills Golf Club, where we had a beautiful gathering of friends and family. Fr. John Serio gave the welcome as the guests prepared for the meal, and afterwards spoke entertaining words of gratitude on behalf of the province to each of the dozen jubilarians present; between every few names Fr. Steve Ryan led the singing of the chorus of what Fr. Serio called the “Salesian Anthem,” Fr. Steve Schenck’s “Friend of the Young and the Poor.”
Fr. Zak closed the afternoon by reminding us of how important our biological and Salesian families are to our Salesian journey, and therefore we remember our deceased family members and those family members and jubilarians not present.
As a Salesian in temporary profession, I find great hope in events such as the province jubilees. They enable me to aspire and look forward to a faithful Salesian life. It amazes me to see men who have labored for so many years in God’s vineyard with joy and holiness. What a blessing it is to be part of this family and be called to a
Salesian vocation! So let us keep going on our journey and do our best to witness to Christ. As the years come, we hope that many more Salesians can celebrate their 70th year of profession like Fr. Granzotto, or more!

By Bro. Ronald Chauca, SDB