Local young people honored for work in Fall River Diocese, community

FALL RIVER —Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., presented the Pope Saint Pius X Youth Award to 56 young persons from parishes throughout the Fall River Diocese in the context of a prayer service Tuesday at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River.

The annual award, named for the pontiff who created the Fall River Diocese in 1904 and presented for the first time in 2001, recognizes teens who serve their parish community with selflessness, commitment and dedication.

Nominated for the honor by their pastor, recipients are active in a variety of ministries and programs within their parishes. Some are lectors, Eucharistic ministers, teachers in parish religious education programs; others are altar servers, leaders in youth groups, and members of retreat teams.

Pope St. Pius X Youth Award recipients must have already received the Sacrament of Confirmation, be at least a sophomore in high school and not older than 19. Recipients participated in the award prayer service, offering readings, intercessory prayers and reflections.

Those honored with the 2019 Pope St. Pius X Youth Award and their parishes are listed below by deanery.

Attleboro Deanery

Grace A. Brown, Sacred Heart Parish, North Attleboro; Megan Connolly, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Attleboro; Matthew A. Correia, St. Mark Parish, Attleboro Falls; William Dalpe, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Seekonk; Bella DePietro, St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Attleboro; Jacob M. Loncar, St. Mary Parish, Mansfield; William Smith, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, Attleboro; Richard T. Stanton, St. Mary Parish, Norton; and Juliette J. Welter, St. Mary Parish, North Attleboro.

Cape Cod & Islands Deanery

Karissa Alfreres-Schoonmaker, St. Patrick Parish, Falmouth; Trever Blaze, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Osterville; Christopher Bresnahan, Our Lady of Victory Parish, Centerville; Max Cho, Corpus Christi Parish, East Sandwich; Joshua Devlin, St. Joan of Arc Parish, Orleans; Kevin Duarte, Christ the King Parish, Mashpee; Aidan J. Goddu, St. Anthony Parish, East Falmouth; Emmanuelle M. Holmes, St. Mary-Our Lady of the Isle Parish, Nantucket; David Howell, Holy Trinity Parish, West Harwich; Samantha Landry, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, North Falmouth; Keiran Norton, Our Lady of the Cape Parish, Brewster; and Killian Powell, St. Pius X, South Yarmouth.

Fall River Deanery

Ryan N. Affonso, St. John of God Parish, Somerset; Hanna M. August, St. John the Baptist Parish, Westport; Ashley A. Banalewicz, St. Stanislaus Parish, Fall River; Christy Bogan, Holy Name Parish, Fall River; Nathan A. Botelho, Santo Christo Parish, Fall River; Miriam Cabral, St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Fall River; Reaghan Cadorette, St. Thomas More Parish, Somerset; Tory R. Durand, St. Louis de France Parish, Swansea; Avery Gluchacki, St. Bernard Parish, Assonet; Allyson M. Holding, Good Shepherd Parish, Fall River; Luke R. Johnson, Holy Trinity Parish, Fall River; Nathaniel Klein, St. Joseph Parish, Fall River; Caleb Martin, St. George Parish, Westport; Pedro Navarro, St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral Parish, Fall River; and Zachary Rogers, St. Michael Parish, Fall River.

New Bedford Deanery

Mikayla Amada, Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, New Bedford; Taylor M. Alves, St. Julie Billiart Parish, Dartmouth; Athena Borges, St. Joseph Parish, Fairhaven; Eric Cardoza, St. Anthony of Padua Parish, New Bedford; Claricela Carranza, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, New Bedford; Isaac Cowen, St. Mary Parish, Dartmouth; Jennifer E. Dias, St. Mary Parish, Fairhaven; Elayna R. Fernandes, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, New Bedford; Jillian Fernandes, St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, New Bedford; Veronica C. Furtado, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish, New Bedford; Austin T. Lopes, St. John Neumann Parish, East Freetown; Catherine A. Russo, St. Francis Xavier Parish, Acushnet; and Erik G. Zine, St. Patrick Parish, Wareham.

Taunton Deanery

Abigail L. Cabral, St. Nicholas of Myra Parish, North Dighton; Thomas Canuel, Annunciation of the Lord Parish, Taunton; Martin Caron, St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Taunton; Michelle E. Gurley and Rosemary Gurley, St. Mary Parish, Taunton; Caitlyn C. Joyce, Immaculate Conception Parish, Easton; Joseph R. O’Connor, Holy Family Parish, East Taunton; and Madeline Peckham, Holy Cross Parish, Easton.