Bishop Malooly greets Pope Francis at the Vatican on Dec. 3, 2019.
It was a year that began with the required submission of a retirement letter from Bishop Malooly, but 2019 ended with the bishop closing the books on another full year of leadership in the Diocese of Wilmington.
January
Bishop Malooly’s 75th birthday happened Jan. 18, and the bishop submitted his letter of retirement to Pope Francis as required by canon law. The pope did not accept it during the year.
The results of the 2018 Annual Catholic Appeal revealed the highest amounts pledged and collected in the campaign’s 43-year history. The diocesan Development Office reported that the $5,326,910 pledged by Catholics in Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland surpassed the appeal’s $4.6 million goal by 13.79 percent.
February Father Roger DiBuo, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Bear, added the role of Liaison for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Groups to his list of responsibilities after the bishop made the appointment. He will help the bishop in relationships between the Diocese of Wilmington and other Christian and non-Christian religious congregations in the community.
Father Paul J. Campbell
State Sen. Bryant Richardson (R-Laurel) sponsored two pro-life bills in the Delaware General Assembly. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HB52) and the Woman’s Ultrasound Right to Know Act (HB53) were introduced in the legislature. Father Paul J. Campbell, pastor of St. Christopher Church in Chester, Md., since 2015, died Feb. 3 after a brief illness. He was 66. Dozens of priests and a gathering of friends and family on Feb. 9 joined Bishop Malooly at the Mass of Christian Burial for Father Campbell.
March
The diocese concluded its year-long 150th anniversary celebration with a Mass at St. Elizabeth Church. The Diocese was established on March 3, 1868 by Blessed Pope Pius IX.
An overflow crowd crammed into a Legislative Hall hearing room before a senate committee chairwoman decided to move the group of several hundred into the main Senate chamber to hear testimony on two bills seeking to limit abortion in the state. The committee of the Delaware state senate heard testimony from nearly two dozen abortion opponents and those who support keeping abortion legal.
Louis De Angelo, secretary of education, and Father Joseph W. McQuaide IV, chancellor of the Diocese of Wilmington, talk before the premiere of “Unplanned” March 28 with Oblate Sisters of St. Francis, from left, Sister Lawrence Therese Hudson, Sister Anne Elizabeth Eder, Sister Joseph Margaret Kimura, Sister Joseph Anne Ricciardi and Sister John Elizabeth Callaghan. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
Two local groups hosted premiere showings of the movie “Unplanned.” The film is the dramatic account of a former Planned Parenthood high achiever, Abby Johnson, the group’s youngest clinic director in the nation, until she walked out after assisting in an abortion.
April
Saint Mark’s High School announced that Richard A. Bayhan will retire as prinicipal at the end of the school year.
People in Paris and around the world watched in horror as flames consumed the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral, stirring genuine emotions that could come only from witnessing the loss of beauty.
May
Faith leaders, medical professionals and advocates for people with disabilities were among those with an emotional outpouring at Legislative Hall in Dover on May 8, standing in opposition to a Delaware House bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide in the state. They left without a vote being taken by the House Health and Human Development Committee.
Donn Devine
Donn Devine, the longtime Diocese of Wilmington archivist whose lengthy career included law, writing, planning director for the city of Wilmington and inspector general for the National Guard, died at age 90.
Bishop Malooly recognized 10 seniors from each of the eight Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Wilmington with the St. Francis de Sales Award. Honorees are selected for excellence in faith development, scholarship, service, leadership and citizenship.
June
When Father Steven Giuliano took over as pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Seaford, it marked the end of nearly a half-century of stewardship by the Redemptorist Priests. The religious order, citing its dwindling numbers and increasing responsibilities, decided it could no longer remain in Sussex County.
Bishop Malooly was the main celebrant of the annual Mass for Vocations, which is an opportunity to pray for and support those who are discerning a call to priesthood, consecrated life and the permanent diaconate.
July
Thomas S. Fertal, most recently the president at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, Pa., was named principal at Saint Mark’s High School.
Principal Tom Fertal adresses students. Saint Mark’s High School hosted its 50th anniversary opening school liturgy on Sept. 6. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
The Dialog won six awards from the Catholic Press Association during the annual Catholic Media Conference in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Athletes at three Catholic high schools will have new or improved facilities this season, while preparation work has started at the most anticipated athletic capital project. Baynard Stadium, the venerable multi-purpose facility across 18th Street from Salesianum, is gone, to be replaced by Abessinio Stadium.
August
Helen Fuhrmann opened The Angelus Gallery at 417 W. Fifth St. in May after nearly two years of restoration. On the first Friday of each month, the gallery is part of the Wilmington Art Loop, and proceeds from sales benefit the Ministry of Caring.
Bishop Malooly talks with Angelique Lorang, left, and Linda Malone during the 4th Annual Bishop 5K at Glasgow Park, Saturday, August 24, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Michael DiGennaro and Danielle Lambert were winners at the fourth Annual Bishop’s 5K at Glasgow Park. The bishop got the event started and greeted 201 competitors at the finish line. The annual horse show and jousting tournament at St. Joseph Church in Cordova, Md., was saved through a collaboration between the church and the Eastern Shore Jousting Association. The Silver Rose, a program of the Knights of Columbus honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, came to Delaware for the first time. It visited parishes in all three counties in the state.
September
Bishop Malooly blessed the gym at Christ the Teacher school and the parish center at St. Margaret of Scotland on the same campus in Glasgow to mark the completion of both construction projects.
Volunteers with “40 Days for Life” took part in an effort to offer alternatives to abortion in Wilmington and hundreds of cities across the world.
Father Jay McKee, pastor of St. Patrick’s Chapel in Pilottown, reviews the historic marker outlining the chapel’s history. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
October Bishop John O. Barres, the former Wilmington priest who heads the Rockville Centre, N.Y., diocese, was back in town at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine Church to deliver the homily for members of the legal community at the 32nd annual Mass sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Wilmington.
About two dozen Felician Sisters returned to Newark for the dedication of Our Lady of Grace Village, a five-building, 60-unit affordable housing project.
November
Nobody rang any bells and no wings were handed out. But the “angels” of the eighth-grade class at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School did get to construct a handicap ramp for a woman in need at her home in Westover, Md. The ramp was built in conjunction with the Chesapeake Housing Mission and is the second year the school and mission have worked together on a service project.
Eighth-grade students at Most Blessed Sacrament School in Berlin, Md., help build a handicap ramp. Photo for The Dialog/Amanda Evans
St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Wilmington held its first musical lecture — “Let’s Pray Two!” — at St. Helena’s Church in Wilmington. The Dialog published a special section — “Giving Thanks” — a 44-page tribute to Bishop Malooly the same year as his 75th birthday when he sent a letter of resignation to Pope Francis as required by canon law. It included “through the years” pages with dozens of photographs and quotations from the bishop during his tenure in the Diocese of Wilmington.
December
Bishop Malooly found a supportive and grateful Pope Francis and members of various Vatican offices during his early December “ad limina” visit, his third such meeting with as many popes since he became a bishop nearly 20 years ago. Father James Nash, the pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul in Easton, Md., announced plans to construct a new high school building on a piece of property next to the parish church along Route 50. The parish purchased the land from the Catholic Foundation. It will house the school and a sports complex.
Lutheran pastors, several dozen Catholic priests and hundreds of family and friends joined Bishop Malooly in celebrating the life of Diocese of Wilmington priest Father Leonard R. Klein during his funeral Mass at Cathedral of St. Peter. The congregation filled to capacity the cathedral where Father Klein served as rector.
Bishop Malooly and fellow priests gather around the casket of Father Leonard Klein to sing “Salve Regina” at Cathedral of St. Peter after his funeral Mass in Wilmington Dec. 13.
Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
Bishop Malooly and Pope Francis exchange greetings Dec. 3.
Pope Francis exchanges greetings in Rome with Msgr. Steven P. Hurley on Dec. 4.
Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Washington and other U.S. bishops from the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and the Military Archdiocese concelebrate Mass in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 2, 2019. The bishops were making their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican to report on the status of their dioceses to the pope and Vatican officials.
Fr. John McVoy processes to the altar during Mass at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Wilmington. St. Mary’s was chosen as the first church to try a “Mass mob,” a gathering of Catholics at one of the churches in the diocese. Photo/Don Blake
The Sals gather before the game.
Eighth-grade students at Most Blessed Sacrament School in Berlin, Md., help build a handicap ramp. Photo for The Dialog/Amanda Evans
Robert and Katherine Kohr renew their marriage vows at the annual diocesan wedding anniversary Mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Middletown Oct. 3, 2019. The couple is married 50 years. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly leads the annual diocesan wedding anniversary Mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Middletown Oct. 3, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Archmere, led by Andrew Rosenbaum (in white) is the top seed in Division II soccer, while Andrew Blackwell (in blue) and Salesianum are No. 1 in Division I. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)
Members of Ursuline Academy Theater perform “Bright Star” at the Anna Frances Raskob Auditorium. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Ursuline (black) and Padua (white) begin the girls’ race at the Joe O’Neill Invitational last October. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)
Members of the Maryland Catholic Conference Board of Governors meet in Annapolis with Maryland Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan on Oct. 8. They are, from left, Bishop W. Francis Malooly, Diocese of Wilmington, Archbishop William E. Lori, Archdiocese of Baltimore, Hogan, and Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, Archdiocese of Washington.
Aquinas Academy students.
Deacon Chris Moran at St. Peter the Apostle School.
Catholic school students take part in the Blessing of the animals at Most Blessed Sacrament School.
Ursuline Academy students far left Siena Rappucci,Ella Peroleo, and Olivia Panunto pose during Blessing of the animals at Ursuline Academy on Oct. 4, 2019.
Shane Edgar, middle, alongside mother Lauren Edgar on left with Stella Blohm, far back, poses with Edgar family furry friend Jax at St. Elizabeth Parish in Wilmington on Oct.3, 2019.
Catholic school students take part in the Blessing of the animals on Oct. 4, 2019.
Catholic students take part in the Blessing of the animals on Oct. 4, 2019 with Father James Yeakel.
Diocese of Wilmington Annual Blue Mass attendees included Delaware State Police, Wilmington Police, New Castle County Police and also volunteer Wilmington firefighters and other first responders, held at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Wilmington with Bishop Malooly presiding. We need to be grateful for first responders in this time of need.
Diocese of Wilmington Annual Blue Mass attendees included Delaware State Police, Wilmington Police, New Castle County Police and also volunteer Wilmington firefighters and other first responders, held at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Wilmington with Bishop Malooly residing
Diocese of Wilmington hosted the annual Blue Mass at St. Elizabeth with attendees from Delaware State Police, Wilmington Police and other first local first responders on Oct. 4, 2019.
Jeffrey Danilak, new upper school principal at Ursuline Academy (Dialog photo/Mike Lang)
Reena Robinson is in her sophomore season with the St. Elizabeth volleyball team. Her freshman year was interrupted by a cancer diagnosis, but she is feeling healthy following treatment. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)
Reena Robinson goes up for a hit during a playday at Friends School in August. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)
Deacon Patrick Johnston leads the procession during the memorial service commemorating the National Day of Remembrance of Aborted Children at Cathedral Cemetery, September 14, 2019. Dialog Photo/Don Blake
Dee Becker holds 2 month old Willow Giles as she is blessed during seventh annual National Day of Remembrance of Aborted Children at Cathedral Cemetery, Sept. 14, 2019. Becker was one of the founders of Delaware Right to Life. Photo/Don Blake
A service remembering 9/11 at St. Hedwig’s included, from left, Wilmington police chief Robert Tracy, Eve Lazeration, Five Points member, Bishop Malooly, Dwayne Pearson, Belvedere fire chief, and Joseph Kalinowski, retired Wilmington deputy fire chief. The Dialog/Joseph P. Owens
Father John Gayton speaks to a gathering of several hundred people. Holy Rosary parish in Claymont dedicated a monument Sept. 11, 2019, to rememeber first responders and those who work to protect us to this day. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
Bishop Malooly blesses the cornerstone of the gym at Christ the Teacher school Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly blesses the gym at Christ the Teacher school Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
The gym during the blessing of the parish hall and gym at St. Margaret of Scotland, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Principal Tom Fertal adresses students. Saint Mark’s High School hosted its 50th anniversary opening school liturgy on Sept. 6. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
Saint Mark’s High School hosted its 50th anniversary opening school liturgy on Sept. 6. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
Saint Mark’s High School hosted its 50th anniversary opening school liturgy on Sept. 6. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
Runners prepare for the 4th Annual Bishop’s 5K at Glasgow Park, Saturday, August 24, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly poses for a picture with cross country runners from St. Mark’s High School during the 4th Annual Bishop’s 5K at Glasgow Park, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly offers a blessing during the 4th Annual Bishop’s 5K at Glasgow Park, Saturday, August 24, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Salesianum graduate Donte DiVincenzo meets with a group of campers at the 76ers Fieldhouse last summer. DiVincenzo is one of several alumni who will deliver a message to Sallies seniors at the sports banquet. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)
Bishop Malooly reconsecrated the Diocese of Wilmington to Mary’s Immaculate Heart at Our Lady Queen of Peace at Holy Spirit Church in New Castle on Aug. 19.
Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
Bishop Malooly reconsecrated the Diocese of Wilmington to Mary’s Immaculate Heart at Our Lady Queen of Peace at Holy Spirit Church in New Castle on Aug. 19.
Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
The faithful join Bishop Malooly as he blesses the water in Ocean City at 17th and the Boardwalk, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
The faithful join Bishop Malooly and Father John Solomon to bless the water in Ocean City at 17th and the Boardwalk, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
A group gathers on the beach Thursday, Aug.15, 2019. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly and Father John Solomon on the beach in Ocean City on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Photo/Don Blake
The opening of the St. Joseph Horse Show & Jousting.
Mackenzie Lord, 5, has her eye on the ring. The Dialog/Don Blake
5-year-old Mackenzie and 1-year-old Kaci ride Mollie the horse as their parents Kayla and T.J. Lord guide the horse.
Bishop Malooly receives the gifts from Sister Therese Goecke, Lynn Keating, and Sr. Joanne Goecke during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly and Mother Superior, Mother Margaret Regina, check out the display of locations that the Little Sisters of the Poor serve the community during the 150th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America last July. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Bishop Malooly blesses a statue of St. Jeanne Jugan during the 150th Anniversary Mass of the Arrival of the Little Sisters of the Poor in America. Photo/Don Blake
Dee Matthews, president of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus delivers platters of food during their crab dinner at St. Luke Catholic Church in Ocean City. Dialog photo/Jason Minto
Crab cake at the Knights of Columbus crab dinner at St. Luke Catholic Church in Ocean City. Dialog photo/Jason Minto
St. Edmond’s Academy hosted the final two performances of “Fables” during the last week of June. Students from area schools made up the cast. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)
Sister Raymond rides a golf cart during the “Swing Fore the Sisters” golf tournament June 27 at Deerfield Golf Club. The event raised more than $30,000 for the Little Sisters of the Poor, who operate the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Newark. (Dialog photo/Mike Lang
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Darren DiRenzo (23), a graduate of Archmere, closes in on a tackle during the Blue-Gold football game on June 21 at Delaware Stadium. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)
Veronica Slater, Spanish teacher, holds a calendar presnted to her by Spanish students. The calendat for next year includes photos of themselves. Students here are, from left, Billy Lorenzo, Taylor Glunt, Sean Holly, Evan Podralski, Ethan Downs. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
60th Annual Field Mass at All Saints Cemetery, May 27, 2019 (Virginia Durkin O’Shea photo)
The annual award dinner of the St. Thomas More Society of the Diocese of Wilmington on May 19 included, from left, Bishop Malooly, award winner Father Leonard Klein and Sara Bussiere, society president.
Bishop Malooly presents Alexandra Ewing from Archmere Academy with the St. Francis deSales Award during the St. Francis deSales Awards Convocation at St. John the Beloved, Wednesday, May 15, 2019. Photo/Don Blake
Diocesan Honoree Donn Devine receives the Order of Merit from Bishop Malooly during the Diocesan Awards at St. Joseph Church in Middletown, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016. Dialog photo/Don Blake
Jim Aker, left, pastor of Community of Christ Church, and Jamie Moulthrop, coordinator of St. John the Beloved outreach program, are leading efforts to help families in need.
Msgr. Steven P. Hurley, vicar general of the Diocese of Wilmington, leads priests into Chrism Mass 2019 at Holy Cross in Dover. Dialog photo/Joseph P. Owens
The cross is carried in to St. Anthony of Padua in Wilmington, Del., during the 2019 Cross Pilgrimage, April 13, 2019. photo/Don Blake
The cross carried up Linden St. to St. Hedwig Church in Wilmington, Del., during the 2019 Cross Pilgrimage, April 13, 2019. photo/Don Blake