Bishop to ordain two men to priesthood

By PAT HENNESSY
On January 4, Bishop William E. Lori will ordain two men to the priesthood for the Diocese of Bridgeport. Deacons David Daigle and Miroslaw Stachurski will be ordained during 10 a.m. Mass at Saint Mary Parish in Greenwich.

“We’re delighted to host the ordination of these fine men,” says Msgr. Frank C. Wissel, pastor of Saint Mary’s. “Bishop Lori requested we have the ordination here because both men served as deacons in Greenwich, and since Saint Augustine Cathedral is under renovation.” Msgr. Wissel is expecting a full church for the ceremony. No ordination has been held in Saint Mary’s for more than 25 years.

Father David Daigle
Father David Allen Daigle, 37, resided in areas of the U.S. ranging from New York to Puerto Rico and west to Nebraska as his father was posted to Air Force bases during his childhood. One of four children of Fernando and Mary Jo Steinauer Daigle, he attended the University of Nebraska and Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, graduating in 1988. He received his M.B.A. degree from Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia, and then attended Villanova University School of Law, attaining his J.D. degree in 1996.

Father Daigle worked during the summer of 1996 for the U.S. Court of Appeals in Pittsburgh, then became a legal associate with a firm in Philadelphia. After receiving a Master’s Degree in finance at Temple University, he became a registered principal with the Vanguard Group before entering the seminary, Theological College, at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Father Daigle completed a summer parish assignment at Saint Mary Parish in Ridgefield and, during the past two years, served an internship at Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Riverside.

He will say his first Mass at Saint Catherine of Siena on Sunday, January 5 at 11:30 a.m. Msgr. William A. Genuario, pastor, will be the homilist.

Father Miroslaw Stachurski
A native of Ciechanowiec, Poland, Father Miroslaw Stachurski, 29, is the son of Tadeusz and Janina Grzybowska Stachurski. He completed his university studies in Poland, graduating from the seminary there in 1999. He studied English at Saints Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, MI, before entering the Saint John Fisher Seminary Residence in Stamford.

Father Stachurski completed summer parish assignments at Saint Mary Parish in Stamford, and Saint James Parish in Stratford. After serving a summer internship at Saint Mary Parish in Greenwich, he completed his seminary studies at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, graduating in June. He is currently serving as deacon at Saint Joseph Parish in Brookfield.

Father Stachurski will say his first Mass on Sunday, January 5 at 11 a.m. at Saint Joseph’s. Father Leszek Szymaszek, parochial vicar of Saint Aloysius Parish in New Canaan, will be the homilist.

Eight New Priests in 2003
“We are delighted to have two fine priests such as Fathers Daigle and Stachurski joining us in the diocese,” says Father Chris Walsh, director of vocations for the Diocese of Bridgeport. “Along with their six classmates, who will be ordained in May, they represent a true blessing from the Lord: eight newly-ordained priests this year for the Diocese of Bridgeport, precisely when we need them the most.”

BRIDGEPORT, Thursday, January 9, 2003, 4:00 p.m. – On behalf of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Dr. Joseph McAleer, spokesman, has issued the following statement on the Connecticut Appellate Court hearing on January 10, 2003, regarding the release of Church documents which were sealed by law:

“It is important for the public to know that all of the documents in question were reviewed by the presiding state judges in these cases over the course of the legal process of more than seven years, beginning in 1993.

“In 2000, the Diocese of Bridgeport and the plaintiffs’ attorneys agreed to take the next step: to attempt to mediate these cases, with the able assistance of an independent mediator, Federal Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel. The settlement, which was announced to the public in March 2001, was fair, just, and reasonable, and served to promote reconciliation, healing, and closure.

“As we move forward with this critical issue which concerns all of us – namely, the protection of children – the Diocese of Bridgeport believes it serves no healing purpose to revisit, more than one year later, these specific cases for the victims and their families. This will only disrupt the vital healing process. As one of the participants in the 2001 settlement told a Connecticut newspaper this week, ‘It would be like scraping an old scab off a wound.’”

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MEDIA ADVISORY
Accredited members of the media are invited to cover the early morning train departures from Bridgeport and Stamford Stations on January 22, and the evening return arrivals in both cities.

The LifeTrain will depart Bridgeport Station at 5:05 a.m. SHARP, and Stamford Station at 5:35 a.m.

The LifeTrain will return to Stamford Station at 8:35 p.m. and Bridgeport Station at 9:05 p.m.

BRIDGEPORT – Pilgrims to the March for Life, the annual pro-life rally in Washington, D.C., will journey on Wednesday, January 22, 2003, on a special, sold-out train from Fairfield County.

Nearly 600 – a record number – of Catholic priests, deacons, nuns, and lay people of all ages – including families and students – will board the “LifeTrain,” a chartered Amtrak train, in Bridgeport and Stamford for the non-stop trip to Washington. Once there, they will celebrate a special Mass with Bishop William E. Lori, before joining the hundreds of thousands of people from across the U.S. in the March to the Supreme Court. The annual demonstration of support for the unborn takes place on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States.

The LifeTrain makes its debut in 2003, the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Bridgeport. It has been organized as a more efficient means of transportation than the traditional buses. It is also very affordable: just $35 per person, round trip.

The LifeTrain will depart Bridgeport Station at 5:05 a.m. and Stamford Station at 5:35 a.m. It is due to arrive at Washington’s Union Station at 10:30 a.m., where pilgrims will be welcomed by Bishop Lori. The train will depart for the return trip to Connecticut at 4:40 p.m., with Bishop Lori on board. The train will arrive in Stamford at 8:35 p.m. and in Bridgeport at 9:05 p.m.

“All of us need to stand up in defense of the beautiful gift of life,” says Bishop Lori. “Although 30 years ago Roe v. Wade ushered in our culture of death, we have the utmost confidence in God’s Providence relative to the ever-renewing gift of life and the promotion of the culture of life. All vulnerable life, from the unborn, the destitute, and the disabled to those nearing the end of life, is sacred. The LifeTrain will make a powerful statement that Catholics in Fairfield County are ready and willing to be prayerful witnesses for life."