REV. MSGR. MYRON COTTA, V.G.

OCTOBER SPEAKER

 A very familiar face to many of you throughout the Merced deanery has been scheduled as our guest speaker for our October 16th luncheon meeting to be held at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, 671 E. Yosemite Avenue, in Merced. Rev. Msgr. Myron J. Cotta, V. G. will come to Merced and address our members and guests. It will be a treat for all of us to have him as our speaker.

Monsignor Cotta attended St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Fresno on September 12, 1987. Being of Portuguese descent, Msgr. Cotta has a special personal devotion to Our Lady and St. Anthony. He is often invited to celebrate Mass for the Portuguese Festas (festivals) in honor of the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother, and other patron saints of the Portuguese community. His parish assignments include: St. Anthony, Atwater; The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Laton; and Our Lady of Miracles, Gustine. He presently serves has the Vicar General/ Vicar for Priests, and Director of the Diocesan Office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Msgr. Cotta sits on several Diocesan Boards and is in residence at St.Anthony of Padua, Fresno.

Mark your calendars so you can plan to be with us to hear this outstanding faith-filled speaker. The buffet luncheon will be catered by Fernando’s Bistro and tickets for the event cost $15.00 each. Reservations should be made by calling Raylene Smith at 723-4929 no later than October 13th.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 18th at 7:30 a.m. For our first breakfast meeting of the fall season, you’re in for a treat as we welcome Phillip Sanchez, former U. S. Ambassador to Honduras and Colombia. Ambassador Sanchez, Fresno State Class of ’53, has led an amazing life and will definitely inspire us when he serves as our speaker. He has been a farm worker, fraternity president, college student body vice president, county administrator, National Guard General, War on Poverty general, ambassador, publisher, grandfather and proud American. He will be recognized on October 10th by his alma mater as the recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award for the Department of Student Affairs. It is an honor to welcome such a distinguished speaker to our meeting. Come and hear his personal faith story and how God has worked in his life, challenging him on his journey of faith.

Tickets for the breakfast meeting are $12.00 each.

Call Raylene Smith at 723-4929 no later than Monday, September 15th to make  your reservation. Please make an extra effort to make your reservation by that date so our caterer, Fernando Palomino of Fernando’s Bistro, will have an accurate count of the number of meals to prepare. The meeting will be held at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, 671 E. Yosemite Avenue, Merced. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. and breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m.

Our last general meeting before we break for the summer will be held on Thursday, June 19th at 7:30 a.m. in St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, 671 E. Yosemite Avenue, Merced. The date was incorrectly listed in the May newsletter. Tickets are $12.00 each for the delicious breakfast catered by Fernando’s Bistro. Doors open at 7:00 a.m.

CLERGY/RELIGIOUS

APPRECIATION LUNCHEON

MAY 15TH

The Merced CP&BC will hold its annual clergy and religious appreciation luncheon on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at noon in Merced at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall, 671 E. Yosemite Avenue. We had an amazing turnout last year and hope to repeat that success or even exceed it this year. We are blessed to have such dedicated priests, deacons, and religious sisters serving the people of God in the parishes of the Merced deanery. They will be our guests that day. Plan to reserve a table for your parish organization or bring a couple of fellow parishioners and celebrate with us. Luncheon tickets are $15.00 each. Call Raylene Smith at 723-4929 by May 10th to make reservations.

May 15th is also the day when we begin our 10th anniversary celebration. We anticipate having a display representing each parish in our deanery. These foam boards were distributed to each pastor at the December 2007 deanery luncheon. Hopefully, each priest has selected someone from their parish to creatively highlight the history of the parish as well as the ministries served by the parish. We would like to have them by the first week in May so we can prepare the display. If you need us to pick up your completed foam board or need another one please contact Brenda Feehan at Brenda@olmstpatrick.org

MERCED-MARIPOSA

DEANERY CLERGY

St. Anthony’s, Atwater

Rev. Tom Timmings, Pastor

Rev. Mr. Kelly Canelo, Deacon

Rev. Mr. Anthony Mendez, Deacon

 

Holy Rosary, Hilmar

Rev. Hilary Silva

 

Our Lady of Mercy/St. Patrick’s, Merced

Rev. Msgr. Patrick J. McCormick

Rev. Anthony Iromenu

Rev. Mr. Joseph Smith, Deacon

Rev. Mr.. Jose Morales, Deacon

Rev. Mr. Charles Reyburn, Deacon

 

St. Columba, Chowchilla

Rev. Angel Sotelo

Rev. Mr. Anthony DiMaggio, Deacon

 

Sacred Heart, Merced

Rev. Jesus Reynaga, Pastor

Rev. Mr. Trinidad Guadarrama, Deacon

Rev. Mr. Chong Moua, Deacon

 

Sacred Heart, Planada

Rev. Msgr. Anthony Janelli

Rev. Mr. Javier Higareda, Deacon

Rev. Mr. Higinio N. Yanez, Deacon

 

St. Joseph, Firebaugh

Rev. Efrain Martinez

 

Our Lady of the Snows, Yosemite

Rev. Raymond Duffy

 

Our Lady of Miracles. Gustine

Rev. Leonard Trindade

 

Sacred Heart, Dos Palos

Rev. Robert Vanoncini

Rev. Mr. David Mumby, Deacon

 

St. Jude Thaddeus, Livingston.

Rev. Harvey Fonseca, V. F.

St. Joseph, Los Banos

Rev. Daniel C. Avila

 

St. Joseph, Mariposa

Rev. Stephen Bulfer

 

Retired Priests

Rev. Frank, Piro

Rev. Msgr. Thomas Morgan

Rev. Richard O’Halloran