Members of Holy Innocents Cathedral and Saint John of God parish, celebrated the opening of the new Albany Damien Center, which will house the centers programs, staff and 20 permanent and supportive apartments for 22 people living with HIV/AIDS, who are chronically homeless. The Damien Center is named after Saint Damien of Molokai, a priest who in the 1800s ministered to terminally ill lepers on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. The husband of Father Tony Green, Perry Junjulas, is the Executive Director of the center and is largely responsible for the construction of the new center. The celebration began with a star studded show at the historic Cohoes Music Hall. This event raised an additional $50,000 to support the center. The following day, Father Tony Green, Father Vic and Mary DeSantis, Father Dante Tarantini, FCR and Bishop Francisco Betancourt, FCR had a personal tour of the new center. At the start of the tour, Perry was presented with an icon of Saint Damien and a statue of Christ, which will be placed in the “Healing Room,” a meditative area at the center. For more information about the Damien Center please visit www.AlbanyDamienCenter.org.

Creatures great and small joined the parishioners of Holy Innocents Cathedral on Sunday for the blessing of the animals. Following a mass in celebration of the life of St. Francis of Assisi, Father Dante Tarantini, FCR, Bishop Francisco Betancourt, FCR and Brother Victor Ayala, FCR conducted the blessings. The parishioners of Holy Innocents greeted the guests and their pets and served refreshments.

Click below to read Bishop Ron's Letter about the 2017 Catholic Apostolic Church in North America's national church charity.