A rare chance to meet the Catholic archbishop

DOVER PLAINS — It was a special Sunday for Roman Catholics belonging to congregations in Millerton, Amenia, Dover Plains, Pawling and Wingdale as New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan accepted an invitation to a tri-parish picnic held Sept. 6 at the San Silverio Shrine in Dover Plains.

The Archdiocese of New York serves more than 2.5 million Catholics, making it the second-largest in the nation, after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“We’re very lucky,� explained Caroline McEnroe, who was on the committee formed by the parishes to plan for the picnic.

The three parishes (Immaculate Conception in Amenia and St. Patrick’s Mission in Millerton, St. Charles Borromeo in Dover Plains and Our Lady of Solace Mission in Wingdale and St. John the Evangelist in Pawling) banded together in hopes that working in numbers would give them a better chance of success.

“Usually parishioners don’t get a chance to meet the archbishop. The Archdiocese is so big that it’s unusual. We’re very lucky today.�

More than 500 parishioners attended the event, which lasted all afternoon. It was an informal affair, with a barbecue going for those who didn’t bring food and music provided by Jim Devine.

“It’s a great honor and privilege to meet [the Archbishop],� said Father Kent Wilson, the new pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church in Amenia and Saint Patrick’s Church in Millerton. “We’re very happy about it.�

Dolan arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. Police security was very tight for the event. Many who attended gathered around his vehicle as he emerged in a New York Yankees baseball cap, greeting parishioners.

There was no speech planned for the archbishop, who was hungry and looking forward to sitting down for food. But he took the time to shake hands with everyone waiting to greet him, as well as the multitude of people looking to take his picture.

“We were thrilled,� said Kathleen Herron from the Church of Immaculate Conception.

The archbishop was presented with a quilted wall hanging made by Marie Clark.

“It’s great to be here,â€� Dolan told the people thanking him for taking the time out of his schedule to visit them.  “Now how can I get one of those hot dogs I smell?â€�

Latest News

South Kent School’s unofficial March reunion

Elmarko Jackson was named a 2023 McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent School. He helped lead the Cardinals to a New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) AAA title victory and was recruited to play at the University of Kansas. This March he will play point guard for the Jayhawks when they enter the tournament as a No. 4 seed against (13) Samford University.

Riley Klein

SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.

The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale

Nick Townsend helped Yale win the Ivy League.

Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast

LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.

On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.

Keep ReadingShow less
Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning

Anne Everett and Bonnie Rosborough wait their turn to sound notes as bell ringers practicing to take part in the Easter morning service at St. Andrew’s Church.

Kathryn Boughton

KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.

Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Penguin Random House

‘Picasso’s War” by Foreign Affairs senior editor Hugh Eakin, who has written about the art world for publications like The New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The New York Times, is not about Pablo Picasso’s time in Nazi-occupied Paris and being harassed by the Gestapo, nor about his 1937 oil painting “Guernica,” in response to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.

Instead, the Penguin Random House book’s subtitle makes a clearer statement of intent: “How Modern Art Came To America.” This war was not between military forces but a cultural war combating America’s distaste for the emerging modernism that had flourished in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century.

Keep ReadingShow less