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Bishop’s Award for deacon at St. Patrick’s
Deacon Tom Ciccarelli
Deacon Tom Ciccarelli, parish life coordinator of St. Patrick’s Church in Ripon, and wife Sherrill.

Deacon Tom Ciccarelli, parish life coordinator of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Ripon, and his wife Sherrill will be among those being honored at the 18th annual Bishop’s Awards to be held Saturday, Oct. 5.

The dinner event, described by Bishop Myron J. Cotta as a “wonderful opportunity for fellowship and celebration among the clergy and parishioners,” will be held at the Church of the Presentation in Stockton.

The Ciccarellis will be recognized for their Lifetime of Service as a Deacon and Deacon’s Wife.

The rest of the slate of recipients for the 2019 Bishop’s Awards and their respective service fields are:

Msgr. Liam Moore, former pastor of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Tracy — Lifetime of Service as a Pastor

Luis and Irene Maldonado — Lifetime of Lay Ministerial Service

Engr. and Dr. Arlaine Gutierrez, Families for Vocation and Healing Ministry — Catholic Service Organization

Gary and Jennifer Giannini — Lifetime of Teaching Service in the Catholic Schools.

“Celebration of Faith — Lived!” is the theme of this year’s Bishop’s Awards which is being chaired by the bishop himself along with St. Bernadette parishioners Gail and Patrick Velasquez.

Previous local recipients of the Bishop’s Awards include former St. Anthony of Padua Pastor Patrick Walker who now serves in the same capacity at Sacred Heart Parish in Turlock, former Ministry of Caring Sister Ann Venita Britto, and parishioner Roberto Sepulveda.

The first Bishop’s Awards was held in 2002.

“It was something that (the late) Bishop Emeritus Stephen E. Blaire brought to the diocese, and we’re just continuing it,” said Martha McCoy of the diocese’s Office of Development.

This “celebration of faith” pays tribute to “outstanding Catholic women and men — lay, clergy, and religious who have given so graciously through their lifetime of service and who exemplify leadership in the family, the community, the workplace and the church.”

More than 300 individuals have been honored since the awards’ inception, with net proceeds to date totaling over $1,740,000 benefiting Catholic Charities and SEEDS, a scholarship program for elementary and high school students in the diocese.

For event tickets, sponsorships, or more information, contact Martha McCoy at mmccoy@stocktondiocese.org or (209) 546-7646 or visit stocktondiocese.org/bishops-awards-dinner.

The Church of the Presentation where the awards dinner will be held is located at 6715 Leesburg Place in Stockton.

For more information about the event, contact the Development Office at (209) 466-0636.