By Katherine Long
Sun editor

School will soon be out for students across the Diocese of Syracuse, but there will be no summer vacation for Superintendent Christopher Mominey: After 17 years in Catholic education in the diocese, Mominey will assume the position of Chief Operating Officer/Secretary for Education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

   A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Mominey moved to the Diocese of Syracuse in 1996. He spent eight years at Christian Brothers Academy, where he taught religion and then directed campus ministry. He became principal of Rome Catholic School in 2004, serving there for four years. Mominey went on to become deputy superintendent and then superintendent for the diocese, a position he has held for four years.

Trinity graduates excel in high school

By Pat Shea
Sun associate editor

It’s been six years, but the time seemed to melt away as Sarah Mancuso and Madeline Galvin stood together outside Trinity Catholic School in Oswego June 13. The high school seniors haven’t seen much of each other since they graduated from the school in sixth grade, but at the gracious invitation of Principal Barb Sugar, the girls returned to receive special recognition and congratulations for their outstanding academic performance in high school.

   Mancuso, a senior at Oswego High School, was named the 2013 salutatorian for her class and Galvin, a senior at Mexico High School, was named 2013 valedictorian for her class. Tory Jaskula, also a senior at Oswego High School and a Trinity alumna, was named 2013 valedictorian for the high school, but having only spent her sixth grade year at Trinity, felt that only Mancuso and Galvin deserved the honors of being recognized by the Catholic elementary school.

   Galvin felt the focus on reading, writing and grammar in Trinity helped prepare her for her middle school and high school years. “I excelled in English class and maintained an interest in reading. These skills, along with organizational study habits [developed at Trinity] have allowed

me to become the student I am,” stated Galvin.

   Mancuso felt that the high academic standards teachers at Trinity set for her and her classmates helped to create a strong [academic] foundation. “As I moved on to public school the foundation [Trinity developed] helped me to set high standards for myself,” said Mancuso.

By Katherine Long
Sun editor

The diocese’s catechetical community gathered for its annual Pathways to Ministry celebration June 3, recognizing and honoring the accomplishments of faith formation teachers and leaders throughout the regions.

   The evening featured the presentation of two Bishop Frank J. Harrison Awards. For the first time in its fourteen-year history, the award was shared by two directors of faith formation: Renee O’Connor, director of faith formation at St. Francis Xavier Church in Marcellus, and Betty Drotar, director of faith formation at All Saints Church in Syracuse.

   The award recognizes outstanding service in catechetical ministry and is presented to individuals who have “significant length of service; lived the vision of Vatican II in ministry; witnessed to the importance of ongoing, lifelong faith formation for self and others; and stood in the midst of the people of God to serve,” according to materials from the diocesan Office of Faith Formation.