Sun photos l Chuck Wainwright
By Charlie Young
Contributing writer
The recent Mass for Life at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was the setting for honoring the four winners of the annual ProVita scholarship competition. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse Catholic Schools Office and the Office of Family/Respect Life award sponsors the contest. The four area high school seniors earned awards totaling more than $3,000.
Pictured with Bishop Douglas J. Lucia are Andrew Erickson (Seton Catholic/Binghamton), Caitlin Patterson (also Seton Catholic) and Grace Loadwick (Baker HS/ Baldwinsville).
Winners included Isaiah Sexton of Notre Dame High School in Utica; Andrew Erickson and Caitlin Patterson, both from Seton Catholic Central in Binghamton; and Grace Loadwick of Baker High School in Baldwinsville.
The annual Pro Vita Award was founded in honor of the late Bishop James Moynihan and his legacy of support for Catholic schools and the sanctity of life. The competition was open to all high school seniors in the seven-county diocese. Entrants were asked to write their answers to two questions: Why are you pro-life and how can we create a culture of life? Each year submissions include thoughtful reflections on this issue.
“Bishop Moynihan was a staunch supporter of Catholic education and the gift of life,” shared Dr. Amy Sansone, the superintendent of diocesan schools. “Year after year students remind us that these issues are of great importance to our young people.”
Isaiah Sexton (Notre Dame/Utica) with diocesan schools superintendent Dr. Amy Sansone.
The awards were given on Saturday, Jan. 20, following the annual Mass for Life celebrated by Bishop Douglas J. Lucia at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The March for Life, sponsored by the Syracuse Right to Life Association, immediately followed Mass and Holy Hour. Sansone recalled how Bishop Moynihan used to lead a different march in pursuit of preserving life. “Every year, he had a powerful rosary procession that started here at the Cathedral and went down to Planned Parenthood and on Genesee Street. There, everyone would peacefully pray for the mothers and the fathers who are considering abortion.”
Before introducing the scholarship winners, Sansone asked all present to be willing to stand up for life as the young people from across the diocese who entered the competition have done. “We encourage you all today to be the voice for the voiceless, those unborn. To suffer with those who are ill or elderly, to walk, and those who are outcasts. Scripture tells us 365 different times, ‘Be not afraid.’”
