Celebrating Monsignor Phillips’ 90th Birthday
Birthdays are an occasion to celebrate and special “milestone” birthdays even more so. And so – St. Anselm Parish CELEBRATED the 90th birthday of our beloved Msgr. Phillips on Sunday, November 24th with a celebratory Mass and a reception.
At the 12 noon Mass, Msgr. Phillips was the principal celebrant, assisted by Fr. John and a host of priests who joined Monsignor to share his joy on this – his special day. In his homily Monsignor spoke about the feast of the day – the Feast of Christ the King and about the many wonderful people, clergy and laity, throughout the diocese and at St. Anselm, he had come to know during his many years of priestly service. He joked about his father saying the he and his twin sister, Maryknoll Sister Marion Phillips, were two birds, since they were born the day before Thanksgiving. The Mass was made especially splendid thanks to the participation of the Bay Ridge Catholic Children’s Choir, lead by the Academy’s music teacher Jessica Bailey, who also served as cantor, singing a beautiful selection of hymns.
Many contributed to the success of the reception: St. Anselm Parish, Bay Ridge Catholic Home Academy Association, Frankelly Adames and Ignacio, Donna Byrnes, Florence & Ossie Diaz, Barbara & Sanjin Fabris, Bob Kassenbrock, Danielle & Rob Long, Eileen & Peter Loughlin, Bernadette McLaughlin, Kerry & John Quaglione, Diane Rando, St. Anselm Youth Activities, Judy Savarese, MaryJane Tunny, Josephine Volpe, and Suzanne Whiteaker – thank you.
The reception, in the Academy’s Meletia Hall, began with Fr. John, giving a beautiful invocation prayer. John Quaglione served as emcee for the reception speaking about Monsignor and introducing invited guests. Then, Msgr. Noone spoke movingly of Msgr. Phillips’ many years of service throughout the diocese at Our Lady of Angels Parish, St. Cecilia Parish, the Diocesan Office for Schools, and at St. Anselm, as our pastor, from 1991 to 2009.
Of course, what’s a birthday celebration – without a cake! We had two – one with a picture of the church, and a second one with the party invite, which – along with the balloon centerpieces on each table – made for a festive air.
The reception was a wonderful gathering thanks to the many volunteers who put it together: Shirley Chin and the young ladies of Scout Troop 18G: Amy, Annie, Chloe Ch., Chloe Co., Katelyn, Leanne, Nicko, Nicole, Samantha, Sophie, and Yong Tong who served the sandwiches, cake and cookies with grace and efficiency, as well as Florence Diaz, Barbara & Sanjin Fabris, Bob Kassenbrock, Peter Loughlin, Bernadette McLaughlin, Janet Muccigrosso, Linda Naradovy, John Quaglione, Diane Rando, St. Anselm Youth Activities, Judy Savarese, MaryJane Tunny, and Josephine Volpe, and a very special Thank You to Eileen Loughlin, whose hard work and planning made for a wonderful celebration.
FYI – Monsignor’s actual birthday is November 28th, which this year was Thanksgiving Day. A wonderful coincidence ??? A wonderful reason to be Thankful !!!
Thank you, Monsignor, for allowing us to share in celebrating your milestone birthday with your St. Anselm family, and for being such a Good Shepard to us all.
All the best,
The St. Anselm Publicity Committee