14 Deacons to be Ordained at the Cathedral June 15

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Cardinal Dolan will ordain 14 men to the permanent diaconate at a Mass Saturday, June 15, at 9 a.m., at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

DEACON RUDY BABOR, 52, is a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament, New Rochelle, where he serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, lector and religious education teacher. He is also an organizer and core group member of the Filipino-American New Rochelle community with his wife, Jane. They have been married 28 years and have a son, Charles. He is employed at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel in Manhattan as an operation manager for the hotel’s technology department under the umbrella of the PSAV Co. He previously worked at the Marriott International Hotel for more than 20 years in the same capacity. Before coming to the United States in 1994, he was an educator and campus minister at the University of San Carlos. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of San Carlos in Cebu, Philippines.

DEACON EDWARD BENVENGA, 60, is a parishioner at St. Patrick’s, Yorktown Heights, where he has served as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, lector, religious education teacher, RCIA for Teens instructor, Pre-Cana speaker, Men’s Ministry facilitator and retreat facilitator. He and his wife, Barbara, are members of Teams of Our Lady. In addition, he volunteers as a trail maintainer and environmentalist for the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference. He and Barbara have been married for 31 years and have four children and one grandchild. He earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from East Stroudsburg University and master’s degrees in instructional management and curriculum, and biological and environmental sciences, from Western Connecticut State University.

DEACON SHAUN BOYCE, 50, is a parishioner of Holy Trinity, Poughkeepsie, where he serves as an acolyte. He has also served as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, lector and is a third degree charter member of the Knights of Columbus, Bishop Mestice Council, Poughkeepsie. He is a social studies teacher in the Arlington Central School District, where he has served since 2000. He has also taught at Dutchess Community College and Marist College. He and his wife, Deborah, have been married for 22 years and have two children, Mary Elizabeth and Shaun Jr. He received a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Binghamton University, a master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz and a master’s in theology from St. Joseph Seminary, Dunwoodie.

DEACON CHARLES CARROLL, 35, is a parishioner of SS. Peter and Paul and Assumption on Staten Island, where he serves as lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and acolyte. He is also a minister of consolation, a member of the parish council, religious coordinator of the NYPD Holy Name Society and a third degree Knight of Columbus. An NYPD officer, he is assigned to the Employee Assistance Unit as a peer-counselor. He is the father of twin sons, Derek and Patrick. An alumnus of Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River, N.J., he attended Seton Hall University. He graduated from the New York City Police Academy in 2006.

DEACON JOSEPH CROTHERS, 61, is a parishioner of St. Augustine, New City, where he serves as a catechist, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and homebound minister. After a 36-year career in the publishing and broadcasting industries, he now works as a funeral attendant. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and communication from St. Thomas Aquinas College.

DEACON GIANNI DI PAOLO, 47, is a parishioner of Sacred Heart in Yonkers where he serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, lector and member of the parish council. He also leads the baptismal preparation program. He has been involved in retirement benefit plan administration for 25 years. He and his wife, Natalie, have been married for 19 years and have three daughters: Alyssa, Aviva and Arianna. He earned a bachelor’s degree in math and a master’s in counseling from Manhattan College.

DEACON RICHARD ELLISON, 66, is a lifelong parishioner of St. Mark the Evangelist in Harlem. He and his wife, Patricia, and their daughter, Alicia, have been active in several ministries at St. Mark’s. A psychiatrist at Montefiore/Mount Vernon Hospital, he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Yale University and his MD degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

DEACON NELSON FALCON, 56, is a parishioner of Ascension in Manhattan, where he serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, lector and RCIA coordinator. He also teaches baptism preparation classes and coordinates Spanish baptisms in the parish. He has been a property manager for Columbia University for more than 25 years. He and his wife, Petra, have been married for 32 years and have two sons, Ruben and Gabriel, and a granddaughter, Rachel. He earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Columbia University.

DEACON ANGEL FILPO, 65, is a parishioner of St. Philip Neri, the Bronx, where he serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, lector, and the coordinator of RCIA and altar servers. He assists the pastor with baptism preparation. He is retired after a 45-year career as a travel consultant. He is the father of Lincy, Luis Angel and Evelyn Massiel, and the grandfather of Reina. He earned a bachelor’s degree in human development, with a minor in psychology, from Fordham University.

DEACON PETER GENARES, 54, is a parishioner of St. Clare of Assisi-St. Francis Xavier, the Bronx, where he serves as a lector. He has assisted the parish Finance Committee, RCIA and religious education programs with his wife, Maricor. He is a finance manager of federal, state and city grants that provide medical care, peer support and housing assistance to people with HIV and chronic health conditions. He and Maricor have been married for 27 years and have three adult children: Angel, Dredd and Hans. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary, Philippines, a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Iloilo, Philippines, a master’s in theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, and a master’s in business administration from the University of the Philippines.

DEACON EDMUND LAZZARI, 61, is a parishioner of Holy Cross in Middletown, where he serves as an acolyte, lector and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. A retired educator with 33 years of service, he is a pastoral care minister for palliative and hospice patients at Orange Regional Medical Center and a fourth degree Knight of Columbus. He and his wife, Peg, are members of the Greater Middletown Interfaith Council and help coordinate meals for the council’s warming station program. They have been married for 33 years and have two children, Edmund and Lauren.

DEACON MICHAEL MCCABE, 55, is a parishioner of St. Paul in Bulville, where he serves as a lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and acolyte. He has served on the parish council and taught religious education. He is a third-degree Knight of Columbus and is active in hospital ministry at Orange Regional Medical Center. He is the director of facilities for a New York City law firm and an alumnus of St. Raymond High School for Boys, the Bronx. He and his wife, Mary, have been married for 32 years and have two children, Michael and Kelly.

DEACON CHRISTOPHER MERENDA, 55, is a parishioner of St. Columba, Hopewell Junction, where he serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, lector and a member of the RCIA team. He has worked in health care for most of his career, the past five years with Optum. He and his wife, Mary, have been married for 30 years and have two daughters, Sarah and Meagan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from SUNY Stony Brook and a master’s in business administration from Western Connecticut State University.

DEACON ALBERT MESSANA, 53, is a parishioner of Annunciation and Our Lady of Fatima in Crestwood, where he serves as a lector and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. He is a former lay director of the Men’s Cornerstone Retreat at St. Benedict’s, the Bronx. He is also a third-degree Knight of Columbus. He is a project manager for a large international banking institution in New York City. He and his wife, Valerie, have been married for 28 years and have three children: Victoria, Elizabeth and Christopher. He graduated from New York University Stern School of Business.