CAMDEN (October 19, 2005) – A total of 3,000 students from both Catholic elementary and high schools in the Diocese of Camden are expected to attend the closing Mass for the Year of the Eucharist at Campbell’s Field here to be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday Oct. 19 by Bishop Joseph A. Galante, D.D., J.C.D. Pope John Paul II announced the Year of the Eucharist beginning in October 2004, and Bishop Galante will close the year in the Diocese of Camden with the celebration — from home plate — at Campbell’s Field, the home of the Riversharks baseball team.
Attendees include elementary grade students from 44 Catholic schools in Atlantic, Camden, Cape, Cumberland, Salem and Gloucester counties in the Diocese of Camden, as well as high school students representing Camden Catholic High School and Paul VI High School, both in Camden County; St. Joseph High School in Hammonton; and Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Newfield. Teachers, parent chaperones, and more than 40 priests and 12 deacons will take part in the Eucharistic Gathering. Many of the students will travel to the baseball stadium, located on the Camden Waterfront, from as far away as Cape May County.
The Office of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Camden has also received donations from several sponsors to help to defray the costs of this event. Monetary contributions have come from: SMART Tuition Services; Silver Burdett Ginn Religion; Macmillan McGraw-Hill Publishing Company; and William H. Sadlier, Inc. Additionally, the Catholic Schools Office has worked closely with the management at Campbell’s Field and Father Mike Mannion, Rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to coordinate the event. To find out more about the ‘Year of the Eucharist’ can be found by visiting www.usccb.org