The most successful fundraiser in the history of All Saints Regional Catholic School not only earned precious resources for our school but also enriched the guests and hosts alike through a spectacular evening of camaraderie, entertainment and good cheer, in a couple of words, sehr stimmig! Thank you to everyone – guests, benefactors and supporters from near and far.
The NYIT de Seversky Masion – the location of the Inauguaral Headmaster’s Ball.
Arrival and Cocktail Hour
Guests were invited to arrive at 7 pm for a cocktail hour which gave way to an opening ceremony at 8 pm at the conclusion of which dinner was served and dancing began and ran throughout the evening, concluding at midnight.
Angela Evangelista and Marion Rodi prepare for the evening
The Inaugural Headmaster’s Ball Committee (minus one or two)
The arrival of our first guests…
The arrival of the Provost
The Provost greets Barbara Peebles and other members of the committee; their amazing efforts made the Ball a huge success.
The Provost greets Theresa Nardine and Lynda Capobianco.
Msgr Caldwell introduces Papal Knight, Gary Krupp, who has been working tirelessly to present the truth about the heroic efforts of Pope Pius XII during the Second World War to save countless victims from the Nazis.
The arrival of Bishop Murphy and Msgr Morrissey
The Provost with the Agostas, a family from Saint Boniface with a long tradition of supporting Catholic education.
A happy reunion — Bishop Murphy greets Father Gabriel, whom he ordained to the priesthood on December 30, 2012 in Klosterneuburg.
Tom and Ann Maleady
The honoree from Saint Boniface – Mrs. Jean Stradford and her family.
Mrs. Joanne Fitzgerald, the Academic Dean, escorted by her nephew, James McCormack .
Father Nicholas, Father Daniel, the Provost, Father Elias and Father Gabriel
Lily and John Fielding. John is a candidate for the permanent diaconate.
Tom and Helene Suozzi greet the Provost.
Very Reverend Bob Romeo, Chair of the Executive Board for All Saints, with his parishioners, John Breen and his wife and Molly Deegan Breen
Bishop Murphy greets Egidio and Josephine Capobianco.
Father Daniel with Father Elias and his parents, and Kathy Doherty and Paul Scolese, old friends whose Wedding Father Elias celebrated in 2000.
The Provost meets Kevin and Milkenia Horton
The Bishop meets Joe Caldwell, the best dressed men at the ball.
The Opening Ceremony
The Grand Procession
Fr Daniel
The Teachers of All Saints Regional Catholic School
The Grand Procession arrives in the Ballroom to the stains of the Grand March from Aida.
The procession of the faculty led by Mrs. DiNino and Mrs. Galvani.
Barbara Peebles, Chair of the Inaugural Headmaster’s Ball Committee
Kathleen Deegan Dickson, Chair of the All Saints School Board
The Honorees
…then come the honorees, Mrs Jean Stratford of Saint Bonafice and Mr and Mrs Robert Jakobsze of Saint Hyacinth…
…and Sr Maureen Morgan, RSM of Saint Mary, Mr. Joe Caldwell of Saint Patrick and Dr. and Mrs. Gary Galante of Saint Rocco…
Sr Joanne Callahah, Superintendent of Schools
. . . Glen Cove public officials , City Judge, City Councilman, the Mayor. . .
Dr Peter Schubert, Frau Hofmeister
Father Gabriel, Father Nicholas
Father Bob Romeo, Dean and Pastor of Saint Boniface
Mrs. Joanne Fitzgerald, the Academic Dean
Father Elias, the Headmaster
…and finally, Bishop Murphy and the Provost.
Father Daniel serves as Master of Ceremonies for the Opening of the Ball.
The Presentation of the Headmaster
Verehrte Gäste, meine Damen und Herren,
Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentleman,
it is my great pleasure to present to you
the Very Reverend Dom Elias Carr
Canon of Klosterneuburg
First Headmaster of All Saints Regional Catholic School!
Introduced by the Imperial March (yes, Darth Vader’s March) from Star Wars, the Headmaster briefly thanked the guests for their support of All Saints.
The Presentation of the Musical Divertissement
A Viennese ball traditionally features a brief musical divertissement during its opening. Two alumni of All Saints provided vocal and instrumental pieces to delight the audience.
All Saints’ alumna, Miss Andrea Acosta sang Schubert’s Wie Melodien zieht es mir.
Mr Paul Elizade, an All Saints’ alumnus, performed the first movement of Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto “allegro con spirito” with his mother, Dr Karen Beluso.
The Presentation of the Honorees
The members of the Executive Board of All Saints Catholic School have chosen men and women, representing each of the five parishes which make up our All Saints Family, whom we wish to honor this evening for their varied and wonderful support of the cause of Catholic Education on the Gold Coast.
You know them, or have come to know them and their deep love and unfailing commitment to our School and its predecessor schools, and to the ideal of a Catholic Education, which provides our children not only with excellent academic instruction but with a life-giving formation in all that it means to be Catholic, so that the Faith can be the true Foundation of their Future; and all this in a safe and loving environment.
We thank our honorees and we delight with them in seeing what they have made possible – a new, happy and flourishing All Saints.
His Grace, the Abbot Primate, wishing to express his support for our School and the work of the Canons Regular in it, will now present, together with the Headmaster, a Silver Leopoldi Pfennig to each of the honorees. The Leopold Penny, as it were, has traditionally been given to those who visited the tomb of our Founder, St Leopold, but throughout history, the handing over of a Leopoldi Pfennig has become a sign of gratitude for service rendered to the Abbey and to the Church.
Mrs. Jean Stratford
Mr and Mrs Robert Jakobsze
Sr Maureen Morgan, RSM
Mr Joseph Caldwell
Dr and Mrs Gary Galante
The Presentation to Sister Joanne Callahan, OSU
Our next honoree is known to all involved in Catholic Education on Long Island and beyond. As superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Sister Joanne Callahan has tirelessly struggled, and succeeded, to make excellent Catholic Education possible on Long Island.
And in these present times, the manifold challenges of which are known to us all, when Catholic Education and the very Freedom of Religion for which our nation is rightly proud, are imperiled by many foes, Sister Joanne, working closely with Bishop Murphy, undertook the difficult yet wise and courageous decision to implement a Strategic Plan for the future of our Catholic Schools. One of the fruits of this bold decision is a renewed All Saints Regional Catholic School.
Without Sister Joanne’s openness to the changes and developments envisioned for All Saints which have marked this past year and without her confidence in and unfailing support for our School and for the Canons, we would not be celebrating this evening, nor would the future of our School be so grand.
As a sign of our deep gratitude for all she does and has done for Catholic Schools, and for her willingness to support our new venture, the Headmaster and the Abbot Primate wish to present her now with a statue of Saint Leopold. May his intercession and example accompany you, Sister Joanne, in all you do for God’s Church and for our Children!
Sr Joanne Callahan, OSU holds a statue of Saint Leopold, the founder of Stift Klosterneburg, as a token of gratitude for her support of the Canons’ efforts on behalf of Catholic education in Glen Cove.
The Presentation to Barbara Peebles
While this evening would not have been possible without the efforts, creativity, generosity and sacrifice of so many people, there is one person – whom you may not know, although that is unlikely – who has been the lynchpin of this event and whose indefatigable enthusiasm, ebullient optimism and seemingly limitless ability to convince people to do things which they would never have dreamt possible, have polished the raw talents of so many into the bright gem in the dazzling sparkle of which we now stand.
To take an idea and make it a reality, to give form to a dream, and to bring out in so many people a joyful exuberance which almost, but not quite, equals her own – these talents invite us now to thank this shy and retiring person who has motivated us all.
I give you Barbara Peebles, President of the Home School Association.
Thanks to Barbara Peebles!
The Presentation of the Abbot Primate
It is a distinct honor and pleasure to present to you the guest who, I dare say, has come the farthest this evening to be with us.
The Provost’s presence here is a visible sign of his support for our School.
His fatherly encouragement of the Canons, who are grateful for the privilege of now belonging to the All Saints Family, is itself a great gift.
But there’s something else.
The Provost brings with him this evening to our Ball not only the flavor and charm of Old Vienna but a donation to All Saints of 10,000 Euros.
It is my pleasure to introduce to you His Grace, the Abbot Primate Bernhard Backovsky, Provost of Klosterneuburg!
With enthusiasm the Provost exhorts everyone to spread the Gospel with and through joy.
The Allocution of the Abbot Primate
on the Occasion of the Inaugural Headmaster’s Ball
Translator’s Note: The Abbot Primate speaks, especially at formal events, a beautiful German – delightful, grandiloquent, folksy but at times even baroque – which transcends the banality of a literal translation! His evident joy and personal warmth, however, overcome any inaccuracy in translation.
[In English] My English language is very small!
[In German] And so I ask my Confrère, Father Nicholas, to translate, because our joy this evening should not be trampled down by my bad English.
In brevity lies the spice! So, thank you three times! All good things come in threes.
First: Thank you, Excellency, esteemed Bishop Murphy, for the allowing our Confrères, the Canons, to have a Foundation in your Diocese.
Second: Thank you to all those public officials in Glen Cove, who have been and are willing to work together to help realize our Foundation.
Third: Thank you to all the men and women, the parishioners [of the five parishes], you who are the ground who make possible the growth of this Tree [the School] with its Hope and its Shelter and its Joy – that we are Christians, belonging to the Church. I want to say: what you have done here [together for the School] is a visible sign of the joy which we have as Christians in being able to hand on the Gospel.
And fourth: Thank you!
Zum Geburtstag, viel Glück
Presentation of Bishop Murphy
Last but in no way least, it is my great pleasure to introduce the man, without whose vision and energy, none of what we celebrate this evening would be possible.
Bishop Murphy’s love of Catholic School is only the beginning.
Bishop Murphy brought the Canons to Glen Cove, gave us a home, trusted us, when it became possible for us to become more involved in the school, and supports us – especially in just having come all the way to Austria to ordain Father Gabriel! – in all we do.
We are more thankful to him than I can say and are delighted that he accepted our invitation this evening.
Ladies and Gentlemen, His Excellency, the Most Reverend William Murphy, who, I am most happy to say, is our bishop!
Lastly Bishop Murphy expressed his joy at the ongoing pastoral ministry of Stift Klosterneuburg and the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine in his diocese.
The genuine friendship of two servants of Christ
Alles Walzer!
Walzing for everyone! Ola and Max Jakobsze, children of the honorees.
The Honorable and Mrs Richard McCord
Donna and Frank Fazzalari
Marta and Robert Jakobsze
Coleen and Reggie Spinello
Jeff and Cherise Kramer
Richard and Mary Haff
The Caldwell Family
Fran Howlett, Marianna Rezza, the retired secretary of both St Patrick and All Saints, and Sr Teresa Raftery, IHM.
Robert and Sighle Lynch
Laura DiLeo, Annette Graziosi, Michele and Matilde Zozzaro and Bernadette Heym.
Diane and Tad Dubicki
Nancy and Patsy Furlong
The Galantes with the Provost and their Pastor.
The Smiths – all the way from Virginia
Barbara and Peter Peebles
David and Marylin Johnson
Marge and Tim McCormack
The McManuses having a ball.
Mother and Son
The Graziosis
Joanie Thil and Vicki Graziosi with Father Gabriel
The Provost listens attentively to Marian Gallego and Nanette Calderone.
I think they are saying…come back and let’s do this again next year.
…and we shall certainly let you know as soon as we decide!
