By MARYAM RAHAMAN
DOUGLASTON — At the Bishop Ignatius Catanello Memorial Scholarship Dinner on Saturday, May 9, presenters and honorees alike joked about the recommended two-minute limit for speeches. Honorees being recognized for their commitments to education, public service, and the Catholic community had much to say, and each was met with a roomful of applause.
After a mass honoring the late Bishop Catanello, the scholarship dinner aimed to raise funds for students attending Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Elmhurst. Bishop Catanello— “Bishop Iggy” to many who knew him—was rector-president of the school from 1991-1994 before he was appointed to become a bishop. He served the Diocese of Brooklyn for 47 years.
The school is one of the last remaining Catholic high school seminaries in the United States and currently serves 143 students. Father James Kuroly, who is rector-president of the school today, was accepted by Bishop Catanello when he entered the school.
“It’s very personal because that letter of acceptance to Cathedral very much began my journey towards priesthood,” Father Kuroly said. “The one thing that the bishop really taught me was the joy of priesthood…it was both an inspiration but also a challenge for me, that if God is calling me to be a priest, I have to accept to be a joy filled priest. And that’s certainly a way to describe the bishop.”
“That’s really what the scholarship is: offering young men a beginning of that journey of their own discernment of what God wants them to do in life,” he said. “And so we honor this man, but we also raise the funds to help young men,” he said.
The Bishop Ignatius Catanello Memorial Scholarship Dinner took place on Saturday, May 9.
Over 200 dinner guests filed into the rectory after mass at Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston. Current students handed out raffle tickets for guests. Throughout the night, the silent auction tables were monitored closely by participants trying to win vacation getaways and photos signed by New York sports stars, like Jalen Brunson and Aaron Judge.
After dinner was served, Frank Steele, who leads the scholarship commission, began by inviting each of the honorees to sit before the stage. Current Bishop Robert Brennan was one of the first to be presented with an award for his service to the Church.
Steele said presenting an award to the bishop was an “honor.”
“That’s a tribute to the bishop’s belief in us as a group, and we’re honored and privileged to have it, and I say that to you, because that’s what really speaks to what we’re at the heart of,” Steele said.
For Vincent Levien, recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year award, the night felt like life coming “full circle.” Levien currently works as the Director of External Affairs at DeSales Media Group, where he helps manage governmental affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.
Levien previously held positions across different levels of government, including working as the Director of Intergovernmental and Community Affairs for the State Comptroller’s office and as a Chief of Staff for State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky. Levien’s godfather, who was also a priest, knew Bishop Cantanello for years.
“There’s so much going on in the world right now that, you know, when people don’t feel safe and they don’t feel that humanity is in a good place, they’re drawn to faith, which is a beautiful thing to see,” Levien said of the rising numbers of Catholics in the United States. “Cathedral Prep is a school — hopefully one day, these young students will go on and become priests. I think that’s very inspiring.”
“He had a kind word for everybody,” added Arthur Savarese, director of development at Cathedral Preparatory of Bishop Cantanello. “That’s one of the reasons why this commission got together. They want to keep his spirit alive. I mean, hopefully, maybe one day down the road he might become a saint. Who knows?”
