“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, ‘Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.’ ”
(Lk 1:26-31)
In honor of Women’s History Month and the dedicated work of women in CNEWA’s world, Msgr. Peter I. Vaccari opened his latest installment of “Connections With Msgr. Peter” with the passage of the Annunciation, so that “we all become familiar with the first woman of CNEWA — the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
“The Blessed Mother’s role is found in the entire world in which CNEWA works — in all the cultures where we are present, she is recognized as one who tells a very powerful story,” he said.
The theme for this year’s Women’s History Month is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” To acknowledge this, Msgr. Vaccari invited Olivia Poust, CNEWA’s communications assistant, to share some of the powerful stories of lay women, women religious and women beneficiaries of CNEWA’s projects featured in ONE magazine through the years.
This coincides with a recent CNEWA initiative: Each Monday and Friday, beginning on 8 March for International Women’s Day and continuing through March, the CNEWA blog is highlighting one such story.
Msgr. Vaccari also provided updates on what is going on in CNEWA’s world, including the 2024 budget, emergency campaigns and his recent travels.
CNEWA’s most recent emergency campaign raised $693,000 in February, which “has been disbursed through the office in Beirut” to earthquake-affected areas of Syria and Turkey. Members of the Beirut office, including Regional Director Michel Constantin, were on the ground in Aleppo to distribute aid, meet with CNEWA partners, such as Caritas Syria, and visit with earthquake survivors.
Last month, Msgr. Vaccari traveled to Chicago with Michael J.L. La Civita, director of communications, for an event organized by the Lumen Christi Institute, which included a panel discussion at the University of Chicago on “Ideologies of War and Theologies of Healing: Ukraine One Year Later.”
Msgr. Vaccari reminded viewers of some upcoming events, such as the “Who Is My Neighbor” golf classic on 18 May and CNEWA’s second annual gala on 5 December. Mark your calendars! For tickets or information, call (212) 826-1480.
Stay tuned for updates on the next installment of “Connections With Msgr. Peter,” when Msgr. Vaccari will come to you live from Rome.