The Tablet . Stories | Diocese of Brooklyn

Nurses committed to caring for Brooklyn and Queens residents were celebrated for the difference they make in the lives of others at the 17th Annual Nurses Mass, held last Sunday, May 4, at St. James Cathedral-Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn.

Nurses: Making a Difference Every Day is the theme of National Nurses Week, May 6-12, which raises awareness about the value of nursing and the vital role nurses have in meeting the health care needs of the American people.

Student Nurses attending NYC College of Technology can learn what it means to be a great Catholic nurse from Lecia Leecheegoin, center, a parishioner at St. Michael’s, East New York, who works in N.Y. Presbyterian Hospital’s med/surg unit.

The Diocese of Brooklyn kicked off the local observance by honoring all nurses who live and work within the two boroughs and gave special recognition to Joann Gull, R.N., deputy executive director and chief nursing officer at Elmhurst Hospital Center, and Dr. Patricia O’Neill, R.N., co-director of the Trauma Center at Kings County Hospital Center, during a mid-morning Mass and a luncheon reception, provided by Catholic Charities.

Sister Carol Whitford, R.N., a Nursing Sister of the Sick Poor who works at Woodhull Medical Center, welcomed nurses, student nurses from the Newman Club at New York City College of Technology (NYCCT), and their families to the Cathedral-Basilica for the 10:30 a.m. Mass. All joined the Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Joseph Smith, in singing the opening hymn, “Here I Am, Lord.”

Catholic nurses live the words of that hymn each day as they go where they’re called to carry on the healing mission of Jesus.

Mass was concelebrated by Msgr. John Strynkowski, rector; Msgr. Alfred LoPinto, Vicar for Human Services, Catholic Charities; Father Kevin Abels, parochial vicar, St. Sebastian’s, Woodside; and Father Kevin Cavalluzzi, NYCCT Catholic chaplain.

Msgr. LoPinto read a letter from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio congratulating the nurses and invoking “the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes upon all of you here today for your wonderful work with the sick.”

Nursing student Luis Jimenez offered the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles in Spanish and fellow student Jeanmarie Picone read the second reading from the First Letter of Peter in English. Father Abels proclaimed the Gospel from John.

Speaking to the nurses in his homily, Msgr. LoPinto broke down the morning’s Scripture passages into two moments – departure and waiting, which “are part of all of our lives, and a part of the life and ministry of nurses,” he noted. He pointed out his use of the word “ministry” noting that nursing is not just “a profession associated with certain skills. It really is a vocation. We’re here to celebrate the vocation of nurses and the ministry in which they’re engaged.”

At the Annual Nurses Mass, above, Marie Ankner, left, and Consuela Dungca, center, from the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, were present as the Brooklyn Diocese’s Catholic Nurses Association honored nurses Dr. Patricia O’Neill, second from left, and Joann Gull, second from right, on May 4. Mary Thompson, right, is part of the nurses’ association’s core team. Below, student nurses took part in the Mass.

He spoke about the three passages and highlighted, in particular, Peter’s words to the early Christians who believed Christ’s second coming was imminent.
“You nurses can literally connect with the first line from Peter. Peter is saying rejoice as I invite you to share in the sufferings. The reality of your vocation and ministry as nurses is accepting that invitation … accepting the suffering of the people in your care and all people connected to them.”

He told nurses that they’re not only invited into the suffering of people entrusted to their care, but also, through their baptismal promises, they’ve invited into prayer with them.

“You bring prayer into every aspect of your vocation and ministry. You bring the Lord to each person and family,” he said. “When we bring a person to the Lord and the Lord to a person, we’re working in, sharing in and celebrating in the glory of God.”

Representing the diversity of nurses serving the Brooklyn Diocese, NYCCT nursing students offered the Prayer of the Faithful in eight languages: Kristina Esposito, Italian; Juliana Bello, Portuguese; Maraika Jean-Noel, French; Tatiano Melero, Spanish; Agata Welc, Polish; Margarette Llego, Tagalog; and Farrah Sanon, Creole and English.

Sanon, a 24-year-old parishioner at Our Lady of Miracles, Canarsie, later noted that she comes from a family of medical professionals. She’s most proud of her mom, Chantale Mathieu, a registered nurse in the pulmonary step-down unit at Maimonides Medical Center.

Her mother has taught her the importance of time management, cleanliness and patience, but also how to “lend a listening ear.”

“I want to be a hands-on nurse. I want to offer comfort, kindness, warmth and understanding. Yes, nursing is about giving medication but nursing also has an emotional aspect,” Sanon said.

Before the final blessing, Mary Thompson, faith formation director at the Cathedral-Basilica and former chief operating officer of Bellevue Hospital Center, addressed the congregation on behalf of the Brooklyn Diocese’s burgeoning Catholic Nurses Association to salute registered nurses Joann Gull for Outstanding Nursing Leadership and Dr. Patricia O’Neill for Outstanding Medical Team Leadership. Both women received floral bouquets and Tiffany sterling silver ballpoint pens. Msgr. LoPinto, who became an honorary nurse last year, also received a Tiffany pen.

“I thank God every day that I’m a nurse. I can’t think of anything else I’d want to be,” said Gull, a member of Corpus Christi parish, Woodside, in thanksgiving for the honors.

Her colleague, Dr. O’Neill, explained to students that although she became a surgeon after receiving her nursing license, “once you become a nurse, you will always be a nurse. Nursing is a way of life. ... I didn’t leave nursing to become a physician. I became a physician because I love nursing so much.”

O’Neill, who attends Assumption parish, Brooklyn Heights, encouraged student nurses to persevere and find “your niche in this wonderful profession.”

Thompson then recognized several nurses, working and retired, who found their niche and now make up the Catholic Nurses Association’s core team: Elizabeth Hayes, Sondra Rivera, Kathryn Richardson, Veronica Hunko, Lucille Stivaletti, Pamela Guiglo, Peggy Casey, Laura Fogelman, and Sister Carol Whitford.

She expressed gratitude to Catholic Charities for sponsoring the luncheon and Assumption parish for its contribution toward the event. She also acknowledged the presence of the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation’s Marie Ankner, vice president of Nursing, and Consuela Dungca, senior assistant vice president for Medical and Professional Affairs.

NYCCT nursing student Krzysztof Dragan then led the nurses in attendance in the recitation of A Nurse’s Prayer.

Student nurse Agnes Bungay, a parishioner at St. Lucy’s, Manhattan, was inspired by the women honored and the support she felt at the Mass. “For me, this is not just a profession. You have to have compassion in order to give the best care to people,” she said.

Compassion is not all she has to offer. Unlike most of her classmates who are in their twenties, she brings 44 years of life experience, here and in her native Philippines, to her nursing ministry. A certified nurse’s assistant, Bungay worked at a Manhattan nursing home for several years and “saw the way people needed more care” than she could provide in that role. She felt called to respond to that need and began her studies at NYCCT in January. She hopes to graduate in 2010.