As I am sure that you know, many of the parishes in Ocean and Monmouth Counties have sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Sandy. Some of our sister diocesan schools also were heavily damaged, including St. Rose High School in Belmar and St. Denis School in Manasquan.

I was able to meet the principal of St. Denis School, Mrs. Trudy Bonavita, last week and I asked her about the immediate needs of her school. The entire first floor of St. Denis School was flooded. She gave me a list, which I shared with the faculty and staff of our Academy. Our faculty and staff responded with donations which have enabled us to purchase two refrigerators, two microwaves, and a new nurse's office cot for St. Denis. We will also be purchasing art supplies to replace those which were destroyed when the school flooded. I am humbled by the generosity of our faculty and staff to assist a sister Catholic school in our diocese. Our PTA has also agreed to make a major donation which will be used to support this effort.

Below is a photo of our first "care package" which Mr. Raynor and I will bring to St. Denis tomorrow. When the art supplies arrive, I plan to bring a few students with me to deliver them to the school. It is my hope that the assistance that we can provide to St. Denis helps this school community to return to some semblance of normalcy. (Imagine if everything on our first floor was destroyed and we were closed for three weeks!) Please pray for the St. Denis School community and all of those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.