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 2025 Jubilee: The Holy YearWith Optional 2-Night Venice and St. Anthony of
Padua Post Tour Extension
The Office of Radio & Television and WJMJ Radio invite you to join Father John Gatzak on a special pilgrimage tour to Italy in celebration of Jubilee 2025: The Holy Year of the Roman Catholic Church. The Jubilee is a special year of grace, in which the Catholic Church offers the faithful the possibility of asking for a plenary indulgence, that is, the remission of sins for themselves or for deceased relatives. A Jubilee usually lasts a year and a few days: it begins just before the Christian Christmas and ends on the Epiphany of the following year. Florence, Assisi & Rome, October 26 to November 6, 2025 (12 Days) Do you want to learn more about this exciting 2025 Jubilee pilgrimage hosted by Father John Gatzak, featuring Florence, Assisi and Rome? Please watch our Zoom travel presentation conducted by Collette Tours, originally recorded on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, just click the button below. 
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Habemus Papam!
We Have a Pope!
Leo XIV Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost Elected 267th Pope on May 8, 2025 Pontificate Inaugurated on May 18, 2025 Biography of Pope Leo XIV Leo XIV - Second Pope from the AmericasThe first Augustinian Pope, Robert Prevost - now Leo XIV - is the second Roman Pontiff from the Americas after Pope Francis. However, unlike Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost is from the northern part of the American continent, though he spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms. First Augustinian PopeThe new Bishop of Rome was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, to Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martínez, of Spanish descent. He has two brothers, Louis Martín and John Joseph. He spent his childhood and adolescence with his family and studied first at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers and then at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where in 1977 he earned a Degree in Mathematics and also studied Philosophy. On September 1 of the same year, he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.) in Saint Louis, in the Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Chicago, and made his first profession on September 2, 1978. On August 29, 1981, he made his solemn vows. He received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. At the age of 27, he was sent by his superiors to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum). In Rome, he was ordained a priest on June 19, 1982, at the Augustinian College of Saint Monica by Monsignor Jean Jadot, then Pro-President of the Pontifical Council for Non-Christians, now the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. Prevost obtained his licentiate in 1984; and the following year, while preparing his doctoral thesis, was sent to the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, Piura, Peru (1985–1986). In 1987, he defended his doctoral thesis on "The Role of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine" and was appointed vocation director and missions director of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Olympia Fields, Illinois (USA). Mission in PeruThe following year, he joined the mission in Trujillo, also in Peru, as director of the joint formation project for Augustinian candidates from the vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac. Over the course of eleven years, he served as prior of the community (1988–1992), formation director (1988–1998), and instructor for professed members (1992–1998), and in the Archdiocese of Trujillo as judicial vicar (1989–1998) and professor of Canon Law, Patristics, and Moral Theology at the Major Seminary “San Carlos y San Marcelo.” At the same time, he was also entrusted with the pastoral care of Our Lady Mother of the Church, later established as the parish of Saint Rita (1988–1999), in a poor suburb of the city, and was parish administrator of Our Lady of Monserrat from 1992 to 1999. In 1999, he was elected Provincial Prior of the Augustinian Province of “Mother of Good Counsel” in Chicago, and two and a half years later, the ordinary General Chapter of the Order of Saint Augustine, elected him as Prior General, confirming him in 2007 for a second term. In October 2013, he returned to his Augustinian Province in Chicago, serving as director of formation at the Saint Augustine Convent, first councilor, and provincial vicar-roles he held until Pope Francis appointed him on November 3, 2014, as Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Chiclayo, elevating him to the episcopal dignity as Titular Bishop of Sufar. He entered the Diocese on November 7, in the presence of Apostolic Nuncio James Patrick Green, who ordained him Bishop just over a month later, on December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the Cathedral of Saint Mary. His episcopal motto is “In Illo uno unum”—words pronounced by Saint Augustine in a sermon on Psalm 127 to explain that “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.” Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, from 2015 to 2023On September 26, 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo by Pope Francis. In March 2018, he was elected second vice-president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, where he also served as a member of the Economic Council and president of the Commission for Culture and Education. In 2019, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Clergy (July 13, 2019), and in 2020, a member of the Congregation for Bishops (November 21). Meanwhile, on April 15, 2020, he was also appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Peruvian Diocese of Callao. Prefect of the Dicastery for BishopsOn January 30, 2023, the Pope called him to Rome as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, promoting him to the rank of Archbishop. Created Cardinal in 2024Pope Francis created Prevost Cardinal in the Consistory of September 30 of that year and assigned him the Diaconate of Saint Monica. He officially took possession of his titular church on January 28, 2024. As head of the Dicastery, he participated in the Pope’s most recent Apostolic Journeys and in both the first and second sessions of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, held in Rome from October 4 to 29, 2023, and from October 2 to 27, 2024, respectively. Meanwhile, on October 4, 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as a member of the Dicasteries for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches), for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Eastern Churches, for the Clergy, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Culture and Education, for Legislative Texts, and of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State. Finally, on February 6 of this year, the Argentine Pope promoted him to the Order of Bishops, granting him the title of the Suburbicarian Church of Albano. During the most recent hospitalization of his predecessor at the “Gemelli” hospital Prevost presided over the Rosary for Pope Francis’s health in Saint Peter’s Square on March 3. Source: Vatican News Meet the Crew
Note: To reduce spam, we have removed full email addresses and email links from our website. All ORTV employee email
addresses are in the format of
LAST NAME FIRST INITIAL @ ortv.org, so John Doe would be doej
@ ortv.org.
We are in the process of redesigning our web site, until then, we will have limited bio info for the crew.
Fr. John P. Gatzak
Mark Andrews Traci Colletti Glenn Colligan Joe D'Ambrosio Larry Dasilva Kimberly Eustace Lauren Frey Jerry Kristafer Eric McGrath Scott Parmelee, CPA Tom Ray III Tom Ray IV Chris Ryan Steve Savino Tom Vesci Tom Zarecki Sara Ziegler Fr. John P. Gatzak Fr. John fulfilled his seminary studies at St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield, Connecticut, where he received an A.A. degree; St. John Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts, where he received a B.A. in Philosophy; and he completed his priestly formation at the Pontifical North American College, Rome, Italy. While in Rome, Fr. John earned his S.T.B. degree and an M.A. in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. On June 29, 1975, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Fr. John was ordained to the priesthood by the Holy Father, Paul VI (now Saint Pope Paul VI) in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. In 1980, Fr. John received an M.A. in Corporate and Political Communications from Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut. From August 1975 to November 1975 he served as assistant pastor at St. John the Evangelist Parish, New Britain, Connecticut. From 1975 to 1979 he served as associate pastor at Holy Infant Parish, Orange, Connecticut. From 1979 to 1987 he served as Catholic chaplain to Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, and The University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut. From 1984 to 1987 he served as assistant Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Hartford. On November 12, 1987, Fr. John was appointed the Executive Director of the Office of Radio & Television. In addition to his duties as executive director of ORTV, Inc. (Office of Radio & Television) Father John has served in the following positions: Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Hartford, November 1987 to August 2010 In April 2008, then Archbishop Mansell tasked Father John with the oversight of WJMJ-FM, and in August 2008, upon the retirement of WJMJ's then general manager, Father John became WJMJ's general manager. In January 2009, the administration, operations and staff of WJMJ-FM were merged into the Office of Radio & Television. e-Mail: ortv
Mark took to the WJMJ airwaves in September 2009 with its first LIVE Catholic high school football broadcast.. More to come. e-Mail: AndrewsM Traci Colletti Traci joined the crew full time, in August 2021. Traci is the first person you will usually hear when you call ORTV. She brings many years of administrative experience to the position. In addition to answering the telephones, Traci is responsible for maintain donation records and scheduling the hundreds of daily requests for television Mass prayers and intentions. She also assists with the day-to-day administrative functions of the office. e-Mail: Traci.Colletti
Glenn took to the WJMJ airwaves in May 2009. More to come. e-Mail: ColliganG Joe D'Ambrosio Joe "D" took to the WJMJ airwaves in June 2021 after a long radio and television broadcast career in Connecticut. Many Connecticut radio listeners will recognize his voice from his many years as the voice of UConn basketball. e-Mail: Joe.Dambrosio Larry Dasilva Larry took to the WJMJ airwaves in March 2019. More to come. e-Mail: DasilvaL Kimberly Eustace Kim joined the crew full time, in June 2020; however, she has been associated with ORTV since 2012. Kim assists the business manager in carrying out ORTV's business functions, primarily accounts payable and receivable and payroll and assists with the day-to-day administrative functions of the office. e-Mail: EustaceK Lauren Frey Lauren joined the crew in July 2018 as Senior Administrative Assistant. As Father John's assistant, she is tasked with keeping him on schedule. Together with the business manager, Lauren assists with overseeing ORTV's various administrative and fundraising functions. e-Mail: SzaboL Jules Gallo Jules, a native of Queens, who commutes from New York to be on-air, took to the WJMJ airwaves in June 2022. Jules is also a Writer/Reporter for Crossroads Magazine™. More to come. e-Mail: Jules.Gallo
Jerry, a legend on Connecticut radio took to the WJMJ airwaves in November 2013. More to come. e-Mail: KristaferJ Eric McGrath Eric joined the crew, part time, in August 2022 as a Production Assistant for the daily television Mass and other radio and television productions. A native of Dublin, Ireland, Eric came to the USA many years ago and coached soccer. In February 2023, he became a full-time staff member with additional duties as a Writer/Reporter for Crossroads Magazine™ and That's the Spirit™. He also reports the religious news on WJMJ. e-Mail: Eric.McGrath Scott Parmelee, CPA Scott is a 1984 graduate of Central Connecticut State University with a B.S. in Business Administration. He earned his CPA that same year. Scott worked in public accounting for 5 years with a "Big 8" accounting firm and two years in internal auditing with a major insurance company. Scott started as a volunteer with ORTV in 1989 and became a staff member in February 1992. Scott was also the business manager for The Catholic Transcript from 1993 to 1997. Scott is an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist for St. Anthony Parish in Prospect. Scott is responsible for all ORTV business functions, budgeting, accounts payable, HR, payroll, etc.; maintaining our computer systems and this web site; and he coordinates all the pilgrimages and tours sponsored by the Office of Radio & Television and WJMJ Radio. e-Mail: ParmeleeS Tom Ray III Chief Broadcast Engineer Tom joined the crew, part time, in March 2018; however, he has been providing consulting on broadcast engineering matters to ORTV for many years. In fact he built ORTV's first radio production studio back when ORTV was located in Hartford. Tom is responsible for keeping both the daily television Mass and WJMJ Radio on the air. He oversees the planning, acquisition and installation of all radio and television broadcast equipment, including WJMJ's transmitters and translators, and ensures compliance with all FCC rules and regulations. e-Mail: RayT.eng Tom Ray IV Radio Producer/Production Assistant Tom went from an intern to part time employee to a full time crew member. Tom's primary responsibilities are in radio production, and you sometimes hear him on WJMJ filling in for Father John "In the Afterglow". Tom also helps out with the production of the daily television Mass and other radio and television productions. e-Mail: RayT
Chris Ryan Chris took to the WJMJ airwaves in July 2022. More to come. e-Mail: Chris.Ryan
Steve joined ORTV and WJMJ in October 2017. More to come. e-Mail: SavinoS Tom Vesci Tom took to the WJMJ airwaves in April 2015 as a fill-in announcer. He also occassional performs duties as a Writer/Reporter for Crossroads Magazine™. e-Mail: VesciT
Tom took to the WJMJ airwaves in December 2010. More to come. e-Mail: ZareckiT Sara Ziegler Sara joined the staff in December 2005. Sara performs duties as videographer and video editor, and various production duties for the television Mass other productions and special projects, and for Crossroads Magazine™. Sara also assists with the Closed Captioning duties for the various television programs produced by the Office of Radio & Television. e-Mail: ZieglerS |
If the Vatican Widget should not appear above,
please click this link https://www.vaticannews.va/en.html.
There’s hope and healing to be found after an abortion at Rachel’s Vineyard.
For more information on the organization, contact Marie at 203-631-9030, email her at mlaffin@prolifeministry.org,
or visit www.rachelsvineyard.org.
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