Jubilee Year of Hope Diocesan Convocation

Click on a specific day for a full schedule of events:

• Thursday, July 17
• Friday, July 18
• Saturday, July 19

   Click on a title or speaker for more information:

• Fr. Lance Harlow is the pastor at Corpus Christi Parish in St. Johnsbury which comprises the parishes of St. John the Evangelist in St. Johnsbury (a Jubilee Year Church), St. Elizabeth in Lyndonville, and Our Lady Queen of Peace in Danville. He will be presenting on Thursday, July 17 at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Brattleboro.
• Derek George is a full-time counselor with Vermont Catholic Charities. He graduated from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts majoring in English literature. He attended Princeton Theological Seminary and was awarded a Masters of Divinity and then completed a Masters of Social Work at Rutgers University. He is a licensed clinical social worker and a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. He will be presenting along with Sharon Trani on Thursday, July 17 at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Brattleboro.
• Sharon Trani is a counselor with Vermont Catholic Charities. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a Masters in Nursing in 1988. She worked as a Certified Nurse Midwife and Family Nurse Practitioner and has decades of experience in women's health, with a specialty in infertility. Recognizing that her patients' physical well-being was greatly impacted by emotional, relational, and spiritual distress, she acquired a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Evangelical Theological Seminary. She and her husband moved to northern Vermont from southeast Pennsylvania in 2018, and she has worked for Vermont Catholic Charities since then. She has enjoyed living and working in various Latin American countries. Sharon has a deep respect and passion for the Catholic Church's teaching on the beautiful meaning of our bodies and the dignity of the human person. She will be presenting along with Derek George on Thursday, July 17 at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Brattleboro.
• Speakers for Friday, July 18: TBA

• Bishop John J. McDermott is the eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of Burlington, serving as our Bishop since July 15, 2024. Ordained as a priest in 1989, he has served in multiple parishes as parochial vicar and as pastor, served as Chaplain at Rice Memorial High School and as the Associate Director and later Director of the Catholic Center of the University of Vermont. He has also served in a number of diocesan administrative roles: Vice-Chancellor, Chancellor, Moderator of the Curia, Vicar General, Defender of the Bond and Promoter of Justice in the Diocesan Tribunal. While the Diocese was without a resident Bishop in 2014 and again in 2023-2024, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Diocese.

  Bishop McDermott will be the celebrant and homilist at the Convocation Mass on Saturday, July 19 at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church in Newport.

• Monsignor Richard Lavalley is the Pastor Emeritus at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Winooski. Monsignor Lavalley was ordained in 1964. In his more than 60 years as a priest, Monsignor has worked tirelessly for thousands of parishioners, and even in retirement, shows no signs of slowing down. Besides presiding over St. Francis Xavier Parish for over a quarter-century, he also has served as Diocesan Vicar for Clergy, a member of the Rice Memorial High School Board, and Chaplain at Norwich University. He has a great love for Catholic education and has ministered as both a teacher and in administration. Monsignor Lavalley is offering the reflection on Saturday, July 19 at St. Mary, Star of the Sea in Newport.

◆ St. Michael the Archangel — Brattleboro

Address: 47 Walnut Street; Brattleboro, Vermont

See on Google Maps

Phone: (802) 257-5101

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://stmichaelvt.com 

◆ St. Monica Church — Barre

Address: 79 Summer Street; Barre, Vermont 05641

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Phone: (802) 479-3253

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://stmonica.vermontcatholic.org 

◆ St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church — Newport

Address: 191 Clermont Terrace; Newport, Vermont 05855

See on Google Maps

Phone: (802) 334-5066

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.materdeivermont.com

• Convocation Brochure (includes paper registration form) - available late April
• CONVOCATION FLYER
• Suggestions for Parish Bulletins - available in May