My mission is to share the wisdom and experiences gained over a lifetime dedicated to faith, service, and personal growth. In my retirement, I will use this platform to offer reflections, insights, and stories from my 80 years of life, 54 years as a priest, and 13 years as a bishop. Through openness and humility, I aim to inspire, educate, and resonate with readers, seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all that I write. May this endeavor bring glory to God and foster a sense of shared journey and mutual understanding among all who read.
Bishop Ray’s Blog
Finding Meaning in Each Day
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Going away to Albany – Time to Grow Up!
Read more: Going away to Albany – Time to Grow Up!Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, Albany, NY – an interdiocesan major seminary conducted by the Vincentian Fathers, established at Niagara Falls in 1856 and relocated in 1961 and closed in 1972 After finishing six years as a student of Cathedral Prep Seminary in Brooklyn, NY (traveling by train from Astoria, NY), I was awaiting the news in the summer of 1965 about where I would go for the Major Seminary. I thought, for sure, it would be the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, NY. I forgot that the Diocese of Brooklyn was sending candidates, at that time, to other…
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Sisters of Saint Joseph – A Legacy of Education!
Read more: Sisters of Saint Joseph – A Legacy of Education!From Left to Right: Sister Anna Desiderio (RIP), Bishop Ray Chappetto, Sister Letitia Lake, Sister Francis Claire Gowen (RIP) on June 30, 2012 Growing up in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish (Astoria), we were blessed to have a parochial school that had two buildings: grades 1-4 in the “old school,” built in 1891, and grades 5-8 in the “new school,” built in 1954. We had a total of 26 Sisters of Saint Joseph of Brentwood when the school was at its peak in the 1950s. The old convent on Astoria Blvd was really an old convent! The new…
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Mom & Dad – My first teachers and my best teachers!
Read more: Mom & Dad – My first teachers and my best teachers!Ordination Day, Saint James Pro Cathedral, May 29, 1971 The expression goes, “Memories are stories waiting to be told.” Allow me to share with you my extremely fond memories of Vera and Louis Chappetto, my dear parents. Mom was born in Musellaro (Pescara), Italy, in 1909 and came to the United States in 1912, settling in Waterbury, Connecticut, before moving to Astoria, New York. She never returned to Italy (mainly because she didn’t want to fly), but she kept up an active correspondence with her cousins there. Dad was born in Astoria, New York, and lived there his entire life.…
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Uncle Pete’s Park – A lasting tribute to a fallen soldier!
Read more: Uncle Pete’s Park – A lasting tribute to a fallen soldier!Peter Chappetto Park, Astoria, Queens Our family and friends recently gathered to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the death of my uncle, 2nd Lieutenant Peter Chappetto, and we anticipated the 75th Anniversary of the dedication of the park named in his memory in Astoria, Queens. Five years after his death, his loyal friends petitioned the City Council to name a small playground in his memory. It stands today, after 75 years of use, as a lasting tribute to Peter Chappetto and the many others whose lives were sacrificed in World War II. My grandparents, Dora and Charles Chappetto, received a…
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