Forty-nine people will be presented papal honors during a vespers service conducted by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio at St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral, Prospect Heights, on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m.

Fifteen will be inducted into the Knights of St. Gregory; five into the Knights of Pope St. Sylvester; and 28 will receive the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Medal. One honoree wishes to remain anonymous.

The Order of St. Gregory the Great was founded by Gregory XVI on Sept. 1, 1831. It is named for Pope St. Gregory I, otherwise known as Gregory the Great. It is given for distinguished service to the Church.

The Order of Pope St. Sylvester, originally united with the Order of the Golden Spur, was formally constituted on Feb. 7, 1905 by Pope St. Pius X. It is given for distinguished service to the Church.

The Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross was established by Pope Leo XIII on July 17, 1888. It is given for distinguished service to the Church.

Here is a list with brief biographies of the recipients.

Knighthood in the Order of St. Gregory the Great

Roger Aguinaldo
Mr. Aguinaldo is a faithful member of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs parish, Forest Hills. His love for the Church is evident to all who know him. He has served as the chairman of the Diocesan Pastoral Council and also is a member of the Diocesan Investment Committee.

Frank Bisignano
Mr. Bisignano was born and raised in Brooklyn and attended Mary Queen of Heaven Church and school. He has acknowledged that his Catholic faith has been the basis in which he lives his life. He is a strong supporter of the Futures In Education Foundation. He understands the importance of assisting the diocese raise funds to offer needy children a chance to receive a quality Catholic education. He is also the chairman of the lay committee for the capital campaign, Generations of Faith.

Anthony Bonomo
Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Bonomo holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from St. John’s University, and has worked in the insurance industry for many years. He has been extremely supportive of Futures In Education. In 2013, he lent his name as honoree for the organization’s annual scholarship dinner.

Kevin Kearney (Posthumous)
Mr. Kearney, an attorney whose law firm has represented the Diocese for over 100 years, died in January, 2015 following a gallant battle with cancer. He engaged in representation, education and litigation in all aspects of legal issues facing not-for-profit and religious organizations. He regularly counseled religious, charitable and academic institutions in regulatory, tax, real estate, trust and estate and general corporate matters, and was a frequent lecturer and a regular panelist in the annual diocesan Wills and Estates Seminar.

Peter Labbat
The commitment of Mr. Labbat to the diocese and St. Francis Xavier parish, Park Slope, is exemplified by his generosity to the Catholic Foundations. Working in the financial area, he serves as a member of the Diocesan Investment Committee.

Alexander Ladouceur
Mr. Ladouceur was born in Canada and emigrated to the U.S. in 1990. A member of St. Saviour parish, Park Slope, he works as an executive in the financial industry and uses his talents to assist the diocese on the local level as a member of his parish finance committee and on a diocesan level as a member of the Diocesan Investment Committee. His commitment to the Annual Catholic Appeal makes possible the many ministries of the Diocese in Brooklyn and Queens.

William Lavin
Mr. Lavin, a member of St. Francis De Sales parish, Belle Harbor, serves as a member of both the Diocesan Investment Committee and the Diocesan Finance Council. Through the Catholic Foundation, he supports the Senior Priests Fund. In addition, he also is faithful to Futures In Education and raises the awareness of this need with those whom he comes in contact

Joseph Mattone
Mr. Mattone was born in Brooklyn and moved to the Queens many years ago. He is an active member of St. Anastasia parish, Douglaston. He is a major benefactor to the Catholic Foundation and Futures In Education. He is also very generous to the Annual Bishop’s Christmas Luncheon which also raises funds to help the Diocese support youth through scholarships.

Joseph Palumbo
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mr. Palumbo is a generous patron to the diocese on many levels, always wishing that what he does be done in a quiet manner, including his support of youth through Futures In Education. In addition, he offered assistance to accomplish much at the recently refurbished Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, his childhood parish, in honor of his family with the restoration of the stained-glass window of the Sacred Heart.

Michael Romersa
The spiritual life of Mr. Romersa has revolved around St. Athanasius parish, Bensonhurst. He has assisted the diocese in varied ways throughout the years. Most notably, in honor of his parents, he assisted the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph realize its new altar.

Raymond Teatum
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mr. Teatum serves as lieutenant of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem Eastern Lieutenancy. As such, he works diligently to assist the Order in its support of the works for the Christians in the Holy Land. He also has initiated a program to give scholarships yearly to worthy seminarians to join these pilgrimages.

Vincent and Teresa Viola
Widely recognized for their joint philanthropic endeavors, they have been generous benefactors to many, most often anonymously at their request. However, they have not forgotten their roots in the Diocese of Brooklyn, as they endowed the Pope John Paul II Family Academy, Bushwick. Through their generosity, during the lifetime of this academy, children received a tuition-free Catholic education.

John Walton
Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Walton has made a generous commitment to support youth through the Catholic Foundation. His outstanding dedication to youth evangelization and ministry, both by serving on the diocesan Youth Ministry Initiative Committee for the Catholic Foundation and now through his financial support, is needed to ensure the growth of the Church in Brooklyn and Queens. He is also a member of the Diocesan Investment Committee.

Karen Yost
Ms. Yost is a member of St. Mel’s parish, Flushing. She is an attorney who is an active participant in the diocesan Wills and Estates Planning program. She assists seniors in understanding how best to plan for their estates. Not only does Ms. Yost give of her time and legal talent to assist parishioners in areas of concern, she is also a generous benefactor to the Annual Catholic Appeal.

Knighthood in the Order of Pope St. Sylvester

Patrick Adams
Mr. Adams is a great supporter of his home parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Williamsburg. Not only does he lend support the diocese on the local parish level, he is an advocate and supporter of many of the charitable works of the diocese. The charitable works of Mr. Adams have inspired his family to engage in philanthropy, especially related to Catholic causes. Through his actions, he has passed on his life-long love and support of the Church to the next generation of his family.

Joseph Ferrara
Mr. Ferrara, a native of the Diocese of Brooklyn, has been generous to the diocese in many ways, but most of all to the youth through Futures In Education. He has enabled many scholarships to local Catholic schools.

Gregory Galdi
Mr. Galdi’s support of Futures In Education affords children from underprivileged families the opportunity to attain a safe and stable education. His desire is to assist the needy and break the cycle of poverty through education and the example of sacrifice.

Robert Gartland
Mr. Gartland is a native son of Brooklyn whose personal commitment to Catholic education is most obvious by his assistance to St. Nicholas School in Williamsburg. Through his efforts, his organization has been a school-business partner at St. Nicholas for 18 years. He serves as a trustee of Futures In Education.

Joseph Sciame
Mr. Sciame has lived his life dedicated to his faith, his family, his community and his Italian heritage. Loyal to his Catholic education, he serves as vice president of community relations at St. John’s University. He served as a member and board chair of the Futures In Education Foundation, and currently serves as a Trustee for Futures in Education, which assists families in need.

Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice

Peter and Josephine Cardone
Mr. and Mrs. Cardone are parishioners of Sacred Heart parish, Bayside. They are members of the Annual Catholic Appeal Bishop’s Court of Honor and major supporters of the Catholic Foundations. Both have been dedicated to the care for senior priests.

Francis Baidoo
Mr. Baidoo is a longtime member of St. Catherine of Genoa parish, East Flatbush, and is an original member of the Diocesan Ghana Apostolate. He organized a small group Ghanaians, inviting them reach out to their fellow countrymen and women to join in meeting to pray the Rosary and to discuss their spiritual needs. He led a delegation to the Catholic Migration Office to present concerns and make a formal request to establish a Ghanaian Apostolate.

Cheo Hock Chan
For more than 15 years, Cheo Hock Chan has been active in the Chinese Apostolate in Queens. He is a long-time collaborator and facilitator of the needs of the clergy in the Chinese Apostolate. He is a catechist in the Chinese Apostolate Religious Education Program and youth ministry instructor and guide. He organizes the Chinese Apostolate Legion of Mary activities, and helps coordinate the annual diocesan street procession honoring Our Lady of Sheshan. Also, he is a member of the Chinese Apostolate choir.

Walter Cooper
Mr. Cooper, born in Rosedale, is a member of Holy Child Jesus parish, Richmond Hill, where he has been a minister of hospitality for over 20 years. He has served as the director of the parish’s social outreach and food pantry since 2003. His work as director has made it possible for the parish to provide countless meals to the hungry in addition to its many other social outreach initiatives. He has served on various diocesan councils and committees including the Diocesan Pastoral Council providing valuable feedback and his unique perspective.

Martin Cottingham
Mr. Cottingham is a life-long parishioner of Holy Name of Jesus parish, Park Slope, where he served as a lead volunteer for a capital campaign to restore his parish church. He is a trustee of Futures In Education and a founding member of the Holy Name Foundation, organized to address Catholic school issues in the Brooklyn Diocese. He worked with a group of Irish-Americans to restore The Great Irish Fair of New York as a way to celebrate Irish heritage and culture in Brooklyn and Queens.

Anthony D’Ambrosio
Mr. D’Ambrosio is the owner of D’Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studios, Inc. in Mt. Kisco, whose company specializes in renovation and restoration of religious buildings and properties. He has been dedicated to the beautification and preservation of countless church buildings in the diocese. His generosity has expanded beyond his skills, as he has been a lead contributor to a number of key diocesan initiatives, not limited to the Annual Catholic Appeal.

Sister Ellen Patricia Finn, O.P., M.Ed., LMSW
Sister Ellen Patricia is a Dominican Sister of Amityville who served most recently as deputy executive director of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. She was responsible for the agency’s long-term disaster preparation and response teams. In October of 2012, a displaced person herself, she coordinated relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy. She headed the Housing Management Corporation of Catholic Charities. A licensed social worker, she also served as the diocese’s victim assistance coordinator, ministering to victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Sister Teresa Fitzgerald, C.S.J.
Sister Teresa, known as Sister Tesa, is a Sister of St. Joseph of Brentwood who has served as an educator. She left teaching to join the staff of Providence House, providing housing for ex-offenders and homeless women. In 1995, she helped found Hour Children to acknowledge the important hours that shape the life of a child with an incarcerated mother. Today, the organization sponsors three apartment buildings, three thrift stores, a day care center, an after-school program, a job training program, a group home for women with children, a food pantry, a mentoring program and three more communal homes.

Marie Fouche
Mrs. Fouche, a member of Incarnation parish, Queens Village, participated in the establishment of the Haitian Pastoral School for lay leaders, and has been the driving force in preparing many conventions of the Haitian Apostolate. She organizes programs of education and character formation in Haiti, and personally typed an entire book prepared by the Haitian School of Religious Formation and arranged for its publication. She is not only involved in the Haitian Apostolate, but also assists the Diocesan Office of Religious Education. She also assists as a volunteer in diocesan programs such as the Conference on Bereavement at St. John’s University.

Michele Guerrier
Ms. Guerrier is a long-time member of the Haitian community. She is well known and admired in the whole Haitian Apostolate. A member of St. Therese of Lisieux parish in East Flatbush, she is very active in her parish community. She is an extraordinary leader and has amazing organizational skills, which she uses to the benefit of each project which is placed before her.

Sister Elizabeth Hill, C.S.J., JD
Sister Elizabeth is a Sister of St. Joseph of Brentwood who holds a master’s degree in history and a juris doctor degree, and has served as a staff attorney with Catholic Migration Services. In 1997, she was named president of St. Joseph College, Brooklyn. Although retired in 2014, it is because of Sister Elizabeth’s leadership that St. Joseph’s College continues to maintain a student-centered spirit, while gaining the respect of faculty, staff, contemporaries and students, both past and current.

Sister Juvenia Joseph, F.D.M.
Sister Juvenia has been a member of the Daughters of Mary for 23 years. After serving in Haiti, first as an elementary school teacher and then as the Secretary to the Papal Nuncio in Port-au-Prince, in 2007 she was assigned to the U.S. She has been the director of the Office of the National Center of the Haitian Apostolate for the past eight years. In that capacity, she is also the director of the School of Religious Formation for the lay leaders of the Haitian parishes. She conducts retreats and prayer sessions and organizes a large number of activities.

Anne Keogh
Mrs. Keogh is a resident of Richmond Hill and a member of Holy Child Jesus parish, where for many years, she volunteered for the religious education program as its coordinator. She continues to serve as a catechist in the parish. She is a lector and also is active in the Rosary Society and other parish organizations.

Sister Janet Kinney, C.S.J.
Sister Janet professed her final vows as a Sister of St. Joseph of Brentwood in 1987. She serves as executive director of Providence House, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide shelter and support to the homeless, abused and formerly incarcerated women and their children in a hospitable, non-violent and compassionate atmosphere to transition each person back into society.

Thomas Lawler
Mr. Lawler is a parishioner of St. Francis de Sales parish, Belle Harbor. In 2001, his wife, Kathie, who worked for the Diocese of Brooklyn, and their son, Christopher, were victims of American Airlines Flight No. 587 that crashed into their neighborhood. He strived to find a way to keep the memory of his wife and son alive, creating The Kathie and Christopher Lawler Extraordinary Needs Fund for Senior Priests to provide assistance to senior priests.

Deacon Ramon Lima
Deacon Lima is a member of the first group of candidates for the permanent diaconate in the diocese. He is a founding and still active member of the National Association of Hispanic Deacons, and a spiritual counselor to men discerning the permanent diaconate. He has been a professor of Sacred Scripture and Homiletics in the Program of Formation for Deacons in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. In addition, he has led many diocesan pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Rome. Before his retirement, Deacon Lima translated into Spanish the weekly column of the diocesan bishop for The Tablet.

Brother Benedict LoBalbo, F.M.S.
Brother Benedict is a Marist Brother who serves as the secretary to the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark. He has served as secretary to the Board at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, N.J. For the Diocese of Brooklyn, he serves as a member of the Investment Committee.

Sister Maryann Seton Lopiccolo, S.C.
Sister Maryann is a Sister of Charity-Halifax. As episcopal delegate for religious for the diocese, she serves as liaison between the diocesan bishop and over 1,100 religious from the nearly 100 religious communities, not only from the U.S., but around the world. She serves as a pastoral presence to the women and men living a consecrated life in the diocese. She initiates, sustains and strengthens collegial relationships among laity, clergy and members of consecrated life. She is actively involved in the administration of three monasteries and two houses of contemplation in the diocese, and also oversees the Bishop’s Council on Religious.

Murilo Magalhaes
Mr. Magalhaes is an active member of the Brazilian Apostolate. He is a member of the parish of St. Rita, Long Island City. He understands the immigrant experience and reaches out especially to the newly arrived. He assists the apostolate coordinator, with the needs of the larger apostolate or the parish of St. Rita.

Virginia Mampouya
Ms. Mampouya joined her husband in the U.S. in 1979 as an employee of the United Nations and to pursue her studies. She is a founding member of the Nigerian Apostolate. She is active in Incarnation parish, Queens Village, serving as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. She serves in other ministries including the St. Padre Pio Prayer Group, organizer of all-night vigils on First Fridays and an organizer of pilgrimages to Catholic centers across the U.S. Mrs. Mampouya is devoted to the Blessed Mother and is the parish coordinator of several Marian devotions.

Richard Matela
For over two decades, Mr. Matela has been serving the Filipino-American community by sharing his God-given gift of music. Currently, he serves as music director for Filipino Diocesan Apostolate Music Ministry. Mr. Matela has organized various benefit concerts and has served as the music director for the Philippine Independence Day Mass and Simbang Gabi (Advent Mass) at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.

Mary Jane McCartney
Ms. McCartney was born Queens. She served as a board member for the Catholic Foundation where she chairs the Administration Committee. A long-time member of St. Margaret parish, Middle Village, she is a member of its finance committee, as well as its Pastoral Planning Council. She also serves as a extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and lector, and assists with the coordination of both these groups. She serves as general chair of the lay committee at St. Margaret’s to assist with a capital campaign.

Martin McManus
Mr. McManus has worshipped in St. Francis De Sales parish, Belle Harbor, for most of his life; serving as an altar boy, a Boy Scout and a member of the Catholic Youth Organization. He also has served the parish and community as a lector,and a member of the parish council. In his capacity as comptroller for the diocese, he has performed admirably in providing the highest levels of Gospel based stewardship.

Sister Alice Michael, S.U.S.C.
Sister Alice, a Holy Union Sister, began her work with the Diocese of Brooklyn in 1976. She serves in the Office of Faith Formation as coordinator of children’s catechesis and the catechumenate, as well as a member of the School of Evangelization Advisory Board and a member of the Special Needs Religious Ed Advisory Council. On the national level, she served as a member of the North American Forum for the Catechumenate, and participated in the National Conference of Catechetical Leaders.

Porzia Modena
Ms. Modena has helped many people in her role at the Associazioni Cristiane per Lavaoratori Italiani. She is a member of St. Rosalia-Regina Pacis parish, Bensonhurst, and has been a strong voice for the Italian community in Brooklyn and Queens. She has represented members of this community at many diocesan meetings and events.

Cruz Teresa Rosero
Mrs. Rosero was born in Ecuador and has served the Hispanic community in various capacities including the Hispanic Ministry Advisory Board. She has been a part of the Faith Formation ministry at SS. Joachim and Anne parish, as well as in St. Nicholas of Tolentine parish as a catechist for children and adults, and as a religious coordinator. She is an instructor at the Pastoral Institute. In addition, she has been an award-winning contributor for Nuevo Amanecer, and now for Nuestra Voz, two Hispanic publications of the Diocese.

Frans Samosir
Mr. Samosir is a senior member and former chairman, or Ketua, of the Indonesian Apostolate. A parishioner at St. Mark’s, Sheepshead Bay, he serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. He serves the Indonesian community in various roles, organizing retreats and as an instructor providing training to altar servers. He is also organizes the Apostolate Rosary Society activities, is member of the Apostolate Charismatic Prayer Group, catechist in the apostolate’s Religious Education Program, mentor and advisor to the Indonesian Catholic Youth Group and is a member of the apostolate choir.