Seventeen Awarded Father Jack Scholarships

Masconomo Council 1232 Knights of Columbus, Manchester by the Sea awarded sixteen $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors and brings to one hundred twenty the total number of scholarships presented by Council 1232 in the past twenty-four years.

For the past nine years, the Council’s scholarship program for graduating seniors has been designated the Father Jack Gentleman Memorial Scholarship, in memory of Father Jack Gentleman the late pastor of Sacred Heart, Manchester by the Sea and St John the Baptist, Essex, now designated The Visitation Parish.

The scholarships are annually funded by local donations and the proceeds of a fundraising raffle. This year’s individual awards are significantly larger than in the past due to the incredible generosity of donors, particularly one member of the parish community who wishes to remain anonymous.

That parishioner “paid it forward” with a 100% match of total funds to be awarded by the Knights this year. That act of charity doubled this year’s award to recipients. In return the scholarship program benefactor asked only that recipients “pay it forward” as they continue on life’s journey.

All funds raised go exclusively to The Father Jack Gentleman Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Scholarship Recipients: Liv Cahill, Paul Coughlin, Joseph D’Arcangelo, Gabriella D’Andrea Van Elwell, Troy Flood, Lily Francoeur, Celia Mann, Felim Meade, Matthew McKenna, Kevin McKenna, Luc Moruzzi, Jackson Schimpf, Jackson Surette, Charles Virden, Jan Vytopil, and Caroline Quinn

The awards in the form of $1,000 “Mega Checks” were presented by Rene St Pierre and Tom Finn, representatives of the Knights of Columbus scholarship committee, at Sacred Heart church on Sunday June 2nd.

Father Paul Flammia, pastor of The Visitation Parish, blessed the graduates at a Mass preceding the ceremony and wished them well in their future endeavors.

Father Paul congratulated the scholarship recipients and noted the awards recognized the graduates’ achievements and community service. He said the awards also saluted their patience and resilience in difficult pandemic years. He urged them, in the spirit of Father Jack, “to walk life’s journey loving one another, caring for each other, and treating others as you would wish to be treated. And do not forget to ‘pay it forward’”