Boston area music directors bring sense of universal Church to choir

Patrick Valentino, who is the music director of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Westwood, Mass., sings during the March 2 liturgy. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

If they could just get their wish granted, Terry Kerr and Patrick Valentino figured they would have the perfect way to share in the ordination of their friend, Bishop Christopher J. Coyne.

So the two friends from the Boston area followed the sound of the music as they climbed the 32 steps of the

red-carpeted spiral staircase that leads to the choir loft of St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis.

When they reached the top step shortly after 1 p.m. on March 2, Kerr and Valentino peeked into the loft where the ordination choir was already rehearsing under the direction of Ed Greene, the music director at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis.

During a break in the rehearsal, the two men told Greene that they are friends of the soon-to-be bishop and music directors of parishes in the Boston area. Kerr shared that he is the music director of St. Joseph Parish in Medway, Mass. And Valentino added that he is the music director of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Westwood, Mass., the parish where Bishop Coyne was the pastor before Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as an auxiliary bishop of Indianapolis in January.

Kerr and Valentino asked if they could sing in the ordination choir as a personal way of honoring their friend on his special day. When Greene said yes, Kerr and Valentino smiled as they took their places among the male singers.

“We were excited to see [St. John’s] church when we came here this morning. We saw the loft and thought it would be cool to sing here,” Valentino said before the ordination Mass. “We’re having a blast up here. As musicians, it’s nice to participate in Father Chris’ day as best we can. Father Chris did so many wonderful things for our parish. It’s such an honor, not only for Indianapolis, but for Westwood. It’s great to be able to support him this way on his special day.”

Kerr added, “Patrick and I felt it would be fun to participate in the music, too, because Chris has that love for music, too. He’s very special. You’re going to love him.”

Kerr took a place in the choir right next to Tom Lakatosh, an Indianapolis tenor whose crutches rested against the wall behind his seat. At 66, Lakatosh is still recovering from the two surgeries that he’s had following a broken leg he suffered during a motorcycle accident in August. Lakatosh hopped up the 32 steps of the spiral staircase so he could be part of the ordination choir.

“I’m glad I was able to take the day off from work to be here,” said Lakatosh, a member of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish.

Rosemary Keen was also thrilled to be in the choir. She considered singing at the ordination of the auxiliary bishop as one of the major highlights of a musical career that has included 56 years as a member of the choir at St. John Parish.

“It was beautiful, just beautiful,” she said after the Mass. “I’m glad I was part of it.”

So were Kerr and Valentino. They saw the opportunity to join in the ordination choir as a sign of community between Bishop Coyne’s family and friends in the Boston area, and his new family and friends in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. That sense of community in the Church touched them during and after the ordination Mass.

“I found myself really moved by it,” Kerr said. “I couldn’t be more proud of Chris. To have a personal part in this day was magnificent. It was the most emotional experience.” †