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By Jean Driskell, Special To The Bulletin
DUNWOODY—Two young women in the archdiocese with serious
illnesses were surrounded by prayer recently, especially seeking the
intercession of the priest who founded the Knights of Columbus.
Bridget Jeffs, 15, and Christine Pekatos, 12, were blessed by
Archbishop John F. Donoghue with a relic of the late Father Michael J. McGivney
in a healing service at All Saints Church on April 10.
Bridget is a survivor of Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer,
and Christine has beta-thalassemia, a rare and life-threatening blood disorder.
The healing service led by the archbishop followed the weekly
Benediction at the parish, said Edward J. Pavlik, past deputy Grand Knight of
All Saints Council 11402.
“The ceremony consisted of an introductory rite and prayer,
Gospel reading, litany of the saints and then the blessing with a prayer by the
archbishop with a concluding rite,” he said.
About 150 people attended, including many who stayed after the
Benediction, according to council Grand Knight Edward L. Krise. The ceremony
was twofold, he said, one being for the girls’ healing and the other for
the possibility of participating in the canonization process for Father
McGivney.
“The blessing that they did for the healing service was
beautiful. It gave me chills,” Tricia Jeffs, Bridget’s mother, said.
“I guess this is coming from the mother of the child who was ill. Maybe
other people felt that way also. There were a lot of people there. I was quite
surprised. It’s hard to put into words.”
Patricia Pekatos, Christine’s mother, said she had never
heard of a blessing service like this.
“At first I was not sure about it. But my feeling about (the
ceremony) was that there are people of faith who believe in it, so why not go
ahead and do it,” she said.
“I just want to say I could sense that the faith of the other
people who came really sustained them and that they felt so strongly about
this. I thought their prayers really helped us,” Pekatos said.
“I think it was such a wonderful opportunity for us to get
this kind of intervention. I’m a big believer in prayer, especially prayer
in regard to intervention with medical problems,” she said. “I’m
a nurse. I have seen it and I know that prayer can make a difference.”
Pekatos said that Christine felt nervous about the healing
service.
“I think she felt a little uncomfortable. Probably the main
reason was that she felt she was invading on the other child’s ceremony.
My dad was so enthusiastic about it he was able to get us involved with the
service,” she said.
Krise said that the blessing was originally set up for Bridget, a
parishioner at All Saints.
“Joe Wittman, a brother Knight, asked us if we could have his
granddaughter, Christine, participate. We said, ‘of course,’ and
that’s how Christine got to be part of it.”
“I was a little nervous about meeting the archbishop,”
Bridget said. “This is something that came along that was very good.”
Bridget said she was delighted Christine could be a part of the
service.
“She was there because she’s sick too, even though they
were having the event for me. Anyone else who could be helped by being blessed
by the relic was very good,” she said.
Bridget’s cancer was first diagnosed in 1997 at the age of 10
when a tumor appeared on her right foot. After going through extensive
radiation and chemotherapy treatment the cancer went into remission for two and
half years.
Then in March 2000 another tumor appeared on her spine. After five
weeks of radiation and four months of chemotherapy Bridget’s tumor was
considered in remission. In July 2000 she went through a stem cell transplant
procedure using her own stem cells.
“The benefit of using your own stem cells is that there is no
rejection and that recovery time is quicker,” Bridget said. She is
presently cancer free.
“She never complained, she never asked why,” Jeffs said
about her daughter’s cancer.
Christine’s blood disorder prevents her body from making beta
hemoglobin. She had been transfusion dependent since the age of three.
“However, she’s been on an experimental drug for about
the past six years,” her mother said. The drug makes Christine very
anemic, but at present she does not require blood transfusions.
“The only way to cure it is with bone marrow transplant from
a matching sibling, which she doesn’t have,” Pekatos said. “We
don’t really have any hope for a cure right now. So all we can do is
manage it to the best of our ability. Without careful monitoring many
don’t make it out of their twenties.”
“We have friends who routinely pray for her. (My)
mother-in-law, who died of cancer a few years ago, would tell us that when she
went to heaven she would continue to pray for us, for Christine, for divine
intervention,” Pekatos said. “I know she’s up there praying for
us constantly.”
The idea for a blessing came when Dave Donahue, a member of the
Knights council, and his wife Ellen, friends of the Jeffs’ family, were
interested in obtaining a relic for Bridget. Ellen Donahue wrote to Bishop
Thomas Daily of Brooklyn, N.Y., supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus,
requesting a relic.
“We had no knowledge of this,” Paul Jeffs,
Bridget’s father and a Knight, said. “They didn’t tell us
anything about this until they had received confirmation.”
The parish Knights of Columbus council received three relics, each
a piece of Father McGivney’s clothing in a small glass vial.
After receipt of the relics, the council went to Msgr. R. Donald
Kiernan, pastor of All Saints Church, with the idea of a healing service for
Bridget. Then Archbishop Donoghue was contacted and he agreed to the service,
Pavlik said.
One relic went to Bridget and it is in the bottom of a crucifix,
just below the feet of Christ. She said she keeps it over her bed.
“I’ve done some research into Father McGivney’s
life,” Bridget said. “I believe he can help me be a better
person.”
Msgr. Hugh Marren, then Georgia state chaplain for the Knights of
Columbus, received a relic which will be used at his own discretion, Krise
said.
The third relic was placed in the “Mary, Queen of the
Knights” Chapel at All Saints Church, Pavlik said.
“Father McGivney has been declared a Servant of God,”
Pavlik said. The title, Servant of God, is a step toward canonization. For
beatification or sainthood to be declared, miracles must be verified,
attributed to the intercession of the person being considered for canonization.
“We’re hoping for a miracle for canonization,” he
said.
Father McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 in New
Haven, Conn., and based its principles on unity and charity. The principles of
fraternity and patriotism came later, according to the Knights of Columbus. His
pastoral duties in New Haven included care to city jail inmates, catechism
classes and a total abstinence society to help fight alcoholism.
By 1881 Father McGivney was exploring the idea of a Catholic,
fraternal benefit society made up of Catholic laymen and clergy. The first
meeting of the Knights of Columbus was held in a church basement. The Knights
of Columbus today is an international organization with 1.6 million members.
“We have multiple charities within the Knights of
Columbus,” Krise said. “We do four or five charities a year within
our council.”
Bridget Jeffs was the focus of a charity project of the All Saints
council last year. Since her father is a Knight at this council, the members
were aware of Bridget’s situation
“The idea to help Bridget came about after the 1998 tornado
in Dunwoody caused a lot of damage to the Jeffs’ home,” Krise said.
Paul Jeffs said the tornado struck the day after Bridget had gotten her test
results showing she was in remission for the first time. The council decided to
do a college scholarship fund-raiser for Bridget.
“Due to tax laws we cannot give the money directly to the
Jeffs,” Krise said.
Bridget has said she would like to go to medical school and become
a pediatric oncologist.
The All Saints council organized four fund-raisers for her from
July to September 2000, calling the project “Bridget’s Hope.”
“We started out with canisters with Bridget’s picture on
front,” Pavlik said. The canisters were placed in over 100 stores and
restaurants in the Dunwoody and Norcross areas. The canister phase lasted about
six weeks.
Funds were next raised at the annual All Saints Parish hoe-down
last August through donated prizes. First prize, donated by Sal dePace, a
Knight and owner of a travel agency, was two free airline tickets, Pavlik said.
“We also had two box seat tickets to a Braves baseball game.”
Phase three was an Italian dinner last September at Villa Capri
Restaurant, owned by Oscar Pereyra, also a Knight.
“We sold tickets for this dinner and we sold the place out,
which seats 100 people,” Krise said. About eight to 10 people helped Oscar
and his chef with the cooking, setting up, serving and cleaning up.
The final fund-raiser was a silent auction held at All Saints
Church last September.
“The whole parish was invited. It was held between the hours
of 8:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. As the parishioners left Mass they would come to the
auction,” Krise said.
Items were donated by members of the Knights of Columbus,
parishioners and local businesses. Approximately 150 items were bid on, Pavlik
said.
“We raised over $20,000 for Bridget’s scholarship
fund,” Krise said.
“I just felt like we have been truly blessed with an extended
family, with people who come together whether they know you or not,”
Tricia Jeffs said of the Knights of Columbus, All Saints Church, and the
communities that have helped them. “It’s a blessing.”
“You can say ‘thank you’ until you’re blue in
the face and it doesn’t seem like it’s the right thing or enough to
say,” she said. “We’re very grateful, not only for the donation
but for prayers. It’s the prayers that get you through it.”
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