Upcoming Events
Friendly Sons Return to Scranton
The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Lackawanna County will hold the Society’s 118th Annual Dinner on Saturday, March 16, in the Scranton Cultural Center. It has been forty years since the annual gathering was last held in the city of Scranton. “We are very excited to bring the Society’s annual dinner back to Scranton this year,” said Daniel P. Haggerty, Esq., the Friendly Sons president. Last year’s dinner was held at Mohegan Pennsylvania after Genetti Manor in Dickson City closed in 2022. “The expected attendance and availability of the Scranton Cultural Center for this year’s dinner were compelling factors in our final decision to return to Scranton.”
The toastmaster for this year’s event will be Haggerty’s brother-in-law, Joseph S. Collins III. Collins is the vice president, medical intelligence, patient insights and solutions at Astellas Pharmaceuticals, a global Life Sciences organization. He manages teams tasked with ensuring the perspective and insights of patients and healthcare providers are considered in all phases of drug development and commercialization. Prior to joining Astellas, Joe spent time at Sanofi and Roche Pharmaceuticals.
Collins is active in several organizations including serving on the boards of Times Shamrock Communications and the University of Scranton, where he also serves as a mentor to undergraduates in the Kania School of Management. He has served on the Devon Preparatory School Alumni Board, Keystone College Board of Trustees, and the Greater Scranton Area Chamber of Commerce. He graduated from the University of Scranton with a dual BA/MA in History and received his master’s in business administration from Villanova University. He lives in Scranton with his wife Mauri Haggerty Collins and their five daughters.
Haggerty also announced that this year’s clerical speaker will be Scranton native the Most Reverend Jeffrey J. Walsh, bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan. Bishop Walsh is a graduate of the former Scranton Central High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in health and human resources from the University of Scranton and earned a master of divinity degree from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md. Bishop Walsh received a master of arts in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University and a master of social work degree from Marywood University.
After his ordination as a priest of the Diocese of Scranton in June 1994, Bishop Walsh served as assistant pastor at Saint Rose of Lima Church, Carbondale, and the Cathedral of Saint Peter, Scranton. During his time in the Diocese of Scranton, he has served as pastor of Saint Mary of the Lake Church, Lake Winola; as director of spiritual & liturgical formation at Saint Pius X Seminary in Dalton; as pastor at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Tunkhannock; as episcopal vicar for the eastern pastoral region of the Diocese of Scranton; as administrator of Saint Rita Church, Gouldsboro; as administrator of Saint Anthony, Saint Bridget and Saint John the Baptist parishes in Throop; as pastor at the Church of Saint John, East Stroudsburg; as sacramental minister for Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish, Pittston; and as pastor at Saint Rose of Lima Parish, Carbondale, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Carbondale.
During his years of pastoral ministry, Bishop Walsh also served in a variety of diocesan positions, including as director of religious formation at the former Sacred Heart High School in Carbondale and the former Bishop Hannan High School in Scranton; as chaplain at Saint Michael’s School and as chaplain to the Deaf Community; as diocesan vocations director; as director of youth and young adult retreats at Fatima Center; as diocesan deputy secretary for Catholic Human Services; and on the board of directors of the Notre Dame Regional School System.
On December 21, 2021, Bishop Walsh was appointed by Pope Francis to serve as sixth bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord. His episcopal ordination and installation took place on March 4, 2022 at Saint Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Gaylord.