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(January 25, 2006)
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
CATHOLIC CHARITIES
10TH ANNUAL RECEPTION
The Catholic Charities “Tenth Annual
Reception” at the exclusive Mar a Lago Club is set for Sunday
evening January 29th at 7pm. For the tenth year in a row supporters
will turn out for this gala event which raises funds for Catholic
Charities in the Diocese of Palm Beach. There are a total of fifteen
different programs and thirty-seven program locations that exist
within the Diocese of Palm Beach that benefit from the over $400,000
raised in just one spectacular evening. This year Rev. John
Mericantante and Jacques and Eleanore (Danger) Vinmont will be
honored before 265 guests. Co-chairs for the event are Mary Cleary-Ierardi
(President of Catholic Charities Board of Directors) and Diane
Simowitz (Secretary of the Board of Directors).
PRESS COVERAGE INVITED – TO COORDINATE
CONTACT ALEXIS WALKENSTEIN 561-775-952
Background on this year’s Honorees: Sir Jacques and Lady Eleanore
Vinmont
Sir Jacques and Lady Eleanore Vinmont
(better known as Danger Vinmont to her many friends in the
community) have lived in Palm Beach County for the past 50 years.
They are well known and appreciated by many of the nonprofits in our
area, since their generosity has helped to fund many of the programs
that serve those most in need.
Jacques’ profession was in imports,
predominantly asbestos cement pipes. He has two children, Michele
and Jack. Jacques has three grandchildren, one of them is Matt Dryer
who is with the St. Louis Cardinals, and he has two great
grandchildren.
Danger was first married to Jim
Peterson who was the owner of Taboo and was a pitcher with the
Philadelphia Athletics. She spent over 22,000 hours as a volunteer
at St. Mary’s Hospital. She was friends with many of the famous in
Palm Beach, including Rose Kennedy, Mrs. Merriweather Post, Dina
Merrill and Grace Kelley to name but a few.
Jacques is a Knight of the Holy
Sepulcher, and Eleanore is a Lady of Grand Cause of the Holy
Sepulcher of Jerusalem. They have generously assisted Catholic
Charities, the Diocese of Palm Beach, St. Vincent Seminary, the
Vatican Art Museum, St. Mary’s
of Pahokee, Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center, and St. Mary’s
Hospital to list just a few of the organizations who have benefited
from their generosity.
In May they will be honored in Rome for
their generosity to the Vatican Art Museum and later in the year,
here at the Breakers, they will be honored by the Knights of Holy
Sepulcher, again for their financial assistance and generosity.
We are truly blessed to have them in
our diocese.
Background on Honoree: Reverend John J. Mericantante
Fr. John was born in Massachusetts, was
educated there, and was ordained a priest in 1975. After a year and
a half in Boston, he asked to go to Chile and minister there. Fr.
John remained in Chile until 1985 when he returned to the US to be
with his family, especially his ailing father. The family moved to
Ft. Lauderdale in 1985, at which point Father took on several
positions in the newly formed diocese.
Fr. John petitioned Bishop Daily to be
incardinated into the Diocese of Palm Beach in 1990 and the request
was quickly approved. In 1993, Father was appointed Administrator of
St. Mary’s Parish in Pahokee, Florida, which is primarily a
community of agricultural workers in western Palm Beach County. The
needs of the parish roughly parallel the needs of the mission he had
in Chile. In Pahokee, St. Mary’s parishioners are mostly from
Mexico, Central America, and Cuba and are poor, insecure and largely
transient.
Many of them are the poorest of the
poor and look to Fr. John to assist them as well as to protect them.
His accomplishments include making it possible for migrant workers
to receive federal subsidized housing, developing a social service
program that provides everything from children’s recreation to
emergency provisions and the construction of a medical clinic
adjacent to the parish hall.
Fr. John has been awarded The Andrew F.
O’Connell Award by Elder Affairs of Catholic Charities, the Citizen
of the Year Award in Pahokee in 1994 and the 1996 Distinguished
Layman Award of the Florida Medical Association to name but a few of
his honors.
Father continues to minister to his
parishioners and care for the Community of Pahokee. We are truly
blessed to have him in our diocese. |
