WJMJ News Headlines

Respected Priest Remembered



The Archdiocese of Hartford is remembering a retired priest today. Father Joseph Graziani passed away this weekend, at the age of 88. He was ordained in 1945 by Archbishop Henry O’Brien, serving at Saint Luke in Hartford, Saint Augustine in South Glastonbury and Saint Peter in Torrington until he retired in 1989.

A wake is being held Wednesday at Saint Peter’s Church in Torrington from 3 to 7, followed by a parish mass. The mass for Christian Burial will be Thursday morning at 10:30 at Saint Peter’s Church.

We extend our deepest sympathy and offer our prayers for Father Graziani’s family and his parish families.



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Archbishop Mansell Implements Precautions for Mass

Hartford Archbishop Henry Mansell is asking all parishes take three temporary precautions to prevent the spreading of swine flu:

1. "The faithful should be encouraged to share the sign of peace without physical contact. A smile, a wave, or a nod of the head would be appropriate."
2. "Communion should preferably be given only under the species of the consecrated host, and communicants should be encouraged to receive in their hands rather than on the tongue. If, however, there are communicants in your parish who have Celiac disease and can receive Communion only from the cup, they should be allowed to decide for themselves whether to receive from the cup despite potential health risks. "
3. "The faithful should be encouraged not to hold hands during the Our Father."

The Archbishop also asks that priests, deacons, and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion wash their hands before and after Mass.

Swine Flu Spreads

More than 150 students at St. Francis Catholic School are exhibiting symptoms of swine flu. The school in Queens, New York has been temporarily shut down, and workers are sanitizing the area. Public schools in the region will remain open. Eight of nine students at St. Francis tested positive for the potentially deadly virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About a dozen students recently had returned from Mexico, where the virus has killed dozens and sickened more than a thousand.

Health officials say the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States has jumped to 64. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Tuesday that the new count includes "a number of hospitalizations" but they did not say how many. CDC officials had said there had been just one person hospitalized.

There are 17 new cases in New York City, four more in Texas and three additional cases in California. That brings the total confirmed cases to 45 in New York City, 10 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio. Officials have now labelled swine flu a level 4 pandemic.

Homeland Security Head, Janet Napolitano issues a warning for those travelling to Mexico.

We’ll continue to keep you updated as more details come in.

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Swine Flu Infects Catholic School

The strain of swine flu believed to have killed 86 people in Mexico has infected at least eight students at a large Roman Catholic high school in Queens, New York.

About a dozen students of St. Francis Preparatory School brought the virus from Cancun where they had gone for Spring Break. Their cases are considered to be mild. The Acting Director for the Center for Disease Control, Dr. Richard Besser, says the outbreak may be here to stay.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a statement Sunday stating that many New York victims are recovering, but that the family members of the infected have been showing signs of the flu symptoms, suggesting that it may be spreading from person to person.

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