Erio Rosario-Perales is not your typical student. A graduate student at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Rosario-Perales is also a community organizer in the New Brunswick “Unity Square Neighborhood,” operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen (CCDOM), with a passion for social justice.

PISCATAWAY — Celebrating a collective 830 years of consecrated life, 15 religious jubilarians from the diocese were honored at a Sept. 12 luncheon at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center.

NEW BRUNSWICK — A unique birthing experience awaits expecting families with the expected opening of Saint Peter’s University Hospital’s new Mary V. O’Shea Birth Center in October.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I have been on plenty of pilgrimages during my life, but one of the best was two weeks ago, when our diocese was blessed with a memorable experience as we went on a Walking Pilgrimage in Annandale, “The Way of St. Juan Diego.” I will not forget it! More than 700 pilgrims walked the nine-mile journey in imitation of the nine miles that St. Juan Diego regularly walked from his home to get to his catechism lessons while becoming a Catholic in Mexico in 1524.

METUCHEN — “We must, in all sincerity, ask ourselves tonight, ‘Am I a disciple of Jesus Christ?’” Father Timothy A. Christy asked the hundreds seated before him Sept. 20 at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. “We must not answer too quickly — to be a true disciple of Jesus, we must consider the cost.”