Beyond The Beacon
Join Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Communications Director Jai Agnish of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., as they discuss current events and topics relevant to the local Church in Paterson and the global Catholic Church. Bishop Sweeney answers questions from listeners, interviews guests, and shares reflections and insights helpful for all striving to live a life of faith, hope, and love.
Episodes
83 episodes
Bishop Kevin answers your new email and social media questions
What's better? A slice of pizza from the city or Jersey? What's the bishop's favorite book of the Bible? Favorite parable? In his second "mailbag" episode, Bishop Kevin Sweeney fields various questions from our viewers, listeners, and social me...
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Season 1
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Episode 83
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43:20
What it's like to be young and Catholic now
Three young adults share their experience of being Catholic in today's culture. Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish interview Michael Inguanti, David Martinez, and Matt Pana of the New Jersey chapter of Young Catholic Professionals. The organiz...
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Season 1
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Episode 82
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38:14
Opportunities for God's grace in the season of Lent
As we look to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, Bishop Kevin Sweeney offers practical advice about the Lenten practices of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Guest Father Jared Brogan joins Bishop Kevin and Jai Agnish to help illuminate th...
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Season 1
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Episode 81
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43:32
How three people responded to their call to religious life
A religious sister and two brothers engage in a lively interview with Bishop Kevin Sweeney about how they discerned God's call to consecrated religious life. Sister of Christian Charity Chiara Marie Stimpfle, Franciscan Father John Aherne, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 80
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44:46
How this close-knit Catholic school community thrives now
For this remote episode, Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish visited All Saints Academy, a preschool through eighth-grade Catholic school of the Diocese of Paterson in Parsippany, N.J. The episode was recorded at St. Ann Church, where classes w...
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Season 1
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Episode 79
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32:18
March For Life: The powerful movement continues after 52 years
On Jan. 24, 2025, the 52nd annual National March for Life will take place in Washington, D.C., bringing together pro-life advocates to be a voice for the voiceless. Two frequent attendees of the March, Julie McGurn, a parishioner of St....
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Season 1
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Episode 78
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28:20
How to get involved in the Jubilee of 2025
Pope Francis invites everyone to participate in the grace-filled Jubilee “Year of Hope,” which opens in Rome on Dec. 24, 2024, and in every diocese on Dec. 29, Feast of the Holy Family. Bishop Kevin Sweeney welcomes Sister Theresa Lee, F.M.A., ...
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Season 1
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Episode 77
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44:55
How can the Church best involve young people in their faith communities?
How can the Church best involve young people in their faith communities? This week, several students who attend DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne tackle this question with Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Cecile Pagliarulo. They also discuss how cam...
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Season 1
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Episode 76
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35:00
Reworking the way we share the stories of our faith
Happy Thanksgiving from Bishop Kevin Sweeney, Jai Agnish, Cecile Pagliarulo, and all of us in the Communications Office of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J.! On this week's episode, Bishop Kevin and Jai discuss the difficult decision to close the p...
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Season 1
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Episode 75
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36:00
On the ground, how the synod is breathing new life into the Catholic Church
What does the Synod on Synodality mean for the future of the Catholic Church, and will anything change in the Diocese of Paterson? Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish welcome Father Paul Manning and Maria Moncaleano back to Beyond The Beacon to...
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Season 1
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Episode 74
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44:11
Cómo una universidad empodera e inspira a los estudiantes latinoamericanos
Descubre cómo la Universidad Seton Hall empodera e inspira a su población estudiantil latina con becas, conexiones profesionales y apoyo comunitario. En este episodio especial en español de Beyond The Beacon, el Obispo Kevin J. Sweeney conversa...
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Season 1
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Episode 73
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19:10
How one university empowers and inspires Latin American students
Learn how one university empowers and inspires its Latino student population with scholarships, career connections, and community support. Joining Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish this week is Lori Tarke, executive director of the Joseph A. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 72
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34:50
Learn how giving impacts our communities in a special way
This remote episode was recorded at the temporary location of The Father English Food Pantry in the heart of Paterson near St. Joseph's University Medical Center. Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish welcome Carlos Roldan and Tim Potter to the s...
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Season 1
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Episode 71
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42:41
How to make a difference now as a Catholic in the public square
Who should I vote for this November? Find out what Bishop Kevin Sweeney has to say on the matter in the latest episode of Beyond The Beacon. You may or may not like the answer. We also welcome Jim King, the executive director of the New Jersey ...
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Season 1
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Episode 70
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52:01
A special live audience interview with Bishop Kevin and Jesuitical
We hosted a unique media event with Bishop Kevin Sweeney and America Media's Jesuitical on Sept. 11. The cohosts of the popular podcast -- Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis -- interviewed Bishop Kevin in front of a live audience at our St. Paul In...
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Season 1
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Episode 69
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45:57
The unique role of deacons in our faith life
"Go forth, the Mass is ended!" Deacons get the last word at Mass, and they have a unique role in the faith life of the Catholic Church. You might hear them proclaiming the gospel or preaching the homily. Deacons assist with Communion and can pe...
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Season 1
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Episode 68
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47:35
Join: The March For Life is coming to NJ
Any Catholic deeply involved in the pro-life movement has likely attended a March for Life in Washington, D.C. during its 50-year history. For those in New Jersey, the movement is coming to the Garden State on Sept. 26 in Trenton for the first ...
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Season 1
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Episode 67
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43:13
Catholic higher education in the mainstream secular world
Dr. Peter Kilpatrick, the president of The Catholic University of America, joins Bishop Kevin Sweeney to discuss the challenges of leading a Catholic university in an increasingly secularized culture. Born a Methodist, he also talks about his f...
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Season 1
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Episode 66
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45:05
Sacerdote regresa a Cuba para un año de misión
El Padre Dailon Lisabet es oriundo de Cuba y emigro a los EE.UU. cuando tenia 19 años. Llego a Nueva Jersey, donde fue ordenado sacerdote para la Diocesis de Paterson en el 2019. Las semillas de su llamado al sacerdocio comenzaron a germinar cu...
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Season 1
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Episode 65
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11:52
Priest returns to Cuba for a special mission year
Father Dailon Lisabet left Cuba for the United States when he was 19 years old and found his way to New Jersey where he was ordained a priest of the diocese in 2019. In many ways, the seeds of his priestly calling began as a teenager in Cuba wh...
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Season 1
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Episode 64
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33:58
Exploring the diocesan archives for the first time
Bishop Kevin Sweeney tours the diocesan archives for the first time in a special simulpodcast episode of Beyond The Beacon and Coffee with Kupke. With the help of historian, archivist, and pastor Msgr. Ray Kupke, the bishop unearths some of the...
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Season 1
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Episode 63
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51:29
The National Eucharistic Congress has concluded. Now what?
On Beyond The Beacon episode 62, meet two couples, who recently returned from the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Ind. Dr. Tobi and Anne Ippolito, who are parents of three grown children, are parishioners of Holy Family Church in...
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Season 1
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Episode 62
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48:21
What are the old and new ways Franciscans pass on the faith?
Each of our guests is a priest. One is a doctor and educator, another a future immigration lawyer, and the other has a heart for social justice at the border, on death row, on the streets, and in his suburban backyard. They are Father Chris Van...
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Season 1
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Episode 61
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43:54
Future priests discover their unique call at Quo Vadis retreat
Where are you going? In Latin, it translates to “Quo Vadis” and in Beyond The Beacon episode 60 learn what that means as we travel again on location to Shiloh Bible Camp in West Milford, N.J. for the 2024 Quo Vadis discernment retre...
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Season 1
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Episode 60
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30:22
Addiction stole his big league career but sobriety gave him a new life
Former Major League Baseball pitcher and Paterson native Michael Jackson shares his remarkable story of making the big leagues, overcoming addiction, and going on to assist others as a counselor. Also joining Bishop Kevin Sweeney and Jai Agnish...
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Season 1
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Episode 59
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48:08