MOSAIC Spring 2015 | Page 24

ALUMNI UPDATE “Here I Am, Lord” Deacon Rudolph Piro, a 1984 alumnus of Sacred Heart, was ordained a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1979. He serves at St. Genevieve/ St. Maurice Parish in Livonia, INTO THE VINEYARD Alumni Advancing the New Evangelization L et me begin by saying that I am a very blessed person, beginning with my Catholic Italian heritage. This blessing begins with my grandmother, Angelina Fera, right down to my present family. My six children, sixteen grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren are the greatest blessings. I was born eighty-five years ago, October 25, 1929, bringing in the Great Depression of the 1930s. That was a blessing, believe it or not. Because of the Depression, my siblings and I learned to appreciate our Catholic faith and how to enjoy life even as a poor family. And we never knew we were poor. Looking back at my early years a