MADISON — The USA Council of Serra International recently announced that Msgr. James Bartylla has been named Serra Chaplain of the Year for 2009 for Region 7.
Monsignor Bartylla has been chaplain of the Madison Serra Club and vocation director for the Diocese of Madison for the past five years. He was cited for vocation efforts in Madison, Janesville, and the 11-county diocese.
Exemplifies spirit of Serra
Grant Emmel, president of the Madison Serra Club, presented the award at a recent club meeting. The award was brought back from the Serra International Convention held recently in Omaha, Neb., by Brian Kelly, Serra district governor.
Emmel commented, “This award is made to the chaplain who exemplifies the spirit of Serra through their support and contributions to their club and members. Monsignor Bartylla is a regular at every meeting, saying Mass, providing suggestions and guidance to the club on all its various programs and activities.
“He takes an active role in every vocation event and it is because of his enthusiasm and energy that the Holy Spirit is able to do great things in our diocese. This is reflected in the many vocations that he has helped to foster on behalf of Bishop Morlino, leading to the 25 young men we presently have in seminary.
“It is even more impressive because this award was given at the regional level, including 32 clubs in all from Upper Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. We are wonderfully blessed to have Monsignor Jim be an active part of our club in our quest for vocations.”
The Serra Club
The Serra Club is an organization of lay Catholic men and women who foster and promote vocations to the Catholic priesthood and religious life and encourages its members to fulfill their own Christian vocations to service.
The club is named for Fr. Junipero Serra, the Franciscan priest who founded many missions in California.
For more information on the Madison Serra Club, contact Grant Emmel at 608-821-3010 or grant.emmel@straphael.org or Tom Delaney at 800-356-6695 or tdelaney@amtelco.com