Home/Stay Informed/All Diocesan Articles

All Diocesan Articles

Mercy Students’ ‘A Butterfly of Love’ Project Shows Support

Posted on June 27, 2020 in: News, School News

Mercy Students’ ‘A Butterfly of Love’ Project Shows Support

A group of Mercy High School friends have teamed up to assemble care packages for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a service project called A Butterfly of Love.

The girls put together packages of face masks for people working and volunteering on the front lines during the pandemic. They also are delivering care cards for patients and people who cannot receive visitors, and including messages of thanks to helpers and caregivers. A Butterfly of Love mandala is a gift of patience, love and hope. A mandala represents that life is never ending and everything is connected. 

Junior Kaila Lujambio created the project and is the lead organizer, along with senior Katie Bogucki. Week by week more “butterflies of love” are coming aboard. Currently, the following Mercy students are involved: Gabby Algiere '23, Christina Beaulieu '20, Jess Bogucki '23, Elena Cahill '21, Gabby Grant ’20, Aine Lally '22, Sarah Lynch '23, Julia Nadolski '23, Elisia Pagliuca ’21, Amanda Ross '21, Lindsay Stevenson '20, Madeleine Thompson ’21, Lillian Wimler ’21.

The project is a team effort fueled by the Mercy spirit. At home, each student handles a specific task to make all the parts of the project work, such as making caring cards, writing thank-you notes, coloring the "A Butterfly of Love" mandalas, or dropping off the packages.

At Mercy there is a saying: “The Circle of Mercy is Timeless,” and this project is the proof. Senior Emilee Apuzzo works at the Big Y supermarket in Guilford. In need of a face mask, she saw the Butterfly of Love boxes on a counter in her department. When she asked her supervisor where they came from, the reply was, “Some girls from Mercy dropped them off.” That is the spirit of Mercy and the reason the circle is timeless. The butterflies helped a friend, a classmate, a woman of Mercy who is working to help the community at large.

By visiting the project’s website, people can request the donation of care packages to places in need. “We have raised enough money for about 2,500 three-ply FDA and EU approved masks to be donated,” Lujambio said ”We are waiting on more masks. By request of some donors, we have started including some local business gift cards as well.”

Each package includes a label with the words: While we are apart, we still have each other.

While the friends rely mainly on word-of-mouth, the response has been tremendous. The group has delivered 1,875 face masks and 605 encouragement and thank you cards. The list is growing. One alumna sent in a request to the advancement office at Mercy High School seeking donations, and within hours, the butterflies accepted the request and began working on the donation for an assisted living center in Middletown.

Some of the local recipients that have received care packages include the Columbus House shelters in New Haven, Wallingford, Middlesex counties (which are now operating from hotels); Whitney Rehabilitation Care Center, Hamden; Albert J. Solnit Psychiatric Children’s Center, Middletown; Poet Seat Health Center;

Middlesex Hospital ICU, Middletown; Middletown Police Department; St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen, Middletown; Master’s Manna Food Pantry, Wallingford; Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven; COVID Shelter One, New Haven; Town of Wallingford employees; and area food/grocery stores and frontline workers.

“We are being very careful with our drop-off/pick-ups by following distance requirements, wearing masks, using gloves, washing hands,” Lujambio said. “It takes a bit of coordination and we are trying to be contactless to enforce the staying six feet apart requirement. Our parents, teachers, and alumnae have helped us with deliveries, too.”

The statement on the About Us page of the website says it all: We are group of young women joined by the Circle of Mercy. We are current Mercy High School students joined to continue the works of Mercy our community inspires. This virus does not stop the love and care for others. Our group wants to assure people can have the protection and support needed to continue taking care of others in challenging positions.

To purchase, donate or request a care package or donation, visit abutterflyoflove.wixsite.com/abutterflyoflove. The group has been posting online updates at their Instagram account @AButterflyofLove.

By Marie C. Kalita


Most Viewed Articles of the Last 30 Days

Join Bishop Reidy for a Youth Hike!

Posted on June 17, 2025 in: News, Events

1400

Join Bishop Reidy for a Youth Hike!
Middle School and High School youth are invited to a special hike with Bishop Reidy on Saturday, July 19th at 10:00 A.M. at Hurd State Park in East Hampton. Hurd State Park provides the perfect backdrop for a meaningful outdoor adventure, blending fun, exercise, scenic views, and moments of spiritual reflection. The park's flexible trails, peaceful riverside spots, and stunning overlooks make it an ideal place to connect with nature and one another. What to bring: Comfortable shoes, water, and a picnic lunch. Parents are welcome, and Youth Groups are encoura...

Read More

Pope Leo XIV’s Prayer Intention for the Month of June
Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful in St. Peter's Basilica, May 31, 2025. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA   In his first prayer intention video of his papacy, Pope Leo XIV has asked the faithful to pray that the world might grow in compassion during the month of June. “Let us pray that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from his heart, learn to have compassion on the world,” the pope said in a video released June 3. The video also includes an original prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to which the m...

Read More

Now Hiring: Faith Filled Educators

Posted on June 17, 2025 in: News, School News

1045

Now Hiring: Faith Filled Educators
There are several current job openings for educators in our diocese.  The positions are updated weekly, so be sure to bookmark this page in your browser-  NorwichDiocese.org/Employment Click Here to See the Current Open Positions  All candidates must complete the official professional application to be considered for a teaching position or principal position and submit it to the Diocesan School Office. Applications are available on the employment page of the website. Visit NorwichDiocese.org/Employment to view all of the open jobs in the di...

Read More

Pray for the Pope: Join the Sacred Heart Novena June 19–27
Knights of Columbus Launches Sacred Heart Novena for Pope Leo XIV New Haven, Conn. — The Knights of Columbus have announced a special novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the intention of Pope Leo XIV, beginning June 19—his anniversary of priestly ordination—and concluding June 27, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly is encouraging Knights, their families, and all people of goodwill to participate in the novena and to submit personal prayer intentions, which he will personally bring to Rome later this Jubilee Year. P...

Read More

Parish Bulletins Remain Relevant in the Digital Age
  Kristyn Figbie, communications coordinator for St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Britain, designs a Sunday bulletin that takes a more graphic approach to information with browsable tables and photos that capture the vitality of the parish community. Photo by Shelley Wolf   Parishes within the archdiocese are always looking for better ways to engage parishioners. To meet parishioners’ information needs and grab their attention, two parishes recently overhauled their Sunday bulletins with fresh new designs, more graphics and photos, and enhanc...

Read More

Public Policy Office of Catholic Church Scores Wins in State’s Legislative Session
The Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference achieved “successes we were happy about” during the 2025 Connecticut Legislative Session, according to Deacon David Reynolds, the Conference’s associate director for public policy.  “Legislation dealing with abortion, transgender rights and immigration reflected the conflict between existing state law and the recently revised federal laws and regulations,” he says. “The good news is the Conference’s efforts to stop harmful legislation in the areas of abortion and gender-affi...

Read More

Annual Catholic Appeal

ACA DONATE

English

Español

 

Latest Articles
Pope Leo XIV’s Marriage Advice? Keep Calm and Pray the Rosary
Archdiocese Is Selected for National Parent and Family Faith Project
We Can Help. Promise to Protect-Pledge to Heal.
Prayer for Our Nation
Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV Recommend This Book, Which Warns of a World Without God
Marriage Encounter Experience- August 15-17
Calendar of Events

 

St. Vincent de Paul Place Norwich Celebrates New Elevator
Recently Added Galleries
Click to view album: Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Richard F. Reidy
Click to view album: Students Called to Feed the Hungry
Click to view album: 40 Days for Life 2024
Click to view album: Blessing of the Fleet 2024
Signup for Weekly Newsletter

     

    Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich
    201 Broadway
    Norwich, CT 06360-4328
    Phone: 860-887-9294