Angel Benefit

This will be the highest and most prestigious award to be given out by ASCS. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton founded Catholic Schools in the United States, so this award will go each year to an honoree who played a significant role in the founding and growth of ASCS. 

Sr. Sally Norcross is a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. In 1969, she began her teaching career at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Norwalk as a first-grade teacher. After one year, she was assigned to a Girls' Academy in Waterbury, where she was a Middle School teacher.

She returned to St. Thomas the Apostle School in 1975 and continued working in Middle School until 1990 when she became the Assistant Principal at All Saints Catholic School. Until 2012, she had devoted her entire professional career of teaching, administering, and counseling to working with children in Catholic Schools.

In 2012, Sr. Sally was named Pastoral Assistant at St. Matthew Church in Norwalk where she has participated in the pastoral care of those suffering from illness, grief, and family crises for the last 11 years, listening to and helping others articulate their experiences in light of our faith. 

“Without Sister Sally and Sister Catherine, there would be no All Saints Catholic School. We will be forever grateful for her leadership and vision,” said Mr. Virgadamo.

St. John Neumann is the Patron Saint of Catholic Education. This award will be given to a Priest in the Diocese of Bridgeport who manifests leadership in the promotion of ASCS and Catholic Education. 

Fr. Sudhir DSouza is currently the Pastor of St. Philip Church in Norwalk. He has been in the parish for the past 10 years - four years as an associate, and six years as the Pastor.

He belongs to the Diocese of Varanasi in India and was ordained on April 19, 2005. His hometown is in the southern part of India and he works for (is part of ) a mission diocese in the north. He was sent here to continue his studies for an MBA (a Master in Business Administration) degree. After his studies, the Diocese of Bridgeport asked him to continue his parish ministry in Connecticut for a few more years.

Prior to coming to St. Philip, Fr. Sudhir worked as an associate at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in East Norwalk, and at St. Matthew Church in West Norwalk. He likes to spend his time meeting new people and enjoys playing a variety of sports - including soccer, volleyball and basketball - and working in Youth Ministry. 

The newest project that he has undertaken is to coordinate the Regional Middle School Faith Formation program,  a collaboration of four Norwalk parishes – St. Philip, St. Jerome, St. Matthew and St Thomas. The program began in October 2022 with over 150 students participating in the program.

Throughout his years in Norwalk, Father Sudhir has been an integral part of our ASCS community,” said Linda Dunn, principal. “His strong support of our school and willingness to drop everything and serve our community has been integral to the faith formation of our school.”

St. Aloysius is the Patron Saint and model for servant leadership. This award will be given to a Community leader who manifests the qualities of servant leadership and is committed to improving the quality of life in greater Norwalk.

Sal Calise is a Norwalk Police Sergeant and has served in Norwalk for over 26 years. His experience includes the Patrol Division, Community Policing, Narcotics, DEA task force, and supervisor for both Detective Bureau and the Patrol Division. He is currently a supervisor for Community Policing and the Traffic Division. He has just been reassigned from a Tactical Team leader to Executive Officer for the Norwalk Tactical Team, as well as being a former member of the Norwalk Police Scuba Team. Sal also served as Home School President for three years for All Saints Catholic School, where his daughter Lindsay attended (K-8th grade) and she is currently a freshman at Sacred Heart University studying to become a Geriatric Psychologist. Sal has lived in Fairfield County his entire life and has been a parishioner at St. Matthew Church in Norwalk for over 30 years. 

“Sal is the epitome of a community servant. Throughout his years as a parent and as HSA President, he was always ready to roll up his sleeves and help. His dedication to Catholic education and protecting our Norwalk community is admirable,” says Mrs. Dunn.

St. Katharine is the second American-born Saint. She is the Patron Saint of Philanthropists. This award each year will be given to an individual influential in providing or securing philanthropic support of All Saints Catholic School.

Holly Doherty-Lemoine, CFRE was appointed Executive Director for Foundations in Education in December 2016, tasked with overseeing efforts to transform diocesan Catholic schools through support of student scholarship and faculty professional development grants in innovation and leadership.

“Because of the leadership of Holly and the entire board of Foundations in Education, thousands of children have had the opportunity to experience a Catholic education. Specifically, at ASCS, one-third of our families receive tuition assistance from the Bishop’s Scholarship Fund