If there’s a parish party, Carolyn LaRosa can be found cleaning up in the kitchen afterward. On an average day, she’s sorting canned goods in the parish food pantry or on the road to pick up gleaned donations from Safeway or Panera. She is a charitable clearinghouse, according to her fellow parishioners at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax. Her parish is where requests and donations intersect. And everyone knows her chili. LaRosa was our 2023 “Herald Angel.”
In Luke’s Gospel, Christ says that much will be required of those who have been given much. That’s why Mary Lynne Duncan feels called to reach out to those on the margins in the larger community. “This is a journey we’re all on together and when one of us is struggling, we’re all supposed to be there to help,” Duncan said. She was the 2022 “Herald Angel.”
Help us find this year’s honoree.
Every year we ask readers to nominate a volunteer who consistently goes above and beyond to help others, either on their own or for a Catholic nonprofit in the Arlington diocese. We want to recognize them and share the motivation behind their community service.
Send your nominations — including your name and contact info, the nominee’s name, parish, contact info and a little about their volunteer work — to [email protected] by Dec. 2.
You can also nominate someone on social media by posting a photo of your nominee #HeraldAngel and tagging us. Find us on Facebook.com/ArlingtonCatholicHerald; X (formerly Twitter) @acatholicherald; and Insta @catholicherald.
Nominations can also be mailed to Catholic Herald, 200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 615, Arlington, VA 22203.
The staff will review the nominations and this year’s “Herald Angel” winner will be featured in our Christmas issue, Dec. 19.
