Charlestown, MA|News|
Father Ronan Reflects on Marathon Bombing
A weekly column by the pastor of St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Charlestown.

E-mail: Becca.Manning@patch.com
Phone: 781-217-4233
Hometown: Resident of Malden since 2013; previously resided in East Boston and Newton. Moved to Massachusetts (South Shore) in 2008. Born and raised in Troy, Ohio.
Birthday: November 6
About Me: A Massachusetts transplant, I grew up in Ohio and moved to the East Coast three years ago, spurred by a love of the ocean and a special affinity for Boston in particular. My first job in Massachusetts was working as assistant editor of a community weekly, the Pembroke Express, for the independent, family-owned Clipper Press. I had a great experience there, starting a newspaper from scratch in the town of Pembroke and watching it grow and become well received by the town. I was promoted to editor in 2009 and briefly took over as editor of two other Clipper Press weeklies, the Hanson Express and the Whitman Express, before signing on with Patch. I love community news, and I'm thrilled to be with Patch and especially excited to be covering the neighborhood of Charlestown.
Before reinventing myself as a New Englander, I worked for three years for a daily newspaper in Piqua, Ohio (just a few miles from my hometown of Troy). At the Piqua Daily Call, I started out as the education reporter and quickly added on the city government beat as well as page design and copy editing duties. Prior to that, I graduated from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism with a BSJ in journalism and an environmental studies certificate. During and right after college, I wrote for the independent student newspaper The Post and for magazines including Perspectives, Southeast Ohio, E/The Environmental Magazine and Bird Talk.
I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and telling stories even before that. I'm also an avid reader, and when I can combine all three of my loves — the ocean, writing and reading — with a day at a quiet beach, I am absolutely in heaven.
A weekly column by the pastor of St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Charlestown.

An economist talking to Business Week said the city is typically a $1-billion-a-day metropolitan area.
Residents in many city neighborhoods should expect collection by 6 a.m. Saturday.
The community celebration welcoming the rehabilitation hospital to the Charlestown Navy Yard has been delayed because of the citywide lockdown and manhunt for the suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing.
Typically bustling areas of the city were empty of people Friday morning and afternoon, as police search for a suspect in Monday's bombing at the Boston Marathon.
Charlestown residents discuss their thoughts and feelings during the citywide lockdown.
Crowds of people continue to visit the site at Boylston and Berkeley streets, leaving cards, teddy bears, flowers and other gifts.
A roundup of police activity in the neighborhood.
Louis Costa was convicted along with Frank DiBenedetto in 1988 and again in 1994 of two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of Frank Chiuchiolo and Joseph Bottari.
Employees from the local design company handed out free copies of the poster for people to hang in their homes, stores and elsewhere around the community.
Crowds of people continue to visit the site at Boylston and Berkeley streets, leaving cards, teddy bears, flowers and other gifts.
Deadlines, events and other items you should know about on April 19 in the North End.
Deadlines, events and other items you should know about on April 19 in Charlestown.
A Buddhist monk was among the many who visited a makeshift memorial on Wednesday.
Visitors on Wednesday left flowers, cards, medals and more at a makeshift memorial set up at the edge of the crime scene where investigators continued to search for clues in the Boston Marathon explosions.
Two employees of an office near Copley Square comforted people who came to the site of the Boston Marathon bombing on Wednesday.
Visitors on Wednesday left flowers, cards, medals and more at a makeshift memorial set up at the edge of the crime scene where investigators continued to search for clues in the Boston Marathon explosions.
Around 200 Charlestown residents turned out for a candlelight ceremony Wednesday night honoring the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Visitors on Wednesday left flowers, cards, medals and more at a makeshift memorial set up at the edge of the crime scene where investigators continued to search for clues in the Boston Marathon explosions.
Visitors on Wednesday left flowers, cards, medals and more at a makeshift memorial set up at the edge of the crime scene where investigators continued to search for clues in the Boston Marathon explosions.