RELATED: Photos from the Catholic Charities Luncheon

The boughs of holly on the balconies of the Waldorf-Astoria ballroom, the ladies wearing red suits, bows, and sweaters, and the presence of Edward Cardinal Egan were telltale signs that the 62nd annual Christmas Luncheon had convened to raise funds for the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.

"May immigrants be welcomed and children protected and nurtured," the executive director of Catholic Charities, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, said in his invocation.

The Christmas Angel Award went to lingerie empress Josie Cruz Natori. Attorney William Plunkett and his wife, Caryl, who for 25 years worked in her husband's firm, received the Spirit of St. Nicholas Award. Yet every guest seemed to possess the Christmas spirit, including governors Pataki Cuomo, and Mayor Bloomberg's girlfriend, the former New York State Superintendent of Banks, Diana Taylor.

Cardinal Egan joined the event luncheon chairwoman, mystery author Mary Higgins Clark; president of the Ladies of Charity of the Archdiocese, Dorothea McElduff, and the honorees on long receiving line.

The lines will likely be longer at the Cathedral of St. Patrick Christmas Eve and Christmas Day perhaps the largest gathering Catholics in New York. The archdiocese is also serving a Christmas Day brunch to homeless and families on the Lower East Side Saint Mary's Hall at 440 Grand St.

agordon@nysun.com