DPD pilgrims visit sites to mark the Year of St. Joseph

#GO2STJOE  Residents of Wallace House in Sparta recently visited St. Joseph Church in Newton as they participated in the Diocese’s Year of St. Joseph pilgrimage to parishes and other institutions whose patron is St. Joseph or the Holy Family.

WEST MILFORD  When Gina, a resident of Catholic Charities’ Depart­ment for Disabilities’ (DPD) Colum­bus House, visited St. Joseph Church here last week, she felt like she was on an exciting spiritual adventure as she toured the grounds of the Upper Passaic County church. She has been learning about the saint for the past several months to mark the Year of St. Joseph.

Her pilgrimage to St. Joseph Church accompanied by her fellow DPD house mates was part of the Diocese’s Year of St. Joseph pilgrimage to parishes and other institutions whose patron is St. Joseph or the Holy Family. Beginning on June 3, the Feast of Corpus Christi and through Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which will conclude this special year dedicated to Jesus’ foster father, all of the faithful of the Diocese have been invited to visit pilgrimage sites in Passaic, Morris, and Sussex counties to mark the year. Those who participate are asked to share their pilgrim’s progress using #GO2STJOE on social media. There are 11 pilgrimage locations in the three counties of the Diocese (See related story on page 6 for a complete list of the pilgrimage sites.)

Jim Cerny, director of Columbus House in Oak Ridge and works with Gina and her house mates on a daily basis, said, “It’s nice to do different things with the residents and the pilgrimage offered this opportunity. They get a lot of enjoyment in doing something new. They are really positive and they enjoy all the staff and each other. It’s a good feeling to be able to help them participate in activities that bring them joy.”

On Dec. 8, 2020, Pope Francis announced the celebration by issuing a new Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart), proclaiming the Year of St. Joseph to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St. Joseph as patron of the Universal Church. In the letter, Pope Francis called St. Joseph a “beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father” — “a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.”

Because DPD, an agency of Catholic Charities in the Diocese, is encouraging all of its residents to take part in the pilgrimage, Lori Flynn, director of pastoral care for DPD, thought it was important she travel throughout the Diocese to these sites as well. She made a pilgrimage to some of the locations last week with her husband, Michael, making prayer stops at three of the Passaic County locations — St. Joseph Home for the Elderly in Totowa, St. Joseph University Medical Center in Paterson, and St. Joseph Church in Paterson. According to Flynn, each location offered a special feeling and she plans to visit all 11 locations.

“You definitely get the chills visiting all these places in honor of St. Joseph. The pilgrimage allows you to get to know St. Joseph. I met two women along the way who were also making the pilgrimage,” said Flynn.

Flynn has been a longtime devotee to the Seven Sorrows Rosary Prayer and was interested in learning that St. Joseph also had a prayer of the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys, which she prayed at the sites she visited. When meditating on these moments of St. Joseph’s life, she said, “St. Joseph is a great saint especially for men, who are fathers or want to start a family.”

In addition to the residents at Columbus House, DPD residents at Wallace House in Sparta and Wehrlen House in West Milford, also made a pilgrimage to churches in the Diocese whose patron is St. Joseph.

To complete the #GO2STJOE pilgrimage, pilgrims are asked to visit seven of the pilgrimage sites in the Diocese by Wednesday, Dec. 8. At the location, they pray one of the Seven Stations of St. Joseph at each location visited. The prayers can be found on St. Paul Inside the Wall’s website, insidethewalls.org/go2stjoe.

While at the location, pilgrims are asked to answer a specific question provided for each unique location. After seven locations are visited, pilgrims can register their visits on the website.

The pilgrimage is part of several events held for the yearlong celebration. In the first half of the year, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney consecrated the Diocese to St. Joseph on March 19, the patron’s feast day.

There will be a final pilgrimage Mass celebrated by the Bishop on Dec. 8 for the conclusion of the Year of St. Joseph at a pilgrimage site to be determined.

Flynn said, “Our residents know who St. Joseph is. They know the Holy Family. During the pandemic, many of them felt very isolated and many of them do not have family. We teach them that they do have a heavenly mother and a heavenly father and they make a connection with them knowing who they are. They understand if they feel lonely St. Joseph is the saint who will listen to their prayers.”