The Feasts of St. Patrick & St. Joseph

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

I  grew up in a parish that, I would come to learn, was similar to many other parishes in New York City, as well as many others in Long Island, Westchester, other parts of the tristate area, and many other parts of the North­eastern United States. One thing that many of those parishes had in common, in addition to all that made us Catholic, was that in February and early March there would be announcements and invitations to join in the parish’s “St. Patrick’s — St. Joseph’s Day” Party — or Dance or Celebration. I believe that, in some parishes with a larger number of Italian families, it may have been advertised as the “St. Joseph’s — St. Patrick’s Day” celebration. These celebrations were also held in the seminary, which led to some “healthy competition” and more or less friendly rivalries between the Irish-American and Italian-American seminarians. It was only in hindsight that I realized that the rest of the seminarians, who were neither of Italian or Irish ancestry, were left a little bewildered or asking themselves, “What are these guys getting themselves all worked up about?”

The fact that the feasts of these two great saints fall within the course of three days on the Church’s calendar could, I suppose, be called a quirk or a nice coincidence, but the lived experience of the Church has been something much deeper and more meaningful than that. While there may have been some healthy competition or friendly rivalries, there was also the experience of an immigrant Church in which we saw our faith as a part of who we were, as individuals, families, and communities.

As we approach the celebrations of St. Patrick and St. Joseph this year, I would like to reflect on the ways in which some things have changed and how those changes will impact the manner in which we will celebrate these two important feasts. For those who celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City is often the heart of celebrations that take place during what some call the “St. Patrick’s Season” in the weeks leading up to and following March 17. I have been learning and hearing so much about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Morristown, which, like the parade in Manhattan and countless other parades in our area and across the country will be postponed, as others are canceled or scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions.

We will, however, have two St. Patrick’s Day Masses here in our Diocese. While we will not be able to have the parade in Morristown, I look forward to celebrating a Mass in honor of St. Patrick at Assumption Parish on Saturday, March 13 at 10 a.m. The Mass can be viewed by livestream on the parish website. On a personal note, when I found out that I was being named the Bishop of Paterson and I looked up information about the Diocese on the internet, I was very happy to learn that St. Patrick, along with St. John the Baptist, is one of the patron saints of our Diocese. So, on my first St. Patrick’s Day as Bishop, I will be happy to celebrate Mass at our Cathedral at 12:30 p.m. That Mass can also be viewed by livestream here.

Due to concerns about numbers and safety, we cannot extend an open invitation for in-person attendance at either of the St. Patrick’s Day Masses. I did want to make one special invitation to a small group to join me for the Mass on St. Patrick’s Day at the Cathedral. I invited the priests of our Diocese who were born in Ireland, many who have given 40, 50, or more years of service to our Diocese. When I think of these priests, I think of two other groups. First, I think of my parents, grandparents, and family who were born in Ireland. I am grateful for my Irish heritage, as I have come to appreciate the history, culture, music, and many other aspects of that heritage. Most of all, I am grateful for the way that the Irish people have received, lived, and handed on our Catholic Faith.

In thinking about the priests who were born in Ireland and who have served and continue to serve our Diocese, I also think of the presbyterate (all the priests) of our Diocese. We are blessed by many homegrown vocations; those who were born and raised here in our Diocese, discerned the call to priesthood here and now serve as our priests. We are blessed by many priests who have come to us from Poland, Colombia, and many other countries. This diversity is part of what makes us Catholic. While there may not be as many St. Patrick — St. Joseph celebrations as there were in previous years, our parishes continue to thrive as welcoming communities, proud of our own heritage and open to others. So many of our parishes are wonderfully diverse communities of priests, religious, leaders and laity, some who are homegrown and some who have come to us from many different countries and cultures, yet our common and shared faith unites us.

As far as the celebration of the Feast of St. Joseph in this year of 2021, we have all received a wonderful gift from our Holy Father, Pope Francis, when on this past Dec. 8 he declared a “Year of St. Joseph” for the whole Church. Many throughout our Diocese are participating in a 33-day preparation for a Consecration to St. Joseph on his Feast Day, March 19. There was an article in The Beacon last week describing the ways in which we as a Diocese will mark the feast day in this Year of St. Joseph. You can find all of that information on our Diocesan website or on the St. Paul Inside the Walls website.

When we honor the saints, whether its Patrick, Joseph, Mary, our Blessed Mother, or any one of that “great cloud of witnesses,” who make up the communion of saints, we are reminded of the beauty of our “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic” faith and all the gifts and blessings that God gives to us through the gift of that faith.