NORWICH – The parishioners of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Norwich are reviving the St. Bartholomew’s Feast Day celebration, a tradition they say annually re-connected the mind and soul back to faith, family, community and church.
“We want to stress the importance of our church’s namesake,” said parishioner Nicholas Testani, who pointed to St. Bartholomew, and explained how his influence in Italy carried on to build a part of Norwich, and the church he worships in today. “We want people to come help us celebrate the feast of our patron Saint, St. Bartholomew.”
The local celebrations for the Feast of St. Bartholomew have been on hiatus for the last three years, due to a lack of volunteers.
Parishioner Jo Ann Testani said that now more than ever, carrying on the faithful vigilance of previous generations – through events such as the feast day – is something that needs to be honored, not only in spirit, but in practice.
“It’s an important part of our heritage,” she said. “This gives you a connection to your past.”
The celebration is open to the public, and will take place from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Saturday, Aug. 26, in the pavilion area behind the Monsignor Guy Festa Parish Center.
Organizers said that a procession through the old Italian neighborhoods, one of the more meaningful customs of yesteryear, will return as part of this year’s revival.
Tony Caezza, a lifetime parishioner of St. Bart’s, said he hopes that the event can one day re-establish the relationship the church used to have with the entire community, including non-Catholics.
“St. Bart’s came to be a symbol for all people, I think this will be like starting all over again,” said Caezza. “I think that hopefully it will rejuvenate itself, not just for St. Bart’s – but for the whole community, it’s important to all of them.”
Caezza remembers when the first celebrations began in the 1930s under then Priest Father Walter Sinnott. Caezza revered the work of those parishioners, who he said spent the week before and after setting up and taking down what equaled a small village, first at the East Main Street school and later when the event was moved to the fairgrounds.
“We used to get 300 to 400 people down there,” he said. “But it was important to them, so they made it work.”
Booths and tables lined walkways filled with crafts, traditional foods, games and specialty items that were produced solely by the people of the church.
According to lifetime parishioner George Zieno, the literal self-produced lifestyles have all but disappeared today, and he says increased demands in work and outside activities have eaten up the spaces where religion and an appreciation for scarcity used to reside.
“The younger generation is too busy,” Zieno said. “They have too much going on, and they don’t have time for religion.”
Both Zieno and Caezza contend that the precedence religion once took is what made the feast celebrations so successful and meaningful, and while they acknowledge that with time comes change, they hope the younger generations will keep the tradition alive with the spirit of sacrifice and gratitude it was founded on.
Diocese of Syracuse Bishop James Moynihan announced in March that one of the two of the Catholic Churches in Norwich, either St. Paul’s or St. Bart’s, would close to due a weakening economy and a lack of priests to support both parishes. Since that time committees have been working to gain knowledge of both churches’ financial status and developing ways to keep them both open. The Diocese has asked for recommendations from both parishes by Thanksgiving, and have said they will consider keeping both St. Bart’s and St. Paul’s open if they receive sound proposals.
This year’s celebration will feature homemade Pasta Fagole and sausage and peppers, along with a host of other handmade traditional dishes. Games, live music, and raffles will also carry on throughout the day and night.