St. Joseph to celebrate 170 years of parish life Sunday
Tyler Murphy photo
OXFORD – Members of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Oxford will celebrate its annual Feast Day Celebration and the 170th anniversary of the founding of its parish on Sunday, March 11 beginning with a special mass at 10 a.m.
Bishop Robert J. Cunningham will be present for the celebration, as well as the Knights of Columbus from Oxford, Greene, and Whitney Point.
"We're going to have a special mass with the bishop and the knights, and we'll be presenting to the church a new St. Joseph's statue that was donated by a parishioner," said St. Joseph Church member Cathy Rood.
Rood said parishioner Carol Delaney is donating the new St. Joseph's statue, and that the Knights of Columbus have crafted a carrier for the statue. Rood said the special mass will include prayers to St. Joseph in thanksgiving for 170 years of protection, leadership, and support of the church.
Rood said after the mass the Knights of Columbus will carry the new statue of St. Joseph down into the hall where the Festa di San Giuseppe will commence, featuring special pastries, biscotti, Italian cookies, and all kinds of harvest delectables.
"It's a Sicilian harvest festival," said Rood. "There was a drought in Sicily in the 1200s and what happened was they prayed to St. Joseph and the rains came so they brought harvest. They built a St. Joseph table – or St. Joseph altar – and they put all the harvest on it.
"We build [a St. Joseph table] every year, we've been doing this close to 15 years."
This year will be special, said Rood, because in addition to the Festa di San Giuseppe, St. Joseph members are celebrating 170 years of parish life. Next year, the church itself at St. Joseph will turn 170 as well. Rood noted St. Joseph is the oldest Catholic church in Chenango County.
"Over the years we've researched the Sicilian customs and it's about as authentic as we can make it," said Rood, adding that any food left over from the celebration is donated to the homebound and the poor in alignment with Sicilian traditions.
"It's just a really big celebration. And everybody's welcome. It's open to anybody," said Rood. She added that organizing the event has been a team effort at St. Joseph with the whole parish involved.
OXFORD – Members of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Oxford will celebrate its annual Feast Day Celebration and the 170th anniversary of the founding of its parish on Sunday, March 11 beginning with a special mass at 10 a.m.
Bishop Robert J. Cunningham will be present for the celebration, as well as the Knights of Columbus from Oxford, Greene, and Whitney Point.
"We're going to have a special mass with the bishop and the knights, and we'll be presenting to the church a new St. Joseph's statue that was donated by a parishioner," said St. Joseph Church member Cathy Rood.
Rood said parishioner Carol Delaney is donating the new St. Joseph's statue, and that the Knights of Columbus have crafted a carrier for the statue. Rood said the special mass will include prayers to St. Joseph in thanksgiving for 170 years of protection, leadership, and support of the church.
Rood said after the mass the Knights of Columbus will carry the new statue of St. Joseph down into the hall where the Festa di San Giuseppe will commence, featuring special pastries, biscotti, Italian cookies, and all kinds of harvest delectables.
"It's a Sicilian harvest festival," said Rood. "There was a drought in Sicily in the 1200s and what happened was they prayed to St. Joseph and the rains came so they brought harvest. They built a St. Joseph table – or St. Joseph altar – and they put all the harvest on it.
"We build [a St. Joseph table] every year, we've been doing this close to 15 years."
This year will be special, said Rood, because in addition to the Festa di San Giuseppe, St. Joseph members are celebrating 170 years of parish life. Next year, the church itself at St. Joseph will turn 170 as well. Rood noted St. Joseph is the oldest Catholic church in Chenango County.
"Over the years we've researched the Sicilian customs and it's about as authentic as we can make it," said Rood, adding that any food left over from the celebration is donated to the homebound and the poor in alignment with Sicilian traditions.
"It's just a really big celebration. And everybody's welcome. It's open to anybody," said Rood. She added that organizing the event has been a team effort at St. Joseph with the whole parish involved.
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