Category: Diocese of Scranton News

CARBONDALE – What started as a dream only ten months ago is now becoming reality.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, Rob Williams, executive director of Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen, took possession of a brand new trailer that will soon become the Saint Francis Free Mobile Clothing Store, providing free clothing to people across northeastern Pennsylvania.

“We’re going to try and serve as many people as we can,” Williams said.

The idea started when Teddy Michel, director of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps, started discussing the work of Saint Francis Kitchen’s free clothing store with two of his volunteers.

“They were bragging about the quality of clothes and they said, ‘It’s a shame that we can’t get them out into the community,’” Michel said.

Michel initially joked that if he ever won the lottery – he would buy Saint Francis Kitchen a trailer – but it turns out he won’t need to strike it rich.

The idea was so good – the advisory board of Saint Francis Kitchen didn’t want to wait. They gave Williams permission to pursue the idea.

Williams quickly got in touch with ITI Cargo in Carbondale, which is a division of Novae LLC, which agreed to build the trailer at a deep discount.

“Their company has been amazing. They gave us a 50-percent discount. On the open market, this trailer would cost about $15,000 but they sold it to us for $7,500,” Williams explained.

Mari Lucas, general manager of ITI Cargo, said her employees were excited to help. Dozens of workers who helped build the trailer stood outside the facility as the trailer was officially handed over.

“Community service is something that the company really believes in,” she explained. “One of our employees, as we were working on it, said, let us give them a good start so our team has donated 32 bags of clothing as well.”

The Saint Francis Free Clothing Store already gives out more than 2,000 articles of clothing a month at its facility in downtown Scranton but the new mobile clothing store will let the agency help people in need by going right to their doorsteps.

Williams envisions parking the Saint Francis Free Mobile Clothing Store outside churches and high-rises when they are already providing meals in Olyphant and Carbondale.

“We are also going to be proactive about collaborating with other non-profits. If they’re gathering 100 people for a food distribution and they want to add clothing to that mix, we’ll give it to them,” Williams said. “Our goal is to collaborate with whoever wants to collaborate with us.”

The trailer is expected to hit the road for the first time in early 2023 after being retrofitted with cabinets and cubbies to hold all the clothing. The exterior of the trailer is also being decorated so that it will be recognizable to people in the community.

“This is a way for us to reach more people with the huge amount of donated clothing that we have,” Williams said.

WILKES-BARRE – On almost any day of the week around noontime, John Lind of Plains Township can be found sitting at a table with friends enjoying the Daily Meal at Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen.

“I come here every day,” Lind said.

With the cost of groceries, gas, heating oil and many other essentials continuing to skyrocket, the 78 year old says eating at the Kitchen is one way he is able to save money.

“I would say it’s a minimum of $10 a day this place saves me,” he admitted. “I put that right in the gas tank.”

In addition to enjoying the Daily meal, Lind also frequently takes home fresh fruits, vegetables, and desserts that are regularly made available to guests.

In the midst of decades-high inflation, Mike Cianciotta, Executive Director of Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen, says more people are turning to places like their facility on East Jackson Street for assistance.

“We have definitely seen an increase of new clients coming in,” Cianciotta said. “I hear them talking about the price of gas, their utilities going up and the general cost of living at this point.”

Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen serves a warm, nutritious meal to the community every day of the year, including weekends and holidays, between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Everyone is welcome, no questions are asked.

Every Thursday, the Kitchen also provides 14 meals to veterans living at Saint Hedwig’s Village in Kingston and 60-70 meals to the Women in Crisis program in Hazleton. The Kitchen also delivers 25 meals to Mother Teresa’s Haven, an emergency shelter for people in Wilkes-Barre, six nights a week.

In addition to the Kitchen, Saint Vincent de Paul Food Pantry is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 until 11 a.m. In addition to receiving canned goods and meat products, visitors also receive fresh fruits and vegetables.

Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen accomplishes all of its work with just six full-time staff members – but relies on the kindness and generosity of volunteers, community groups and donors.

“Our staff is phenomenal. We all worked through COVID, through the whole pandemic, everyone came in and took care of the clients. We wouldn’t survive without the volunteers obviously,” Cianciotta said. “It costs us close to $500,000 a year to run this place. People don’t realize that, so monetary donations are very important.”

Ann Marie Harley, a parishioner at Saint Nicholas Parish in Wilkes-Barre, has been volunteering at the Kitchen for two years.

When asked to describe how important the Kitchen is to the community, she responded, “It is an answer for a lot of people just to have a warm meal every day.”

Harley not only knows most of the Kitchen guests by name, she knows their stories and favorite meals.

“I get upset when I have something going on and I can’t come because I feel like I’m letting them down,” she explained.

WILKES-BARRE – Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “For it is in giving that we receive.” Those words could not be truer for two longtime volunteers at Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen.

For nearly 17 years, Joan Robinson, 84, of Wilkes-Barre, and Nancy Prebish, 79, of Sugar Notch, have been donning aprons, prepping vegetables and serving those in need on a weekly basis.

“My husband got cancer and passed away,” Prebish said. “We weren’t lucky enough to have children but I felt I had to do something to get out and be with people so I decided to come to Saint Vincent de Paul and volunteer.”

That is where she met Robinson and the duo quickly struck up a friendship.

“We used to go on vacations together, we used to go on bus trips together,” Robinson explained of their friendship. “She’s the angel on my shoulder. I feel great just having her as a friend.”

“I could say the same thing for her too. It is surprising because you come to help people, but in the meantime, you meet so many volunteers that are in the same boat as you are. They lost somebody and want to give back to the community and are thankful for what they have,” Prebish explained.

Both Prebish and Robinson continue to serve at the Kitchen together every Friday. They enjoy getting to interact with the Kitchen guests just as much as they enjoy interacting with each other.

“You make good acquaintances with them. You joke around and you’re glad to see them and when you don’t see them, you wonder how they are doing,” Robinson said.

Both women encourage those people thinking about volunteering at Saint Vincent de Paul Kitchen to try it.

“I get a lot of joy out of it. It is a good place to socialize. A lot of us are by ourselves so it’s good to be out among other people,” Robinson stated.

SCRANTON – Thirty-five women and men religious who are celebrating milestone ordination anniversaries in 2022 were honored this month at a special Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, served as principal celebrant and homilist for a Jubilee Mass for Women and Men Religious on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.

“We celebrate your lives and we give thanks this day for your unique and singular contribution to the Church,” Bishop Bambera said during his homily.

“More than you likely realize or appreciate, you continually challenge us to trust in the mercy, love and forgiveness of God. That is something that many of us in this Church forget, all too often.”

The theme of trust played heavily into the bishop’s homily as he reflected on the Gospel for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Gospel involved the Sadducees questioning Jesus about eternal life and the resurrection.

The bishop helped explain Jesus’ answer saying that Heaven is “beyond time and experience” and only faith counts and remains.

“It really does come down to this: believe deeply that Jesus loves you with a love that endures through time and eternity. That alone should be enough for us,” Bishop Bambera stated.

As he brought the attention back to those in consecrated life being recognized at the Mass, Bishop Bambera said it is clear each jubilarian understands that message.

“We give thanks for those women and men who have understood the heart of today’s Gospel and have embraced the Lord’s call to holiness and mission because they have come to believe in the enduring love of God,” he said.

Those celebrating at the Mass are celebrating ordination anniversaries of 25, 50, 60, 70, 75 and 80 years. In all, 2,125 years of service were recognized.

“As I look at all of you who gather today in our Cathedral, many of whom I’ve known for years, I can only conclude that most of you entered religious life when you were five. You are amazing!” Bishop Bambera said with a smile.

As he wrapped up his homily, the bishop thanked all those in religious life who feed, heal, teach, pray for and build up the Kingdom of God – so often in quiet and simple ways.

“Thank you for challenging us to put our trust in the God who has filled your lives with hope. Thank you for inviting us to lift our eyes beyond the finite realities of life that so often overwhelm us,” the bishop said. “And thank you for reminding us of the treasure that is ours when we live not so much for ourselves, but for Christ, in service of our sisters and brothers.”

WILKES-BARRE – When Ted Mike of Saint Therese Parish in Shavertown had a spiritual renewal in the late 1970s, he credited the book, Hungry for God, and its author, Dr. Ralph Martin, for being a big influence in his life.

“It totally changed my prayer life. It showed me how important prayer was, to have a daily time of prayer and quiet before the Lord,” Mike said. “He’s a real prophet for our time.”

On Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, Mike got a chance to hear directly from Dr. Martin, and even personally speak with him, at the seventh annual ‘Be A Catholic Man Conference’ at Holy Redeemer High School.

“It was wonderful to see so many men come together,” Mike explained.

More than 335 men attended this year’s conference. In addition to listening to three speakers, attendees also celebrated Mass and Eucharistic Adoration together and had the opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

“Gathering together with other like-minded men, sharing your faith, sharing your prayer experiences, helps to encourage you and strengthen your faith,” Mike added.

During his speech, Dr. Martin gave those in attendance several practical tips about staying connected to Jesus Christ and relying on God in a deeper way.

“The challenges of our time can seem absolutely overpowering and lead to anxiety and fear, if we’re not relying on the Lord,” Dr. Martin explained.

Martin told the men at the conference to unconditionally surrender to Jesus, do whatever it takes to get rid of serious sin, and take time each day to be with the Lord in prayer.

“The most important thing we can do for our families, for relatives, neighbors, fellow parishioners, is to grow in union with the Lord. The more we grow in union with the Lord, the more we’ll be a blessing for other people, the more we’ll be a source of peace, a source of wisdom, a source of courage,” he said.

Author and former sports reporter Kevin Wells, another speaker at the conference, also encouraged attendees to carve out at least 30 minutes every day to pray.

“From the depths of her heart, she (Blessed Virgin Mary) calls for strong men today to reveal her son to this aching world,” Wells said.

The words of the speakers spoke loudly to George Coyoy, a parishioner of Saint Michael Parish in Scranton. This was the first time he attended the ‘Be A Catholic Man Conference.’

“It reminds me of what my responsibilities and duties are as a Catholic man, father and husband,” Coyoy explained. “It gives me more strength and confidence in going out and proclaiming my faith and living out my faith unapologetically.”

John Schwear, a parishioner of Most Precious Blood Parish in Hazleton, brought his son, John Schwear III, to the men’s conference.

“It helps restore a lot of our faith and also keeps us looking forward,” the elder Schwear explained. “So many of the topics that we’re experiencing today, we talk about at home.”

As they left the conference, many of the conference attendees held fast to the words that Father Stan Fortuna, C.F.R., spoke about. Fortuna, the final speaker of the conference, was one of the eight founding members of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

“Do not be afraid to open wide the doors to Christ and to His power,” Father Fortuna said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The mission of a seminary “is not to form ‘supermen’ who pretend to know and control everything,” but to help seminarians become priests who are humble servants of the communities they continue to belong to, Pope Francis said.

“The Lord calls some of his disciples to be priests, that is, he chooses some of the sheep from his flock and invites them to be shepherds of their brothers and sisters,” the pope wrote in a speech prepared for a group of rectors and staff members of seminaries in Latin America.

As priests, “we are fellow disciples of the rest of the Christian faithful and, therefore, we share the same human and spiritual needs, just as we are subject to the same frailties, limitations and errors,” he wrote in the text he handed to the group Nov. 10 before speaking to them off the cuff.

The rectors and staff members were attending a course sponsored by the Dicastery for Clergy.

“The gifts of grace and the traits of a wounded nature,” marked by a tendency to sin, are normal parts of the life of every baptized person and are present in the seminarians as well, the pope wrote, so seminary training needs to help them become aware of both as they grow in faith and basic human maturity.

Pope Francis urged the rectors and seminary staff to help candidates for the priesthood learn “to read their own history” with the eyes of faith, seeing how and where God was at work and where they may have gone astray.

The rector and staff also must recognize that the way they live their own lives has a big impact on the seminarians.

Candidates for the priesthood should be able to see how “a healthy human maturation” involves overcoming difficulties and periods of crisis through a constant renewal of faith and reliance on the Lord, the pope wrote.

Since “one of the indicators of human and spiritual maturity is the development and consolidation of the ability to listen and the art of dialogue,” he said, and those “are naturally anchored in a life of prayer, where the priest enters into daily dialogue with the Lord, even in moments of aridity or confusion.”

The work of priests, especially in a seminary, is not easy, the pope said. Priests are human and experience “frustration, weariness, anger and powerlessness, which is why it is important to turn every day to Jesus, getting down on our knees and in his presence learning from him who is meek and humble of heart, so that little by little our heart learns to beat to the rhythm of the master’s heart.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has continued to call on Russian and Ukrainian leaders to negotiate an end to the war, but the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church told him Russia wants only the destruction of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych met Pope Francis Nov. 7 at the Vatican, the first time the two have met in person since Russia started the war in late February, although they have spoken on the phone many times.

Archbishop Shevchuk gave the pope “a fragment of a Russian mine that destroyed the facade of the Ukrainian Catholic church building in the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, in March,” the archbishop’s office said. “It is a very symbolic gift, not only because Irpin was one of the first ‘martyr towns’ affected by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, but also because similar pieces of landmines are extracted from the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, civilians and children, a visible sign of the destruction and death that war brings every day.”

Returning to the Vatican from Bahrain Nov. 6, Pope Francis had told reporters traveling with him that the Vatican is “constantly attentive” to what is happening in Ukraine and that the Secretariat of State continues to do what is possible and has worked behind the scenes to help arrange prisoner exchanges.

The pope also told reporters he thinks the cruelty of the attacks on Ukraine and its civilians is the work of mercenaries, not Russians, who are “a great people” and have a strong “humanism.”

Meeting Archbishop Shevchuk the next day, Pope Francis reiterated the Holy See’s commitment to end the fighting and find a way to obtain “a just peace,” the archbishop’s office said.

“The war in Ukraine is a colonial war, and the peace proposals coming from Russia are colonial appeasement proposals,” the archbishop told the pope, according to his office. “These proposals involve the denial of the existence of the Ukrainian people, their history, culture and even the church. It is the denial of the very right to the existence of the Ukrainian state, recognized by the international community with its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Still, the archbishop thanked the pope for all his prayers and efforts “to stop the war and mediate peace, free hostages and prisoners and organize the universal solidarity of the Catholic Church on behalf of the suffering Ukrainian people,” the statement said.

Archbishop Shevchuk also visited with retired Pope Benedict XVI Nov. 9 in the monastery in the Vatican gardens where the 95-year-old retired pontiff lives. The archbishop said Pope Benedict assured Ukrainians of his constant prayers for peace.