SCRANTON – Using a rosary that Father Patrick Peyton once used decades ago, Father Fred Jenga, C.S.C., President, Holy Cross Family Ministries, led the faithful of Scranton in a special recitation of the rosary on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.
Father Peyton, a candidate for Sainthood, is most known for his famous message, “The family that prays together stays together.” He traveled the world conducting hundreds of rosary rallies with more than 28 million people in attendance.
Pope Francis has declared him Venerable and a possible medical miracle is under review by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome.
Reciting the rosary in Scranton is significant because Father Peyton has a special connection to the Electric City and the very Cathedral where Thursday’s rosary took place. Before being ordained to the priesthood, Father Peyton served as a sacristan at the Cathedral of Saint Peter.
“Today is a powerful, emotional day in my life,” Father Jenga said before leading the rosary. “It was in this very cathedral that an Irishman served as a janitor or a custodian and was able to rediscover his vocation to the priesthood.”
Father Jenga said after becoming a priest, Father Peyton committed years of his life going around the world encouraging people to pray in their homes.
“This is the place where it all started from,” Father Jenga said. “This very space, this man, who used to open the doors of this Cathedral … this man is on the road to sainthood now.”
Holy Cross Family Ministries continues Father Peyton’s ministry to this day, encouraging family prayer and the power of prayer in homes. The organization serves 18 counties and has 27 ministry offices around the world, including in Latin America, Africa, Europe and Canada.
“It’s the gift that this cathedral is giving to the rest of the world because we need a saint for the families and we’ve never needed a saint for the families more than how it is right now,” Father Jenga stated.