SHENANDOAH - It was a time of smiles and tears on Sunday morning as parishioners and friends of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, West Washington Street, gathered to celebrate the church's 100th anniversary and the feast of the parish patroness.
While the smiles came from marking the parish centennial and the devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel with the Mass and outdoor procession, the tears were brought on with the knowledge that the church will close its doors forever this coming Sunday.
However, there was some very good news with the announcement that not only will the Our Lady of Mount Carmel statue will be moved to its new home in Divine Mercy Church, but also that the Our Lady of Mount Carmel devotion on the Sunday closest to the July 16 feast day will continue with the Mass and procession.
It was standing-room-only in the church for the 9 a.m. Mass, which was celebrated by the Most Rev. John O. Barres, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, and concelebrated by Monsignor Ronald C. Bocian, pastor, and Monsignor Anthony D. Muntone, who gave the homily at his home parish.
"Buona Festa!" reader Bernard Brutto said to the overflowing church as the Mass was beginning. "Good morning. Welcome to our Mass celebration of our anniversary."
Muntone has been the traditional homilist for years at the special celebration, telling stories about growing up in the Italian quarter of the borough, his mother, the church, going to school and other tales dealing with Italian culture, custom and traditions. As always, he showed that he could make the congregation laugh out loud, but he also had his serious moments, especially when he spoke of the closing of the church and the parish merger.
"Our Shenandoah has grown a lot smaller. Our diocese doesn't have all the priests that it once had and some of us, as you can see, are getting a little bit older," Muntone said.
"On my recent birthday, I turned 39 - times two. And our Monsignor Bocian, as hard as he tries, can't be in five or six places at one time, which he would have to do to keep all these parishes going," Muntone said. "The fact is that we all know that. However, even if we do, truth is it still makes us sad to lose our parish. That's all right. It's natural. It's a sign of our great love for this place. But we must be very careful about that. Our sadness comes from focusing on things we have lost, and it is true that we lose much in the closing of our parish - the familiarity of being in this little church, our place in that accustomed pew we regard as Ours that no one else dare sit there, the comforting smells of the incense and candles. But we believe in Jesus Christ. He triumphed over every sadness that could happen to us in this life, even death. All of which means his most precious gifts can never be lost. And he challenges us to build our lives on those things we can never lose, to hold on to them real tight."
Muntone spoke of the special memories that are connected with the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as celebrated in Shenandoah, including the nine-day novena, the Masses, the three-day festival that brought people from the region, the procession through the streets with the statue of "Our Lady," and the food.
"At last, that great family dinner that made the Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings look like a light snack," said Muntone. "And the beautiful fireworks letting everyone know that we're still here, as the rest of the town looked up and said, 'The Italians are at it again.' "
Later in his homily Muntone said, "As we stand at the completion of 100 years of life for our parish, we know something of the events that brought us to this day, but we don't know much about what may lie ahead. We know this precious little church has finished the work it was given to do. We also know that life must go on, and as it does we can be sure that if we just try our best to hold on to our happy memories, to our love and to our faith, we will be just fine for at least another hundred years.
"Monsignor Bocian has asked me to tell you something I am sure you will be very happy to hear," he continued. "This beautiful image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel will go with us to our new parish home. I can't tell how you much that means to us, Monsignor ... So, next year, 'Se Dio vuole' (God willing), on the first Sunday after the 16th of July, she will be waiting for us to take her out once again for her annual visit to all the streets and neighborhoods where we, with her most precious help, will continue to do our best to live our lives in a way that will make her proud. God bless you."
According to the church history, the parish began as a mission parish of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Mahanoy City. Prior to the building of the church, the Rev. Thomas Antenni, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, held services in Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, an ethnic German parishes located about a block east of the current location of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
The Italian population increased so rapidly that it was necessary to erect a church of their own. After months of planning and raising funds, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church was dedicated on Aug. 2, 1914. During the later years of Antenni's pastorate, the church was relocated due to a number of cave-ins from West Washington Street to its present site on North Diamond Street.
As Mass concluded, Barres spoke to the congregation and blessed the cintas (homemade small shrines) before they were taken by family members to carry in the procession, which included the carrying of the large statue of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the canopy that covered it on its journey through the borough in commemoration of the feast.
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was instituted by the Carmelites between 1376 and 1386. The feast was assigned to July 16 because on that date in 1251, according to Carmelite traditions, the Brown Scapular (a sacramental made of two pieces of cloth, usually wool, attached by cords worn over the shoulders) was given by the Blessed Virgin to St. Simon Stock.
The tradition had been to have families or individuals bid to carry the statue, with a second auction to carry the canopy. This year the bidding was not held in order to allow as many families as possible to have the opportunity to participate in carrying the statue and canopy.
As the statue was carried through the streets, people pinned money to it. Parishioners also distributed blessed Brown Scapulars. A large rosary was carried by the parish youth.
The procession began at the church on West Washington Street, then went along North Gilbert Street to West Lloyd Street, then along North Catherine Street to West Penn Street and to West Coal Street to the Glover's Hill section, then turned around and headed east on West Coal Street and back to the church. The Upper Schuylkill Marching Band led the procession.
Many Italian families continued the tradition holding celebrations in homes and gardens with much homemade Italian food. A large fireworks display by Zambelli International concluded the festival.