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Saint Vincent de Paul
Roman Catholic Church |
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The Saint Vincent de Paul Church that we all enjoy today was designed by the ecclesiastical architectural firm Maginnis & Walsh of Boston. It was built in 1930 in granite as the main material. The Romanesque Revival style replaced the now impractical Gothic style. There are more than 40 stained glass windows in the Church and the Rectory that were made in Dublin, Ireland in the Harry Clarke Studio. There are no other surviving examples of his work anywhere in North America. These windows tell the history of this parish in their brilliant splendor which give the Church the touch of serenity in which to come together to pray and praise our Lord. As a tribute to the early Irish parishioners that were the cornerstone of the Church the workers carved a Celtic cross in a cut-stone found at the top of the Church’s front facade. This photo shows the old Rectory house a Victorian turn of the century building. The exact date of this photo is unknown. We'd like to know more about the construction of the Church and when the old rectory was demolished and the new one built. We are also interested in any data about the Church history and any old photos you'd like to share with this website so that it'd be included in this page If you have that info; kindly let us know by contacting the Webmaster Thank you in advance for any help in this endeavor. Saint Vincent's history is engraved
with the National fame achieved by the St. Vincent Cadets Corps St. Vincent's engraved a history unique in
drum corps circles. They were always well-known for their originality in
drill and music throughout the nation. |
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American Legion National Champions 1951-52-53;
(only corps ever to win the Round Robin twice, 1951-52 VFW State, Legion
State, VFW Nationals, and Legion Nationals); Lions International Champions 1946; Philadelphia Open Champions 1950-51-52; Northeastern Champions 1951-52; Pennsylvania Dutch Champions 1951-52; New York State Fair Champions 1952-53; New York State Open VFW Champions 1951-52; New Hampshire Open VFW State Champions 1956. |
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Tidbits of History and Parishioners Traditions: The Christmas Wafer - Oplatky By Father George M. Franko Holy Name Church, Youngstown, Ohio Christmas wafers have been part of our Slovak Christmas Eve supper, Vilija, as long as we can remember! We recall that God sent manna to His people as they sojourned in the desert. We also recall that Jesus said that He was "the bread of life," and that He left us His Body and Blood under the appearances of bread and wine in the Eucharist. Christmas wafers are called oblatky and this name indicates their purpose and origin. Blessed bread, associated with Mass and yet distinct from the Eucharist, has been used as a sacramental in both the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. In the West, the custom has survived in the pain benit (blessed bread) given in some French churches after High Mass. In the East, the use of blessed bread developed into the practice of antidoron. Some of the bread prepared for Mass (prosphorae-offerings) was not consecrated, spiritual communion. This practice still continues in the Byzantine Rite, but usually, only on major feasts. In the Latin Rite, the bread and wine offered at Mass are referred to as oblata (offerings). What the Byzantine call prosphorae, the Latins call oblata. It is from the Latin Oblata that our Slovak word oblatky is derived. While the word oblatky is derived from the Latin, the religious custom of oblatky at Christmas is nurtured by both the Latin and the Byzantine traditions. Slovaks are fortunate in preserving this custom at Christmas, as an aid to a worthy reception of Holy Communion as well as a family spiritual communion on this most joyous of feasts! ----------------------------------------------------- The tradition - a website editorial The start of a Slovak traditional Christmas eve meal was always Oplatki, or Bread of Love, a thin Communion-like wafer stamped with a Christmas scene and served with honey spread upon the wafer sheet. The Oplatki is passed from person to person along with a wish and a kiss. With this each person offers a piece of the wafer to all others sitting at the table wishing the other a "Merry Christmas" and a "Happy New Year". The symbolism of sharing the wafer to everyone back and forth was to symbolize giving and sharing in their lives. It’s understood that the wafer although the same as the Eucharist wafer in Mass is not consecrated and therefore not the Body of Christ but rather just sharing and breaking of bread as in the last supper. It’s customary to have the Oplatki wafers blessed by the parish priest prior to Christmas Eve. Oplatki is followed by a mushrooms and potato soup that is followed with Fish and potatoes. The potatoes are cold with onions in a vinegar and sugar solution. This meal menu has passed from generation to generation and has been the same each Christmas, plain and simple by today’s standards, but a virtual feast for poor ancestors. The meal was made from what was available to them in the old country. After the main course some families may have Kolachi and coffee. The order in which the courses were served signified the order of life. Remember honey on wafer, then sour potatoes and fish, then pastries; sweet - sour – sweet; as the order of real life. Some families might have also had walnuts in a big bowl on the table and the father would always throw a couple of them into the corners of the room. They were taught this was the way to insure good luck for the coming year by the head of the family. These family traditions are very important
that need to be taught to generations to come so that beautiful customs
like this one never end and continue to be alive and a source of
inspiration for the children of their children. Thank you to all the
Slovak ancestors for giving us this wonderful custom and Merry Christmas
to you and your family and to all Slovaks around the world. |
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HOW TO REPORT ABUSE - The archdiocese takes very seriously any and all
allegations of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy, Religious and
lay staff of the Archdiocese. We encourage anyone with knowledge of
an act of sexual misconduct to inform us immediately so that we can take
appropriate action to protect others and provide support to victims of
sexual abuse. Individuals who wish to report an allegation of sexual
misconduct may do so by calling the Archdiocesan Office of child and Youth
Protection at (201) 407-3256.
Mass Schedule:
(Daily 7:00AM, and 8:30AM) -
(Saturday 5:00PM) -
(Sunday 8:00AM, 10:00AM, and 12:00PM) - (Holyday 7:00AM, 8:30AM, 12:00PM,
and 7:00PM) - (Holyday Saturday 8:00AM) |
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The
St. Vincent Cadets Corps were founded in 1941 as a Boy Scout group by a
young, energetic, good, wholesome priest, Rev. Edward Wojytcha. He is also
a member of the Drum Corps Hall of Fame. From humble beginnings they grew
into a mighty giant-"THE BIG GREEN BAND." At one time, St. Vincent's
had three distinct Corps yes, three at the same time. They fielded
an All-Girls Corps, a Junior Corps, and The Big Green Band. In fact, the
Junior Corps had its own identity and own following, and was a good
competitor. This went on for a few years, but in order to survive, we had
to merge the two corps into one Big Corps, and from then on the Junior
Corps was a feeder corps for the Big Corps.