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Weekly Bulletin October 20, 2024
by Terrie Evans
On this 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 20th, our San Antonio Church community wishes to thank Buddy, Mike, Mark, and Nick LaRosa for their generous donations to our 88th Annual Spaghetti Dinner. They have supported all our fundraisers throughout the years so San Antonio Italian Church can always access funds for any major repairs that might be needed. We also thank those resolute volunteers, their extended families and great friends who worked for the past month selling place mat ads, spacing spaghetti dinner pick up times, charting seating reservations for our Hall, and organizing schedules for workers. We appreciate the much-needed group of volunteers who worked with the kitchen crew to prepare over 2,000 traditional meatballs, over 50 gallons of sauce, the Italian sausage, and rechecked the supply of desserts and drinks needed. On the morning of October 13th, the 88th Annual Spaghetti Dinner Sunday, workers were in the Hall checking all the schedules for the volunteers who would be working the different stations, setting up the tents in the parking lot and making sure we have enough teams of runners who would ferry the dinners to the parking lot volunteers for the drive thru customers. We appreciate each and every one of you who helped our little mission church continue the traditions of our ancestors for San Antonio Church to remain an active parish.
Our San Antonio Church Community sends their condolences and prayers to the Panaro, Maxwell, Tawfik, Fromeyer, Wylie, and Ackerson Families on the passing of William Panaro on October 9, 2024, at the age of 76. He was part of the large Panaro Family who were early settlers in the Little Italy section of South Fairmount and one of the founding families of San Antonio Italian Church. William (Billy) Panaro was the great grandson of Mary Elena (Schiavio) (1857-1922) & Gennaro Palmieri (1851-1929) and Maria(Matturo) (1844-1941) & Vincent Panaro (1847-1910). Grandson of Mary Josephin (Palmieri) 1880-1973) & Lawrence Panaro (1873-1940) and son of Helen (Snellbaker) (1917-2002) & William Panaro (1914-1988). He is survived by sister Ginny (Panaro)Maxwell and spouse Thomas, his daughters Ginger Panaro (Chas) and Anna Tawfik (Sam), his Grandchildren Christy Fromeyer (Brandon), Amanda Wyllie (Sean), Will Ackerson, Nadia Tawfik, Christian Tawfik, Lilly Tawfik. His Great Grandchildren: Aaron, Ethan, Aidan, Gabe, Noah, and Elizabeth Fromeyer. He also leaves many good friends, his pet Cooper, and Panaro 1st Cousins: Buddy LaRosa, Larry Panaro, Harry Panaro, Geri (Panaro) Backer, John Panaro, Toni (Panaro) Bailey, Jean Lee (Panaro) Bittman, Terrie Evans, Toni (Panaro) Corbin who will mourn his passing. Hiis funeral service was held at Newcomer Funeral Home on Wednesday, October 16th, 2024.
On Tuesday, October 22nd we celebrate the life of Saint John Paul II (Karl Jozef Wojtyla) born in the Polish town of Wadowice, about 31 miles from Krakow on May 18, 1920, the youngest of three children. He lost his mother when he was 9, his older brother when he was 12 and his father when he was 21. After graduating from high school, Karol attended Krakow’s Jagiellonian University until the Nazi occupation forces closed the school down in 1939. He then took work in a quarry and in a chemical factory to avoid being deported to Germany, continuing his studies after World War II. He studied in the Major Seminary in Krakow and at the Jagiellonian University before his ordination by the Archbishop of Krakow on November 1, 1946. His pastoral assignment was at the Church of the Assumption, 15 miles from Krakow and later at St. Florian Parish in Krakow. He was then sent to Rome working under a French Dominican, Garrigou-Lagrange until exercising his pastoral ministry among the Polish immigrants of France, Belgium, and Holland. Between 1948-1951, he became Vicar of parishes in Krakow, Chaplain to University students, later becoming professor of moral theology and teaching social ethics at the Catholic University of Lublin. During those years, his students met with him on a regular basis for prayer, philosophical discussions and to aid those in the community who were in need or battling a sickness. The group of students grew from 20 to 200, mentoring to them and scheduling field trips with activities such as skiing and kayaking. In 1953, he earned a Doctorate in Theology and in 1958, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow by Pope Pius XII. In 1959, Auxiliary Bishop Wojtyla began an annual tradition of saying a Midnight Mass on Christmas Day in an open field at Now Hula outside Krakow as the community had no church building. In 1962, he was selected temporary administrator of the Diocese of Krakow making contributions in the Second Vatican Council with the Decree on Religious Freedom and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. On January 13, 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Krakow and Cardinal on June 26, 1967. In 1974-1975, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla served Pope Paul VI as consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity as a recording secretary for the 1974 Synod on Evangelism. In 1975, he participated in the original drafting of the Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Nuntiandi”. On October 16,1978, the Conclave of Cardinals elected him Pope taking the named John Paul II, Karol Jozef Wojtyla became the 263rd successor to the Apostle. He was 58 years old, a non- Italian in the 455th year history and the youngest Pope since Pope Pius IX in 1846 who at the time was 54 years of age. On October 22nd, 1978, he was inaugurated, afterwards on his balcony, addressing the crowd Pope John Paul II said: “Dear Brothers and Sisters we are saddened at the death of our beloved Pope John Paul I and so the Cardinals have called for a new Bishop of Rome. They called him from a faraway land-far and yet always close because of our Communion in faith and Christian traditions. I was afraid to accept that responsibility, yet I do so in a spirit of obedience to the Lord and total faithfulness to Mary, our Most Holy Mother. I am speaking to you in your-no in our Italian language. If I make a mistake, please correct me.”
In 1983, Pope John Paul II traveled to Haiti where he spoke Creole to the thousands of Catholics who were waiting for him when he arrived at the airport. He led 9 Dedicated Years during his Pontificate: The Holy Year of the Redemption (1983-1984), The Marian Year (!987-1988), The Year of the Family (1993-1994), The Three Trinitarian Years of preparation for the great Jubilee (2000) and the Great Jubilee itself, that drew over 8,000,000 pilgrims, The Year of the Rosary (2002-2003), The Year of the Eucharist began 2004,and ended 6 months later after his death. He held General Audiences on Wednesdays that drew over 17,600,000 pilgrims and he held 146 pastoral visits throughout Italy and 104 visits throughout the world bringing millions together. During his Pontificate, he made journeys to 129 countries, traveling more than 680,000 miles. While Bishop of Rome, Pope John Paul II visited 317 of the city’s 333 Parishes and was the 1st modern Pope to visit Egypt, met the Coptic Poe Shenouda and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, and the 1st Catholic Pope to visit and pray in an Islamic Mosque. His dedication to young people brought him to establish World Youth Day celebrating 19 WYD’s that would bring millions of young people together from all over the world. In 1994, Pope John Paul II began the World Meetings of Families for his concern for the family structure while promoting the spiritual of the Church. He celebrated 147, Beatification Ceremonies proclaiming 1,338 Blessed’s, 51 Canonizations, making 482 saints and naming Therese of the Child Jesus, a Doctor of the Church. He expanded the College of Cardinals with 231 new Cardinals and reformed the Eastern and Western Codes of Canon Law. During his 27-year papacy, Pope John Paul II’s important Documents included 14 Encyclicals, 15 Apostolic Exhortations, 11 Apostolic Constitutions and 45 Apostolic Letters. He is also known for his role in the fall of Communism in Europe when Pope John Paul II kissed the ground at the Warsaw Airport, he started the process for Communism in Poland and in other parts of Europe would come to an end. He died at 9:37 PM on April 2, 2005, and until his funeral on April 8th, over 3,000,000 pilgrims came to Rome to pay their respects at St. Peter’s Basilica. The cause for his Beatification was opened by the Vicar General of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini on June 28, 2005. Pope John Paul II was Beatified on May 1, 2011, and he was Canonized by Pope Francis on April 27, 2014, during a ceremony at St. Peter’s Square. Before the ceremony, Pope Francis sent a message to the Church in Poland to give thanks for the great “gift” of the new Saint. Pope Francis said he is grateful “As all the members of the people of God, for his untiring service, his spiritual guidance, and for his extraordinary testimony of holiness.”
On Wednesday, October 23rd we honor the saint of the day, St. John of Capistrano born on June 24, 1386, in Capestrano, Abruzzo, in the Kingdom of Naples. He was a Franciscan Friar and Catholic Priest who became famous as a preacher, theologian, and inquisitor earning the nickname “Soldier Saint” when at the age of 70 led a crusade against the invading Ottoman Empire and helped liberate Belgrade from a Turkish invasion. He studied law at the University of Perugia and was made a Governor of Perugia at the age of 26. At the age of 30, he entered the Franciscan Novitiate and was ordained 4 years later. His decision to become a Franciscan Friar due to a dream when St. Francis of Assisi told him to enter the Order. He entered the Order of Friars Minor at Perugia on October 4, 1416, and studied Theology under Bernadine of Siena who strongly emphasized devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He was ordained in 1425 and began preaching in Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, and the Kingdom of Poland. He preached in public squares as churches could not manage the large crowds. He traveled up and down the Italian Peninsula preaching to huge crowds and when he preached in Brescia, Italy, the pilgrims numbered more than 126,000.
John traveled on missionary journeys with efforts to reunite separated Eastern Christians with Rome helping bring a brief reunion with the Greek and Armenian Churches. John along with 12 Franciscan Friars, was instrumental in reviving the dying faith and helping to promote devotion to the Church and worked towards the reform for the Order of Friars Minor. He was sent to embassies by Popes Eugene IV and Nicholas V as a Diplomat and Legate to oppose the claims of the Antipope Felix V and in 1446, he was deployed on a mission to the King of France. In 1456, he was sent to Austria to serve the Pope as an Apostolic Nuncio, a papal representative when he died on October 23, 1456. He was Canonized on June 4, 1724, in Rome by Pope Benedict XIII and is the patron of Chaplains, Jurists, Belgrade and Hungary. He was remembered for his Christian optimism that drove him to solve problems at all levels due to the confidence he had by a deep faith in Christ. In 1890, his feast day was assigned to March 28th and in 1969, Pope Paul VI moved date to October 23rd, the day of his death. The Missions of San Juan Capistrano in California and San Antonio, Texas are named in his honor. There is a beautiful stained-glass window depicting the image of St. John Capistrano at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C.
On Thursday, October 24th, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret who became the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. He was born in 1807, the 5th of 11 children to a family who were wool manufacturers. He attended the village elementary school and by the age of 12 was learning the trade to become a weaver. When he was 18, Anthony went to Barcelona to specialize as a Jacquard loom programmer, remaining there until the age of 20. During those two years, he studied Latin, French and engraving and feeling he needed a change, Anthony felt he was being called to seek a religious life. He entered the Diocesan Seminary in 1829 and on the feast of St. Anthony of Padua on June 13,1835, was ordained. He continued his study in Theology and working in his native parish before going to Rome as a Jesuit Novitiate before illness forced him to return to Spain to work in the pastoral ministry in Viladrau and Girona. His superiors then sent Anthony Claret to Catalonia as an Apostolic Missionary to help those who had suffered from French invasions. He became fluent in the Catalan language and drew people from many miles away, spending a long time in the pulpit and many hours hearing confessions. In 1848, Anthony Claret was sent to the Canary Islands for 15 months giving retreats that were so well attended that he preached from a pulpit in the town square before the start of Mass. When he returned to Spain, Claret established the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (The Claretians) on July 16, 1849, on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. At the request of Queen Isabella of Spain, he was appointed Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba by Pope Pius IX in 1849. Before he was consecrated, Anthony Claret made 3 pilgrimages: To Our lady of the Pillar, the Patroness of Spain; To the Virgin of Montserrat, Patroness of Catalonia; and To Our lady of Fussimanya, near his home village. As Archbishop, he reorganized the seminary, erected a hospital, and established trade or vocational schools for disadvantaged children. He authored many books about rural spirituality and methods that he evaluated for agriculture and farming. He founded the first women religious institute in Cuba, The Religious of Mary Immaculate on August 25, 1855, along with Maria Antonia Paris.
On September 3, 1859, Anthony Claret, said Jesus told him there were 3 great evils that were to descend on mankind: The 1st was a series of enormous wars, The 2nd would be the four powerful demons of pleasure, love of money, false reasoning, and a will separate from God. Jesus then told him that the 3rd chastisement would be brough about by Communism. In 1861, Claret again was warned by Jesus that Communism was to be the great foe of humanity. The remedy, Jesus told him would include a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Rosary. He would continue to spread the devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate heart of Mary by his preachings and writings. His union with God was rewarded by many favors and cures. In 1869, he went to Rome for the 1st Vatican Council but because of ill health, he withdrew and retired to the Cistercian Abbey in southern France where he died on October 24, 1870, at the age of 62. He was declared Venerable by Pope Leo XIII in 1899, and Beatified in Rome on February 24, 1934, by Pope Pius XI. On May 7, 1950, he was canonized by Pope Pius XII in Rome. St. Anthony Mary Claret is the patron of weavers, Dioceses of the Canary Islands, the Claretians, and the Catholic Press. Educational Institutions are named after Claret and are run by the Claretians in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia.