Submitted by the linked communities of St. Patrick’s and St. Thomas Aquinas, Binghamton
St. Patrick’s Church on Binghamton’s historic Westside was honored to be the first church to host the Year of Vocations St. Joseph traveling icon. St. Patrick’s placed the icon in its sanctuary January 9-15.
Bishop Douglas J. Lucia blessed the icon of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, at the Mass to open the Year of Vocations in the diocese Nov. 14, 2020. The special year is a diocesanwide effort to help all baptized Catholics discover God’s call in their lives. Bishop Lucia invited all parishes to consider hosting the icon for a week at a time during the Year of Vocations.
As part of the honor of hosting St. Joseph, St. Patrick’s offered the official Syracuse Diocese Prayer for Vocations along with the Litany of St. Joseph after weekend Masses. The Prayer for Vocations and prayer to St. Joseph were offered after daily Masses. Prayer cards and the icon were also placed in the St. Patrick’s Divine Mercy Eucharistic Adoration Chapel in between the Masses. The parish community also offered a Holy Hour with 60 in-person and 44 livestreams in attendance Jan. 13. St. Patrick’s held a 20-decade Rosary for Vocations on Jan. 15 before the icon moved to St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Binghamton.
St. Thomas Aquinas parish was honored to receive the icon from St. Patrick’s and continued to offer the special prayers after the weekend and daily Masses, as well as a Holy Hour Jan. 20 and a 20-decade Rosary for Vocations Jan. 22. St. Thomas parish then delivered the icon to The Church of the Holy Trinity on Binghamton’s Northside.
Msgr. John Putano, pastor of both St. Patrick’s and St. Thomas Aquinas, offered: “I was happy to see so many staying for the prayers after Mass and for attending the Holy Hour, whether in person or online. I thank our seminarian, Joseph Ryan from St. Patrick’s parish, for his assistance with our hosting, as well as to Adeolu Ademoyo, our permanent-diaconate candidate from our St. Thomas Aquinas parish.”
“Hosting the St. Joseph icon has been a great way of starting the year. Our parish has initiated a Vocations Ministry Committee to see how we might continue support for vocations in our community,” Msgr. Putano continued.
“The Office of Vocation Promotion has been extremely helpful in supporting the parish to provide a meaningful opportunity to our community,” added Parish Administrator Danita Fiacco.
The Church of the Holy Family, Endwell, will host the icon Feb. 27 to March 6 and St. Anthony of Padua, Cortland, will host March 6 to 13. Find the full schedule for the traveling icon at vocations-syracuse.org.
