UTICA — St. Joseph-St. Patrick’s Church and the Secular Franciscan Order invite the public to join the celebration of the Feast Day of St. Joseph on March 19. The celebration will begin with Mass at 5:30 p.m. in the church, 702 Columbia St., Utica, with Father Richard Dellos presiding. A procession will then follow to the parish center to continue the celebration at “St. Joseph’s Table” with prayer, song and refreshments in honor of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, protector of family and patron saint of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, workers, the dying and social justice.
“The history of St. Joseph’s Table dates back several centuries when there was a severe famine in Sicily,” notes event coordinator Rick Roberts, OFS, a Secular Franciscan with St. Joseph’s Fraternity. “The people prayed to St. Joseph for relief. The prayers were answered and the famine ended. The people then prepared a table with foods they had harvested. After thanking God and St. Joseph with prayer and song, everyone shared in the celebration at St. Joseph’s Table. Today, the tradition of St. Joseph’s Table continues in America and is widespread throughout the Catholic Church.”
St. Joseph-St. Patrick’s Church in Utica is home to a 24-hour Adoration Chapel and Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen, a soup kitchen named after parish daughter St. Marianne Cope. A donation of a non-perishable food item to benefit Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen is welcomed.
