Mass at Old St. Joseph Church marks annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day
Mass at Old St. Joseph Church marks annual celebration of St. Patrick’s Day
MOUNT HOLLY — Continuing its annual tradition, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians gathered at Old St. Joseph Church in Mt. Holly for the annual St. Patrick Mass on Friday, March 16, the vigil of the feast of St. Patrick.
Father Joshua Voitus, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Charlotte, offered the Mass and preached on the example that St. Patrick provides the faithful in spreading the Gospel with zeal in today’s world, which is often hostile to Christ and his teachings.
He then exhorted the attendees to be heroic like St. Patrick, and spread the Gospel to those around them while seeking recourse to St. Patrick as a powerful intercessor.
The annual blessing of the gravesite of Father T.J. Cronin, the church’s first pastor who died in 1842 shortly before the church building was completed, preceded the Mass.
St. Joseph Church, built in 1843, was founded by Irish gold miners along the Catawba River and is the oldest standing Catholic church in North Carolina.
The AOH, which sponsored the Mass, is a Catholic-Irish fraternal organization whose goals are to promote friendship, unity and Christian charity; foster and perpetuate Irish history, culture and traditions and to protect and defend all life.
For details visit: www.aohmeck2.org.
— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent