From the Pastor and OSJ Archives: 9.19.1...

FROM THE PASTOR (ARCHIVES): September 19, 2010 Not long ago, I had the “pastor’s car” in the shop for an oil change.  I drive an aging Honda Accord which originally came to OSJ with our dear departed Fr. Joe McGovern.  Happily, while the car is more than ten years old and has its share of bumps and scrapes, it seems to run quite reliably and is blessedly free of problems. I thought of this recently when our wonderful archivist, Maryjane Green, passed along to me an article which she found in the “Woodstock Letters” about how some of my early Jesuit predecessors...

From the OSJ Archives: 8.1.10

From the Archives: August 1, 2010 The French have a saying: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose.”  That roughly translates to: “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”  I was reminded of this recently when I received from our trusty archivist, Maryjane Green, a transcription of the diary of Joseph Donath, who had the dubious honor of serving as secretary and treasurer of the building committee which oversaw the construction of our present church.  The diary begins in May 1838 and concludes in February 1839 with the completion and...

From the OSJ Archives: 4.11.10

FROM THE ARCHIVES THE PRIEST Etienne [Stephen] Larigaudelle Dubuisson (1786-1864) was born of aristocratic Creole parents in St. Dominique (Haiti). The family left for France before the uprising of 1791. Dubuisson considered himself imperfectly educated, even though he was fluent in several languages including English which he spoke without an accent. After pursuing various European careers he came to America and entered the Jesuit novitiate at White Marsh Farm on Dec. 15, 1815, and was ordained a priest on August 7, 1821. During his many assignments he became known for...

From the OSJ Archives: 12.20.09

FROM THE OSJ ARCHIVES:  A Victorian Christmas at OSJ December 20, 2009 In the Victorian times Christmas was celebrated with much preparation and a spirit of “good cheer and gaiety”. Tables were groaning with food, houses were decorated with mistletoe, holly, and the newly arrived Christmas tree. While families gathered around fireplaces, the children performed pantomimes and plays. In Philadelphia there was no place or event that could surpass Father Barbelin’s Christmas at Old St Joseph’s. People from all denominations would visit the little church in Willings...

From the OSJ Archives: 9.13.09

FROM THE ARCHIVES: September 13, 2009 “Then he beheld, in a dream, once more the home of his childhood; green Acadian meadows…… with Sylvan rivers among them” (all quotes are from “Evangeline” by Henry W. Longfellow) Over 200 years ago a great part of the land known as Nova Scotia was originally called Arcadia after a garden spot of ancient Greece. It soon became mispronounced as Acadia. In the first days of the 1600’s the French arrived, followed by the Jesuits in 1607 to take charge of a new mission. In 1713 England gained political control with the proviso...