While the old African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child is true, it is equally true that it takes a parish to raise a Catholic. You are probably picturing one of our many adorable little parishioners of St. Charles but I am speaking here of myself, Antonia Fusco, very well passed that adorable age. You may know me as a lector and Eucharistic minister at the nine o’clock Mass or as a catechist. And while I’m actively involved in the parish today, it wasn’t always so. In fact, I was only Confirmed in 2017, when I came to St. Charles in a highly vulnerable state. I was mourning the passing of my father, a practicing Catholic, who breathed his last in my arms.

I had been away from the church for many decades; the last Sacrament I had received was Holy Communion, so Catholicism felt very new to me in 2017. Over the course of these past three years, you, my fellow parishioners, alongside Fr. Bill, Fr. Anselmus, Monsignor LoPinto, and Fr. John, have helped raise this Catholic in ways you might not have known.  So in the spirit of gratitude, here’s what I have learned from you: Continue reading “It Takes a Parish to Raise a Catholic…” →