Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., Bishop of Scranton, will be the celebrant for special Mass on the Solemnity of St. Joseph at the Oblates of St. Joseph on March 20 at noon.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Announces special Mass with Bishop Bambara
Father Mark Ward, a Passionist priest from St. Ann’s Monastery, Scranton, will be the guest preacher for the Novena to St. Joseph at the Oblates of St. Joseph, Rt. 315, Laflin on Saturday, March 11
Fr. Paul McDonnell, OSJ, rector of the Oblates of St. Joseph, Rt.315, Laflin, will assist in a special Mass for St. Joseph on March 20 at noon. The community at large is welcome to attend.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
LAFLIN – The Annual Novena to St. Joseph will be held at the Oblates of St. Joseph Chapel, Rt. 315, Laflin, beginning on Saturday, March 11, with Masses and devotions held each day beginning at noon and 7 p.m. until March 19.
The Novena will conclude on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Monday, March 20, with a special Mass at noon celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., Bishop of Scranton, concelebrated by Oblate and diocesan priests.
“The novenas have been going on since the 1950s with the Oblates at their seminary in West Pittston by the late Fr. Andrew Porro, OSJ,” Fr. Paul McDonnell, OSJ, Oblates of St. Joseph rector, said. “The seminary was located on Susquehanna Ave. right off the Fire Fighters’ Memorial Bridge.”
This year’s novena preacher is Fr. Mark Ward, a Passionist priest from St. Ann’s Monastery, Scranton. Ward will preach at all scheduled novenas.
“Fr. Ward is a very gentle and humble Passionist priest and kind man,” McDonnell said. “People won’t be disappointed in his reflections and he’s able to take the Gospel and apply it to every day life.”
Ward, a native of the Buffalo, New York area, entered the formation program of the Passionist after high school graduation in 1965, receiving numerous degrees of higher education from a diversity of universities before his ordination to the priesthood in 1976.
Ward’s priestly ministry has brought him to serve in New York, Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh, PA before moving to St. Ann’s Monastery, Scranton, in 2018.
Besides assisting at the basilica, he offers pastoral assistance in churches throughout the diocese and serves as spiritual director of the Passionist Associates of St. Ann.
Before every Mass during the Novena, confessions will be heard and the rosary will be prayed by the faithful in attendance. Following the novena devotions, a blessing will be offered with the first-class relic of St. Joseph Marello, founder of the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph.
McDonnell invites the faithful of Greater Pittston to participate in this year’s Novena and Feast of St. Joseph.
All 12:00 p.m. Masses will be broadcast live on Catholic Radio 104.5 FM and on Facebook: http://www.osjseminary.com.
For further information, contact the seminary office at 654-7542.
