Written by: Denise Serafini on Wednesday, September 21, 2016
On the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14th, we received the grace of being able to present at St. Joseph’s Church in Winsted, CT. I was privileged to be a member of that parish in my teen years. I loved being part of that grand parish that should be recognized as one of the most beautiful gothic style churches. It has been Winsted's connection to the Roman Catholic Church, in the Franciscan tradition since its inception, more than 150 years ago. It is currently managed by Father Chris Gaffrey, OFM, from the Franciscans of Immaculate Conception Province. His pastoral mission is centered in the Eucharist and inspired by St. Francis of Assisi. It so happens that the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is a special day for Father Chris in that it is the anniversary of his ordination into the diaconate. He also noted that this special feast of the Church is "coincidently" the anniversary of the day upon which St. Francis received the Stigmata of Christ. Father Chris pointed out one of the many great frescoes in the church that depicts that significant moment in the life of St. Francis. As many of you may know, I have dedicated my role in this apostolate to the care and guidance of St. Joseph. I could see his special hand in arranging for this event. We had a last minute reschedule from another parish that had the date locked in for more than 8 months. When I approached Father Chris to propose that an event be hosted at St. Joseph’s, he made arrangements in a very short window and the attendance was significant. Not only did the arrangements fall into place quickly, I feel certain, from the comments we received from those in attendance, that the Holy Spirit filled that church to overflowing with His graces, all through the merits of St. Joseph. Personally, I was touched by that special feeling of returning to the comforts and sweet reminiscence of my foundation in faith and the spiritual teachings that I received so many years ago, in that church, with great Franciscan priests.Read More