Catholic News Service
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — It didn’t take long into 2016 for St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Bedford to put into practice Pope Francis’ request for people to respond with compassion to those in need during the Year of Mercy.
At the start of snowstorm that pummeled much of the Northeast Jan. 22-23, Father Donald W. Dusza, pastor of St. Thomas, was probably wondering how many people might venture out to attend the scheduled 4 p.m. Mass that Saturday, Jan. 23.
“I actually was heading to the church around 3:30 p.m. when I got a call from a group of travelers from the Sioux Falls Diocese of South Dakota looking for lodging,” he said. The group was returning home after attending the annual March for Life in Washington when they became stranded on the Pennsylvania Turnpike where a tractor-trailer had jackknifed and traffic had been at a standstill while the accident was cleared.
The priest said the group, mainly high-school and college-age students, was welcome to stay overnight in the school gym. He then immediately telephoned Railitsa Diehl, who is in charge of the school kitchen.
“She was a real trouper,” said Father Dusza in a telephone interview with The Catholic Register, newspaper of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. “She worked really hard, by herself, to get a pasta meal together for the weary young people,” who had spent the previous night in their buses.
“I can’t say enough about her effort, and the sacrifice she made by coming out in the middle of a storm. The students and their chaperones really appreciated her efforts.”
As the highways began to clear a bit the next night, Father Dusza received another request for shelter from more pro-life marchers on their way back to the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. The group had been in touch with the South Dakota chaperones. So, that night, St. Thomas Parish hosted a big sleepover for about 160 pilgrims. Some of the travelers found blankets on their buses and they all slept on the gym floor.
Things became a little more hectic later that evening when Father Dusza received another call, this time from officials traveling with the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska. “They said they were able to find shelter in the hotels around Bedford, but were looking for a place to celebrate Mass,” he said. The caravan was comprised of five buses with more than 300 people.
“I told them we just had a small church building that only accommodated about 250 people. Along with my parishioners, it would be beyond capacity.” Luckily, the group had two priests with them. Father Dusza told them they were welcome to celebrate Mass in the school gym, which they accepted.
By Sunday morning Jan. 24, most of the buses continued their return home.
Celebrating its bicentennial this year, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish is an official Jubilee Year of Mercy pilgrimage site for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, where the faithful may gain the jubilee year indulgence.
But for hundreds of weary travelers, that indulgence was expressed in a very practical way.
“It was an interesting weekend,” Father Dusza said with a laugh. Providing the stranded marchers with shelter was “easily done and we were certainly glad to help,” he added.
By Bruce A. Tomaselli
Tomaselli is manager of The Catholic Register, newspaper of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
