“What do you want for Christmas?” the Rev. Joseph Verespy asked the children in the congregation during a crowded St. Nicholas Day Mass on Friday evening.
“A good dog,” one youngster answered.
“A skateboard,” said another.
“Lots of balloons,” said a third.
It’s nice to get presents, the pastor agreed. It can be even nicer to give presents, he added, inviting the congregation to come forward and take part in a long-time tradition at St. Nicholas Church in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
Music played as dozens of children and adults carried to the altar their gifts of toys — from dolls to cars, plush animals to puzzles — that would be distributed to those in need. They did this in honor of the church’s patron, St. Nicholas, a real-life bishop from Asia Minor who is believed to be the forerunner of Santa Claus.
In his sermon, the pastor related an old story about the original St. Nicholas secretly giving gold to an impoverished family so that each of the three daughters could get married. That’s why, the priest said, statues of St. Nicholas often show him holding three golden orbs.
Speaking of St. Nicholas, as the Mass came to its conclusion, Verespy looked toward the back of the church and said “If my eyes don’t deceive me, we have a guest.”
At that cue, a gentleman with a long beard and bishop’s hat entered and told the crowd he’d had “a long, cold ride in from Turkey.”
Noting that his hair and beard are white, unlike the dark-haired statue of St. Nicholas above the altar who depicted him “when I was much younger,” this St. Nick joked he’s been “thinking of going back to brunette.”
Soon St. Nicholas and his sidekick, Ruprecht, portrayed by parishioner Chris Kohl and his grandson, Adam Martino, were ready to hand out some treats. In past years, this was a time for giving coal as a joke gift to church volunteers. This year, there were “gold coins” for people who had worked hard at the summer bazaar and helped the parish in other ways.
“Ruprecht, open the scroll,” St. Nick dramatically commanded his helper before giving — sometimes tossing — foil-wrapped coins to Pat Baran, Justin and Cathy DePasquale, Rick Burns, Mike Mulvey, Bob Ell, Holly Nealon and “our personal shepherd, Father Verespy.”
“This year went by so fast,” St. Nick told the crowd, calling it “just wonderful” that their faith community has grown to become St. Nicholas – St. Mary Parish (though the building they were in is still St. Nicholas Church and a building about a block away is still St. Mary’s Church.)
With the Mass over and the bags of chocolate coins distributed, many members of the congregation — mostly children and teens, but also a few adults, including the nuns who live in the neighboring convent — lined up to pose for photos with St. Nicholas and Ruprecht. Perhaps the youngest to pose was 5-week-old Luciana Conti, accompanied by her 7-year-old sister Josephine.
Their mother, Mary Conti, remembers participating in St. Nicholas Day celebrations when she was growing up and wanted to make sure her children have a similar experience. “It’s just beautiful,” she said.
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