Father Paul Damien, right, talks to lifelong parishioner Linda Joseph at St. George Maronite Church on Loomis Street in Wilkes-Barre. The church building of 1913, whose parishioners now worship on St. Anthony land on Park Avenue, is for sale.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE – For more than a century, St. George Maronite Church on Loomis Street has served generations of the city’s Lebanese community and other Maronite Christians.
Now is the time for the present generation of parishioners to take a silent farewell to the building that has been central to their faith since 1913.
With all services effectively moved to St. Anthony’s Church on Park Avenue two years ago, Loomis Street Church and the pastorate are now for sale, and a new pastorate is under construction in Park Avenue and Dana Street.
It’s a bittersweet moment – and one that will go without formal ceremony due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak – but that does not stop Father Paul Damien and parishioners from reflecting on the history of Loomis Street’s church past. week.
‘The best times were those days of our annual bazaar,’ recalled Robert J. Decker, who was baptized in St. George in 1957, confirmed there in 1966 and married his wife Carol, in 1979, in church.
“We would block Loomis Street where Loomis joins Jones Street at the top of the hill and at the bottom of the hill, where it meets Stanton Street,” Decker added. “Everyone, I mean families and friends, would gather and enjoy the delicious Mid-Eastern food and pastries, the Arabian music and live entertainment … everyone loves our bazaar.”
Maronites are an Eastern Catholic religious group whose members come mostly from Lebanon.
Linda Joseph, whose grandfather was one of five men who attended St. George Begon, is another lifelong parishioner who has been active in the parish – from worship to work in the pastorate and serving in boards – since she was in her 20s.
Almost everyone in the church traced their ancestors back to the village of Hardine, Lebanon, Joseph said.
‘Our whole lives were central to the church. The whole area here, all the surrounding streets, were Lebanese families, ”Joseph explained. ‘Everyone was related in principle, and if you were not, you would be treated as you were related in any case. It was one big family. ”
That is very much in line with the way Maronite families still worship in Lebanon, said Father Damien, who is a resident of Lebanon.
Parish history
According to accounts provided by Joseph and the parish website:
The first two Maronite immigrants arrived in Wilkes-Barre in 1887. With the arrival of more relatives and friends, a small community began to develop.
With no church of their own, they worshiped Catholic churches in Latin Rite, although Maronite priests would visit the region.
By 1911, however, the community was able to establish its own church – in which case two separate parishes were created, St. George and St. Anthony.
St. Joseph Ferris, Joseph George, Samuel Joseph, Anthony Shiner and Joseph Thomas were the founders of St. George on Loomis Street, which held its first divine liturgy on March 23, 1913, celebrated by the Rev. Fr. Abdallah Torobay.
Over the decades, the parish also produced two professions: Msgr. Bill Bonczewski and father Bill Decker.
However, it can also be remembered by many, for Novena after St. Therese of the children Jesus, also called St. Therese of Lisieux, which continues to this day at St. Anthony.
The Novena was founded during the pastorate of Rev. Joseph Solomon (1926-32). A statue of Saint Therese was purchased in early 1927 from the Carmelite monastery in Lisieux, France, through the efforts of Msgr. Stephan Doueihi, who also received the relic of St. Therese from that monastery.
During an interview last week, Joseph and Father Damien showed a book full of letters from people who wrote to thank St. Therese, and the church, for miracles performed in their lives after praying to St. Therese and attending the Novena.
St. Therese is commemorated in a small cave under the main entrance, with a portrait and candles and some items commemorating those wonders attributed to her. They will be moved prior to the sale.
Demographic change
When members grew old and died, or moved, the parish community declined in size – 114 parishioners have died in the last decade alone, said Father Damien.
In 1997, the process of creating a single, united parish began, and the parish of St. Anthony + St. George was created. Park Avenue Church became the main site and Loomis Street was designated as a chapel.
In 2018, all daily and weekend liturgies, as well as the St. Therese weekly Novena, were moved to the St. Anthony Ground on Park Avenue.
“But then, of course, as time went on and we lost more people, we realized we could not maintain both buildings and came to the conclusion that we need to sell,” Joseph said.
That process began a few months ago, and Father Damien said there has been interest in the properties. Cleaning and moving items was during a visit last week.
Eternal memories
During a walk through Loomis Street Church, Joseph and Father Damien pointed out items large and small that reminded their generations of worshipers.
One glass fiber, for example, is dedicated to Joseph’s grandfather, and her uncle Walter, who was lost at sea during World War II.
“I have been a member since I was born. I was baptized here, confirmation, all my sacraments. My family lived next door. This was their home, ”said Joseph.
Decker, in written memoirs, noted that his own parents, Victor and Genevieve, were married in 1952 in St. George, while his own children – Robert, Alicia and Tara – also belonged to the church.
He also thought back to those popular bazaars, when Uncle Joe Elias would take the stage and sing in front of the audience.
“These are some of the many wonderful memories I have of St. George,” Decker said. “The building will be missed, but the memories and the people will never be forgotten.”
And, Joseph added, the Maronite community in Wilkes-Barre will now have a unified location in every sense of the word.
