Biggest St. Joseph's altar in the state is almost ready
The Rev. Rick Day, pastor of St. Joseph Church and Shrine of the West Bank, 610 Sixth St., in Old Gretna, says his church's altar is the biggest, not only in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, but the state. The St. Joseph's Women's Club and helpers have been working hard to finalize preparations for the altar, which opens for viewing Tuesday.
The rosary procession is March 18 at 6 p.m., followed by a prayer service. Altar viewing will be until 7:30 p.m. On March 19, Solemn Mass will be at 10:30 a.m., with Archbishop Gregory Aymond as celebrant. The procession and altar blessing will be at the St. Joseph Complex, at the corner of Seventh and Newton streets. For feeding, doors open at noon and close at 6 p.m. on March 19.
Debbie Swiler is St. Joseph Women’s Club president, and Kim Giglio, is club treasurer. In the video, the women mix up a batch of orange cookie dough back in January to be served at the St. Joseph Day altar.
Jackie Cambre and 39 other women demonstrate how they roll orange cookies, just one of 13 kinds of cookies to be served.
After the cookies are baked and cooled, the volunteers put orange-colored and flavored icing on the cookies. They are then stored in large metal cans to keep them fresh until March 19.
Fig cookies, the prize of all altar cookies, are shown being made by Linda Laborde and Jackie Cambre, longtime St. Joseph Women’s Club members and past officers. The figs are mixed with fresh and dried fruit and pecans and then rolled through a sausage maker, where it is turned into coils. Volunteers take a coil of fig stuffing, lay it on rolled Italian dough, fashioning it into cookies to be baked in large ovens.
Volunteers grab a container of icing, the color of their choice, and a wooden handle paintbrush and get to work. They spread the icing, and each Italian fig cookie becomes a work of art. The thousands of cookies are used to first, decorate the St. Joseph Day altar, and later, to be served to visitors. Each goodie bag that is given to visitors as they leave the altar has at least one fig cookie, a piece of blessed bread, other types of cookies, a St. Joseph prayer card and a lucky fava bean.
The rosary procession is March 18 at 6 p.m., followed by a prayer service. Altar viewing will be until 7:30 p.m. On March 19, Solemn Mass will be at 10:30 a.m., with Archbishop Gregory Aymond as celebrant. The procession and altar blessing will be at the St. Joseph Complex, at the corner of Seventh and Newton streets. For feeding, doors open at noon and close at 6 p.m. on March 19.
Debbie Swiler is St. Joseph Women’s Club president, and Kim Giglio, is club treasurer. In the video, the women mix up a batch of orange cookie dough back in January to be served at the St. Joseph Day altar.
Jackie Cambre and 39 other women demonstrate how they roll orange cookies, just one of 13 kinds of cookies to be served.
After the cookies are baked and cooled, the volunteers put orange-colored and flavored icing on the cookies. They are then stored in large metal cans to keep them fresh until March 19.
Fig cookies, the prize of all altar cookies, are shown being made by Linda Laborde and Jackie Cambre, longtime St. Joseph Women’s Club members and past officers. The figs are mixed with fresh and dried fruit and pecans and then rolled through a sausage maker, where it is turned into coils. Volunteers take a coil of fig stuffing, lay it on rolled Italian dough, fashioning it into cookies to be baked in large ovens.
Volunteers grab a container of icing, the color of their choice, and a wooden handle paintbrush and get to work. They spread the icing, and each Italian fig cookie becomes a work of art. The thousands of cookies are used to first, decorate the St. Joseph Day altar, and later, to be served to visitors. Each goodie bag that is given to visitors as they leave the altar has at least one fig cookie, a piece of blessed bread, other types of cookies, a St. Joseph prayer card and a lucky fava bean.
Also in the video, Emily Gegenheimer, longtime cookie chairperson for the St. Joseph Women’s Club shows the fava beans that were roasted as the group prepares to use the “lucky beans” in the goodie bags given out to visitors in the March 19 event. Fava beans, originally a feed for animals in Sicily, became food for the Sicilians when there was a famine and the people were starving. Because the people survived, they thanked St. Joseph from that day forward by having food altars to serve the poor in his honor. The tradition was brought to New Orleans by the large population of Sicilian people who settled here.
The video also shows large catering-size pans of cut carrots turned into casseroles with the addition of a sugared glaze that volunteers cooked. The concoction is topped with fresh orange slices and baked. The St. Joseph Women’s Club made 150 casseroles of various vegetables in this size that will be served to people who enjoy the St. Joseph Day Altar meal.
Carroll Weathers, tomato sauce chef and his helper, Faith Siragusa, cooked 25 gallons per batch of Sicilian-type meatless Milanese sauce to be served over plates of pasta at the St. Joseph Day Altar at St. Joseph Church in Gretna. The pasta is topped with mudica, an Italian recipe of flavored breadcrumbs.
Weathers starts with onions and garlic sautéed in olive oil, adds other products and cooks the sauce for eight hours in a special steam kettle installed in the church cafeteria. Other food served includes fried catfish, various casseroles, bread, red or white wine and cake for dessert.
Since the St. Joseph Church Altar is decorated in a way that the entire tabletop is completely covered, volunteers make hundreds of cookie plates to use as fill. Thirteen different types of cookies are arranged on plates and covered and sealed with clear plastic to keep the cookies fresh. The altar is filled with cakes, breads, decorative candles and religious statues and items. The cookies in different colors and shapes are a decorative touch.
The video also shows large catering-size pans of cut carrots turned into casseroles with the addition of a sugared glaze that volunteers cooked. The concoction is topped with fresh orange slices and baked. The St. Joseph Women’s Club made 150 casseroles of various vegetables in this size that will be served to people who enjoy the St. Joseph Day Altar meal.
Carroll Weathers, tomato sauce chef and his helper, Faith Siragusa, cooked 25 gallons per batch of Sicilian-type meatless Milanese sauce to be served over plates of pasta at the St. Joseph Day Altar at St. Joseph Church in Gretna. The pasta is topped with mudica, an Italian recipe of flavored breadcrumbs.
Weathers starts with onions and garlic sautéed in olive oil, adds other products and cooks the sauce for eight hours in a special steam kettle installed in the church cafeteria. Other food served includes fried catfish, various casseroles, bread, red or white wine and cake for dessert.
Since the St. Joseph Church Altar is decorated in a way that the entire tabletop is completely covered, volunteers make hundreds of cookie plates to use as fill. Thirteen different types of cookies are arranged on plates and covered and sealed with clear plastic to keep the cookies fresh. The altar is filled with cakes, breads, decorative candles and religious statues and items. The cookies in different colors and shapes are a decorative touch.
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