“I’ve been hearing about St. Patrick’s Day in Cleveland ever since I arrived a year and a half ago,” Bishop Edward Malesic said before celebrating Mass on March 17 in St. Colman Church in Cleveland. (See photo gallery above.)
Members, honorees, parade units and friends of the West Side Irish American Club gathered for the annual pre-parade liturgy. There were about a dozen concelebrants included Father Caroli Shao, AJ, St. Colman pastor; Father Benjamin Koka, AJ, St. Colman parochial vicar; and Father Thomas Mahoney, a retired diocesan priest and Hibernian of the Year.
The bishop got a preview of the parade when the WSIA marching units – Ladies Drill Team, Pipes and Drums and the junior units – marched into and out of the church. The presentation of the colors, featured flags from the United States and Ireland, as well as the flag of Ukraine as a show of support for the war-torn nation.
At the beginning of Mass, he blessed the two traditional, large shamrock plants – one of which was presented to him – and the congregation. In his homily, the bishop noted that St. Colman’s has opened its doors to the large Irish community in Northeast Ohio for many years. “And more than that, you have opened your doors to those who love the Irish,” he said.
Click here to watch a video with highlights of St. Patrick's Day 2022.
The bishop recalled celebrating a scaled-down St. Patrick’s Day Mass for the WSIA Club last year, saying he was looking forward to the full-scale Mass and parade. “And God has provided the good weather for it,” he added, pointing out the warm, sunny day.
The Lord has brought us through our difficulties, the bishop said, acknowledging the pandemic, “so we are able to celebrate this special Mass with joy.”
However, he noted that joy is tempered by the hostilities being waged by Russia in Ukraine. He compared the Irish immigrants who left their homeland for a new life in America with the 3 million people in Ukraine displaced by the war. “We feel for them, like we must feel for all people who flee their homes to find safety and security elsewhere. May God take care of people on the move in search of a better life, a free life and a peaceful life and a new home. May we, ourselves, not ignore our modern day Lazaruses to beg for our help,” he added.
Bishop Malesic reminded the congregation of St. Patrick’s story. He was captured in Britain as a teenager and sent to Ireland where he was a slave and herded sheep. He was a Christian in a land of non-believers – a pagan country that worshiped multiple gods, but he relied on his faith to see him through those difficult times. His faith grew and after six years, he escaped and returned to Britain, where he answered a call to the priesthood.
Patrick returned to Ireland – the land where he had been a slave – and became one of the world’s greatest evangelizers, the bishop said. “His desire to go back to Ireland and the willingness to suffer opposition, threats of violence and even jealousy from other bishops resulted in forming the Irish faith in Christ that is so evident here in this church today. With God’s help, he was able to convert the pagans from their Celtic gods to faith in Jesus Christ by his solid preaching and his virtuous way of life,” he added.
The bishop ended his homily by reciting the Breastplate of St. Patrick prayer, which he said reminds us that in all we do, even joyful revelry, we should ask God to be present to us. “With God we can do all things. Faith in God can convert an entire island and change us to become better Christians ourselves,” he said.
After Mass, the bishop took time to greet the congregants before the marching units boarded buses to head downtown for the parade.
Prior to the parade, Bishop Malesic mingled for a few minutes with the crowd lining Superior Avenue for the festivities. Then he gathered with other dignitaries and honorees to bless the parade, which stepped off from East 18th Street and Superior, marched west on Superior to Public Square, then turned onto Rockwell Avenue before disbanding. The bishop walked in the parade for a while, joining seminarians from Borromeo and Saint Mary seminaries.
An estimated 10,000 people participated in the parade.
Parade blessing photo courtesy of Shannon Corcoran.