Priest says multicultural efforts make his Philadelphia parish thrive

Published: 2004-04-15

PHILADELPHIA (CNS) -- Many city parishes are seeing a decline in parishioners as Catholics pack up and leave for the suburbs. But at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in South Philadelphia, Mass attendance and school enrollment are up sharply and new Catholics are being received. What is this parish doing right? Opening its arms to ethnic diversity, said its pastor, Father Arthur J. Taraborelli, who was himself raised in the parish. That's easy to say, but on a practical basis what is the parish doing that seems to work for so many ethnic groups in the area? First, the parish recognizes that many non-Catholics come to parish celebrations that mark such events as Tet, the Vietnamese new year. While they aren't directly proselytized, the visitors are made to feel welcome and that welcome often opens them to the Gospel message. "If they feel comfortable, the Spirit is ignited," Father Taraborelli told The Catholic Standard & Times, newspaper of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

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