The Restoration Review

So how did young Catholic adults from the suburbs wind up distributing free Chicken Paprikash dinners next to an abortion clinic in a struggling Buckeye neighborhood while raising nearly a thousand dollars for a historic Hungarian church and parish?  Fools for Christ...it’s a marvelous tale that exemplifies how the Latin Mass in Cleveland has helped bring together a wide variety of people in the service of Christ our King. One of the great blessings resulting from Pope Benedict making the Traditional Latin Mass more widely available was that it brought the energy and enthusiasm of active, young Catholics into urban areas where most incredibly beautiful churches tend to reside.  The Jewel on Buckeye, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church, is a fine example.  The Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated there most Saturdays at 9 am by Benedictine monk, Father Bede O.S.B..  So when a couple of young adults learned that St. Elizabeth of Hungary was holding a fundraiser, they decided to get creative

  It was a match made in Heaven. The Traditional Latin Mass and some of Cleveland’s most beautiful, historic churches.  Immaculate Conception, St Stephen’s, St, Rocco’s and more recently Mary Queen of Peace, St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Ignatius of Antioch.    In many ways it was the fulfillment of former Bishop Pilla’s excellent Church in the City initiative.  Catholics from all over Northeastern Ohio gathering together in some of our older urban neighborhoods and worshipping Our Lord.  Obviously, the very positive financial impact on some of these struggling parishes can not be overstated.  It is significant and probably saved a parish or two.  But there is more.  Far more. Friendships were formed, volunteer efforts initiated, lives were changed, neighborhoods revived.  There were many conversions to the Faith, and perhaps even more reversions to the Faith. And as  Pope Benedict has noted about the Latin Mass: "young people too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its

A Monday night.  Torrential rain.  An old urban church.  An even older liturgy.  A poorly scheduled first social hour? People on vacation..out of town.  It’s 30 minutes to Mass time. The Oliver Plunkett Social Club kick-off starts right after.. .  “Let’s only put out one box of pizza, we can donate the rest to St. Herman’s if only a couple people show up.” And then the parking lot began to slowly fill...and continue to fill.  Despite the Monday and the rain, they came just the same.  Close to 90 people turned out for Father Estabrook’s regularly scheduled 5:30pm Latin Low Mass.  Many of them young, new faces. Afterward, 60 or so young adults walked in the rain over to the air-conditioned cafetaria for an informal gathering of traditionally-minded young Catholic adults.  The Oliver Plunkett Social Club was born.  Father Estabrook was enthusiastic and gave some words of encouragement.  The pizza went quickly, but there were tasty desserts and more -  thanks to the generosity of some moms

      Update:  On July 12, following the regularly scheduled Monday 5:30 pm Traditional Latin Mass at the historic St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, there will be a social hour in the parish's air-conditioned cafeteria for young Catholic adults.  The informal event is Free.  Pizza, pop and desserts will be available.  The friendly gathering will serve as the kick-off for t he Oliver Plunkett Social Club - - a group for traditionaly-minded young Catholic adults to get together to relax, laugh and enjoy each other's company.  The Oliver Plunkett Social Club would like to meet monthly following Latin Mass and perhaps occassionally get together for volunteer efforts or specials events.  Please help spread the word and invite young adults who might be interested. Addtional info here: Latin Mass and Free Pizza: Cleveland’s Young Adults Return to Historic Church in the City and here:  The Oliver Plunkett Social Club   

Dostoevsky once prophetically wrote “beauty will save the world.” So what will happen when young Catholic adults combine beauty with free pizza?  Find out Monday, July 12 following the 5:30 pm Traditional Latin Mass at St. Ignatius of Antioch. As our world today explodes in chaos and rampant ugliness, some young adults in Cleveland are returning to a traditional place to find Truth and Beauty - - urban Catholic churches.  Not only are they returning to the churches of their ancestors, young adults are also discovering what  Father Faber of the Brompton Oratory once described as “the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven” - - the Traditional Latin Mass. Pope John Paul II quoted the Dostoevsky line in his Letter to Artists , under the heading “The Saving Power of Beauty”: People of today and tomorrow need this enthusiasm [of wonder] if they are to meet and master the crucial challenges which stand before us. Thanks to this enthusiasm, humanity, every time it loses its way, will be ab