Name of Parish: St. Vincent de Paul Church (svdp-richboro.org)

Address: 654 Hatboro Rd, Richboro, PA 18954-1039

Cluster: 30 - Bucks County Vicariate

Date Founded: 1968

Current Pastor: Rev. Joseph J. McLaughlin

Parochial Vicar(s): Rev. Richard E. Rudy

Priest(s) in Residence: None

Permanent Deacon(s): eacon John M. Golaszewski
   Deacon William F. Iacobellis

Name of School; Number of Students; Staffed by Which Religious Order, and/or Lay Staff?. (Please include the number of religious staffing the school as well as the number of laity staffing the school)

Our parish has a Pre-School with a current enrollment of 53 students; there are 10 on the staff, all lay women.

Parishioners in grades 1 through 8 attend Catholic school in one of four neighboring parish schools: St. Andrew in Newtown; St. Bede in Holland, Nativity of Our Lord in Warminster; and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Southampton.

Convent Name/Religious Order Residing There:

The convent is simply "St. Vincent de Paul Parish Convent." The present residents are one Sister, Servant of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scranton), who is our Director of Religious Education, and two Sisters of St. Joseph, who work in other apostolates.

Number of Registered Individuals: 6,403

Number of Registered Families: 1,954

Annually, number of: [Actual figures for 2005]
Baptisms: 59
Marriages: 27
Funerals: 52

What characteristics and/or stories about the parish's namesake, St. Vincent de Paul, are among the most cherished by the pastor and/or parishioners?:

St. Vincent de Paul was "real" in that many people can identify with his spiritual journey. Born into a peasant family living in southwestern France in 1581, he saw the priesthood as a way out of peasantry. Ordained at the age of twenty, for ten years he aimed no higher than a clerical life of ease. During 1609 in Paris he came under the spiritual influence of Pierre (later Cardinal) de Bérulle. His work as chaplain to the Gondi family made him aware in a deeper sense of the poverty spiritual and material of peasants; his role as chaplain general of the galleys in France made him aware of the terrible lot of the galley slaves. A great change came over Vincent, and he dedicated the rest of his life to the service of the poor.

Thus, he did not start out with the highest motives, nor was he given an unmistakable sign from God such as a dramatic "conversion experience." Rather, he was open to God's speaking to him through the people with whom he came in contact, and through his everyday experiences. That openness led him to deep holiness and phenomenal ministry.

Why was this name selected for the parish? Who first suggested it?

According to the founding Pastor, Rev. William T. McBride, when the Archdiocesan Sites and Boundaries Committee presented to the Archdiocesan Consultors the need for a new parish centered in Richboro, Bucks County, one of the consultors noted that, if we are to have a parish in RICHboro, it ought to be named for a patron of the poor at which Cardinal Krol decided that it would be St. Vincent de Paul Parish.

How does the parish celebrate the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul which is September 27^th.

Since St. Vincent's feast day occurs during Ordinary Time, we transfer the feast to Sunday. The readings and prayers at each of the Masses that weekend are for the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, not the Sunday of Ordinary Time; and Evening Prayer or Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of Hours is sung within Mass by the entire congregation, led by two cantors special participation booklets are prepared to make this possible.

In addition, for the past several years, on Sunday afternoon we have celebrated with the Feastival a parish festival on the feast of our parish patron. This is a parish family picnic with food, music provided by our High School Youth Group, giant slides and a Moon Bounce for the youngsters, hay rides, karaoke, balloon artist, games, two fire trucks, St. Vincent de Paul water (you have to be here!), etc. - and it's FREE. Total attendance at the Feastival over the course of the afternoon has been between 800 and 1,000 over the years.

What special devotions are observed at the parish?

"By an apostolic tradition which took its origin from the very day of Christ's resurrection, the Church celebrates the pascal mystery every eighth day; with good reason this, then, bears the name of the Lord's day or the day of the Lord. For on this day Christ's faithful should come together into one place so that, by hearing the word of God and taking part in the Eucharist, they may call to mind the passion, the resurrection, and the glorification of the Lord Jesus, and may thank God who 'has begotten us again, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto a living hope' (1 Peter 1:30)."

Therefore, although we have prayer groups, holy hours, Night Prayer in honor of Our Lady, Divine Mercy hours, etc., the devotion is Sunday Liturgy.

Of which ministries are you most proud?

Since Sunday Liturgy is the devotion we see as most important, the ministries which support liturgy are emphasized: altar servers (students and adults), Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, lectors, music ministry and Ministers of Hospitality. We are encouraged in our efforts proud is not the right word by the many visitors who have expressed a special feeling of warmth and welcome at our Sunday Liturgies.

Given the mission of our patron, St. Vincent de Paul, we also give special consideration to service ministry: Angel Food which prepares and delivers meals to parishioners in their times of need; Baby's Corner which collects infant clothing to be distributed to needy parents; Blood Drives; Christmas food baskets for two inner-city Philadelphia parishes; Meals for the Homeless which go to St. John's Hospice in Philadelphia; People to People Sundays (two a month) to collect staples for the local food bank; Respect Life Ministry, and our Parish Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Are there any new ministries projected to begin this year?

Although no new ministries are projected to begin this year, our Adult Faith Formation Committee continues to explore new avenues to deepen knowledge of the faith in those parishioners who are involved in parish life, to reach more effectively those who are not regularly involved, and to expose the wider community to to the light of Christ.

We are blessed with both a Religious Education Program which extends into the high school years, and an active High School Youth Group with volunteer adult and teen leaders. This year greater efforts are being made to coordinate their activities and share resources.

What might those who are not parishioners be surprised to know?

1. Our relationship with St. Charles Lwanga Parish in Uganda, and with the Diocese of Tezpur in India. We were introduced to each of these as a result of the Mission Cooperative Plan.

   Father Joseph Sserugo, AJ, spoke at all the Masses in June, 1998 on behalf of the Diocese of El Obeid, Sudan in which he was then working, and he has continued to visit us on a regular basis. He is now assigned as the founding pastor of St. Charles Lwanga Parish, Bubaale, Uganda, in the Archdiocese of Mbarara, and sends us photographs and reports on the growth of his parish which are published in our Parish Newsletter.

   Father Xavier Paul spoke at all the Masses in July, 1999 on behalf of the Diocese of Tezpur, India, after which we maintained contact with him and his diocese; he returned to the parish on several occasions, and his Bishop, Robert Kerketta, visited us once.

   Each year our parish continues its support of Father Sserugo's mission parish, and of the Diocese of Tezpur's ministries.

2. The size and scope of our Parish Newsletter (which many parishes would call the Parish Bulletin). Routinely, the Newsletter runs 14 pages, plus two pages of advertisements. In addition to weekly announcements from the Religious Education Office, the Pre-School, the High School Youth Group, the Travel Club, etc., the Parish Secretary and the Maintenance Director each have weekly columns, and the minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Committee meetings. Periodic Newsletter in depth features include: the U.S. Bishops on the G-8 Summit for several issues last July; Pope Benedict's World Youth Day homily, printed in full in August; and most recently, the U.S. Bishops' introduction to Holy Communion and Celiac Sprue Disease.

Has anyone famous, now or previously, been a member of the parish?

Not many of us, now or previously, have been judged wise by human standards; not many, powerful; not many of noble birth. Rather, God chooses the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and the weak of the world to shame the strong. So we do not boast before God as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord." (cf 1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

Does the parish have any ethnic celebrations or traditions?

To celebrate our cultural diversity and our unity, we have an annual Ethnic Dinner which fills the Parish Hall to capacity. In recent years our cook volunteers have featured these ethnic foods: American, Croatian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Philippine, Polish, and Spanish.

Also, on Pentecost Sunday, at each of the Masses the different petitions of the Prayer of the Faithful are read in the different languages spoken by parishioners the congregation is provided with a participation sheet with the petitions as they are being read, and with a parallel English translation. The response is Domine, exaudi nos Lord, hear us in Latin.

What interesting artifacts, architectural features and/or special works of art are in the church?

The Father McBride Memorial Window adorns the front of the Church and is illuminated at night. The window features our patron, St. Vincent de Paul, with his empty hands extended, and is meant to convey that all that St. Vincent received simply passed through his hands and went to the poor. Immediately after the sudden death of our founding pastor, Rev. William T. McBride, in October, 1998, parishioners asked for a permanent memorial in his memory. He had considered such a window when building the Church, and the parish engaged the Edward Byrne Studios, with whom Father McBride worked in designing the stained glass windows in the sanctuary. The artist was the well-known Philadelphian, Robert F. McGovern.

At the rear of the Church we have a stone, brought here from the Parish Church of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris, France, to remind us both of our unity with the Church of our patron, and of our role as living stones, built as edifice of spirit and forming a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone (cf Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:5). Bringing the stone back was one of the goals of the parish's February, 1997 Paris Pilgrimage; for more on parish pilgrimages, go to svdp-richboro.org, click on Parish Magazine, and scroll down to Pilgrimages.

What amusing incidents comprise the parish's history?

While we laugh a lot, no specific amusing incidents of our parish history stand out. Our laughing is usually at our own foibles. For example, we laugh at ourselves for dreaming of "pew side parking," since the Church building was built at one side of the parish property, with most parking spaces located some distance from the Church. Then we laugh at the thought of future generations asking what we were thinking of when we planned our Parish Center. We hope that the root of our laughter is an awareness of our limitations our poverty resulting in the joy of knowing the Lord's preference for the poor.

What occasions of or in the parish have been particularly poignant?

Thanksgiving Day Mass is an especially poignant celebration for many parishioners. The Adult Choir provides the music, Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours is sung by the congregation within Mass, and there is a reception in the Church Hall immediately after Mass. Efforts are made to include parishioners who otherwise might be alone on Thanksgiving Day.

What are among the most commonly asked questions about the parish?

Do you accept donations of clothing (24 hours a day, seven days a week)? Do you pick up furniture? [Directory Assistance seems unable to distinguish our parish from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.]

What else would you like everyone to know the about the parish?

Our parishioners are proud that "one of our own," Rev. Mr. Christopher Cooke, will, on May 20^th, be ordained a priest for service in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We are looking forward to his celebrating his First Mass here on Sunday, May 21^st. Deacon Cooke's family are long-time, active members of our parish; he, himself, went through our Religious Education Program and has frequently participated in liturgical ministry here throughout his years in the Seminary.

We are preparing to build a Parish Center, consisting of a narthex/atrium, a daily Mass chapel, parish offices, a large conference room for parish ministry meetings, accessible facilities for the physically handicapped, and an enlarged parking area. This is being made possible by the Living Stones . . . . . . Building to Serve Capital Campaign which began in September, 2004. In our long range plan, this is Phase 1 of a three phased project which will include new classrooms for our Pre-School, a refurbished and enlarged Parish Hall, and additional meeting rooms.

What does the Parish Pastoral Council want everyone to know about their parish.

[This is not one of the questions proposed by The Catholic Standard & Times. The rectory proposed answers to the questions proposed, and submitted them to the Parish Pastoral Council for the members' comments and suggestions. Several of their responses have been incorporated into the above responses. This response did not seem to fit directly into any of the above questions.]

As expressed above, many visitors' first impression of St. Vincent de Paul Parish is "special feeling of warmth and welcome at the Sunday Liturgies." This is because the life of our parish goes beyond anything the building can express. Our Church building has been said to be too plain not fancy enough for those who want the "whole package" but it is where vows are made between husband and wife, babies are claimed as "children of God," our final good-byes are said before laying our loved ones to rest, and our devotion to "Our Lady," the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of the Church is quietly spoken.

It is not the building itself that is most important, but what is going on in it. Devotion and worship breathe in this Church from people who see something different, something wonderful, that they can't find elsewhere. There is a sense of being home, being needed, and being loved. The sense that Jesus Christ is truly present.

Our God is alive and well at St. Vincent de Paul Parish. Most importantly, he is on the altar in his Body and Blood, but he is also in the choir loft, the Religious Education Building, the Pre-School program, the Feastival, and in all of the other ministries anywhere you find the people, there you will find Christ. Our Church Hall does not have the state-of-the-art amenities found in newer buildings, but it is where we break bread while sharing our cultural differences, it is where our children dance the Irish jig on Thursday evenings, it is where you can hear the sound of our pre-schoolers singing their hearts out every day, it is where we meet to discuss what we as a parish can do to bring the works and the light of Jesus into our world.

In our parish we have meditated on our role as living stones as described in the Scriptures: "You too are living stones, built as edifice of spirit" (1 Peter 2:5); "You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone" (Ephesians 2:20). In this "building" that we form, we find our God, our home, and our acceptance into a huge family of sisters and brothers in the Lord.