The St. Joseph Altar at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Patterson.
The Rev. Herbert Bennerfield III speaks with children who took part in Thursday's St. Joseph Altar observance.
Dr. Rand Dooley serves children at Thursday's St. Joseph Altar event in Patterson.
St. Joseph's St. Joseph Altar
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Patterson is among the local churches observing an old Sicilian tradition: the St. Joseph Altar on the saint's feast day.
Tradition says Sicilian peasants once prayed to St. Joseph for relief from a terrible famine. The famine ended, and the people fed the poor and covered an altar with the food they'd raised, all in St. Joseph's honor.
At Patterson on Thursday, children wore costumes to portray Joseph, Mary, Jesus and other figures in the nativity story. They knocked on doors at the parish hall until finally they were allowed in. There, they joined members of the community for a spaghetti meal.
The children taking part in the observance were Joseph Conque, Easton Girard, Camille Broussard, Luca Cardinale, Aurora Boutte, Tilda Bonneval and Elizabeth Conque.
The Review/Bill Decker