St. Gertrude Catholic Church in Des Allemands will have the altar for viewing and serving food from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at the church at 17292, La. Highway 631. Viewing only will continue until 2:30 p.m.
Organizer Sherry Folse said the St. Gertrude’s Ladies Altar Society and friends have made the altar for nearly 16 years. Folse said the food will include catfish courtbouillon along with several different casseroles and soups – all meatless.
Expecting up to 300 visitors, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Hahnville will hold its St. Joseph’s Altar on Thursday, March 19, in the Community Center. The altar will be blessed after the 8 a.m. mass with viewing from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
This altar also will include Italian cookies, bread, cake, vegetables, fruits, and statues on a layered altar with a special arrangement of flowers, said Altar Coordinator Rita Joseph. Italian food also will be served at noon and it also will be meatless. Special candles will be available for sale. Visitors will receive a goody bag including Italian cookies, fava beans for good luck and a St. Joseph’s prayer card.
The food will go to the underprivileged.
“It’s a spiritual uplifting, such a unified communal thing,” Joseph said of the altar. “We have so many people from our church community – silent heroes – who are donating and dedicated to the altar, and getting others to donate from area businesses.”
The altar is the first the church has held since 1981. Pastor Joel P. Cantones, who recently joined the church, asked to revive the tradition. Joseph also named fellow altar planners LaSandra Gordon, Therese Faucheux, and Nancy Wilson for helping revive the altar tradition.
This year’s altar will be held in honor of Ronald Bruce, the organist’s husband who is being treated for cancer.
The altar is rooted in Sicily where the people prayed to St. Joseph for relief from famine. The rains came and, in gratitude, the people prepared a table with a special assortment of foods they had harvested. After paying honor to St. Joseph, they distributed the food to the less fortunate.
The first St. Joseph Altar set up on the Island of Sicily was a small one, but the tradition took hold and the altars became bigger and more elaborate over time. Though Sicilian immigrants introduced the custom to America, the celebration is not confined to any nationality. Many families believe that having a St. Joseph Altar can bring good fortune.
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