As I've mentioned in the past, Fr. Washington was an assistant pastor at my church before leaving for the military and his ultimate demise. This coming February, the Town of Kearny will be renaming the street the St. Stephen Church rectory is on to 'Fr. Washington Way' in honor of the man and his sacrifice.
February is the month during which Fr. Washington died and every year there is a beautiful mass in his honor on the Sunday closest to the actual date. The dedication is tentatively scheduled for that day. I'll keep you posted.
Dan - I wasn't aware that they were renaming the street - I will pass the information on to my family tomorrow when we gather for Thanksgiving. As you know, Fr. Washington was my mother's brother, and I definitely plan to be at the memorial mass at St. Stephen's church on Feb.1st, which would be the closest to the anniversary, Feb. 3rd. I am sure that there will be other family members also present. Thanks for keeping us informed.
Hi Joanne.......yes, I'm aware of your connection to Fr. Washington and back in September I sent you an e-mail advising you of our opening Centennial mass. I guess you didn't get it.
About a year ago, maybe two, a guy stopped in at our rectory and asked our pastor for info on Fr. Washington for a book he is writting about him. He recently called and asked permission to use a photo of the stained glass window dedicated to your uncle that I had turned into a postcard. If you'd send me your address by e-mail I will send you the postcard (a bunch) and a lapel pin from our church.
Dan - Yes, I have also been communicating with the author - I met him in Washington last year at a tribute to the Four Chaplains by the World War II Veterans organization, and he has contacted me and several other members of the family for background material for his book. I would be very pleased to see the postcard you've made of the stained glass window and share it with my family. I will send you an email.
The date is rapidly approaching for the annual Fr. Washington Mass at St. Stephen's Church in Kearny. This year is also the centennial of this parish and there have been several events during the last few months and several more to come.
One of the items on our list is to maintain a small museum in the old baptistery. There has been one display so far which was very successful and a new one will open on February 1st, the date of the Washington Mass. Yes, it will be all Fr. Washington. But, there's a problem. The display will be limited due to a lack of photos of the priest. Currently we have a few photos, our famous stained glass window, and a gold pocket watch that was carried by a survivor of the sinking who jumped into the icy waters. The watch stopped at the time it hit the water and has not be adjusted since.
By chance, does anyone reading this web site have a photo of Fr. Washington? It can be at any time period in his life. Maybe a First Communion group photo in which he's visible? A graduation from SRL? A Confirmation photo or even his first mass which he celebrated at St. Rose? Or, can anyone give a reminiscence of him by e-mailing me a story? The smallest bit of info would be of great help.
As I said in the original message, the street on the south side of the church will be renamed Fr. Washington Way. It would be great to see some of the Roseville people at the mass and or the renaming ceremony.
This message has been edited by from IP address 152.163.252.161 on Jan 17, 2004 7:58 PM
I hope I'm not being a pest with these messages but I'm compelled to send them by thought of the sacrifice that this man, this priest, gave to his fellow man.
I spoke to our monsignor just minutes ago who advised me that the local VFW will be at the renaming ceremony on Feb 1st, 11:45 AM and they will be presenting a gun salute as well as Taps. He also said that he received a phone call last week from a film producer whose company is making a documentary on The Four Chaplains. But he also remarked at something I mentioned which still has me thinking so hard about.......said the monsignor, "He's probably a saint. Yes, he gave up his life so willingly like that, he must be a saint."
To Joanne Schwoebel-Brunetti, Fr. Washington's niece. Please make sure you identify yourself to one of the priests and make sure that you are in the photos! I will be including the photos in our archives and history.
We're still short on photos for our museum exhibit, especially from his time at SRL. Anything anyone has and can provide will be treated with respect, scanned, and returned.
Please don't forget one of your own on February 3rd. which is the actual date of his heroism, or come to St. Stephen's Church in Kearny on the 1st for the annual memorial mass.
