I have to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for BVM Parish in Darby.
My mom grew up in Darby, and she used to regale us with tales of swimming in Darby Creek behind her house on Chestnut Street.
She was a member of Blessed Virgin Mary parish in the borough. My brother got married there, to a girl whose family grew up on the very same Chestnut Street.
So I was obviously intrigued when I heard from my friend the Rev. Joe Corley a few weeks ago to alert us that the parish would be celebrating its 100th anniversary. He wanted to know if we would be interested in covering the story.
The result was last Sunday's cover package on '100 Years of Faith.' You can read it here.
Last night I had Father Joe, along with Sister Virginia Paschall, IHM, the principal of BVM School, in for our live-stream Internet show, 'Live From the Newsroom.' If you missed it you can catch the replay here.
They brought with them a very special guest. Karolyn Allen has been a parishioner of Blessed Virgin Mary church in the borough for more than 60 years. She told us why BVM is so special.
Father Joe restated how the parish, which originally formed to serve the immigrant families who came to Darby to work in the mills, is once again fulfilling that role, welcoming immigrants from different parts of the globe, many of them from Africa.
There is another reason I wanted to have Father Joe and the good folks from BVM on the show last night. This one is purely personal.
The past few years have not been good ones for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The church has been dogged with scandal. To his credit, Father Joe has never blinked when addresssing the issue, and he did not waver again last night, noting the 'dishonor' that has accompanied many of the headlines, and in fact the way the church has reacted to much of the news.
But he also welcomed the opportunity to talk about the events of past couple of weeks, the election of a new pontiff, Pope Francis, and the belief of many that he is already reinvigorating the church.
There are a lof of the faithful here in Delaware County who believe the Daily Times is anti-Catholic, that we delight in every opportunity to tear the church down. The recent headlines concerning sexual abuse by priests would of course be at the top of that list.
I told the good people from BVM last night that it is incumbent for us to address those stories, but it is equally important for us to balance that view with the good things that are going on in the church.
I would put what is happening at BVM in Darby at the top of that list.
On Sunday they will welcome Archbishop Charles Chaput to celebrate a special Mass at noon. It will be a glorious day in Darby.
And we'll be there to cover it.
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