{"id":137485,"date":"2026-03-13T16:22:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/137485\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T16:22:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:22:06","slug":"st-francis-xavier-parishioners-enjoy-first-st-patricks-day-party-in-7-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/137485\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Francis Xavier Parishioners Enjoy First St. Patrick\u2019s Day Party in 7 Years \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sue Denny \u2022 Posted March 13, 2026 <\/p>\n

Linda Beershank broke into song and dance when Father Alex Mosko told her the welcome news: the annual St. Patrick\u2019s Day Party was returning to St. Francis Xavier Parish after a seven-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need this\u2014to get together, to laugh, to talk, to dance,\u201d said Beershank, a longtime parishioner and volunteer. She had donned a green cable-knit sweater, shamrock earrings, and headpiece for the occasion.<\/p>\n

Back by popular demand, partygoers packed the St. Francis Xavier School gym for the St. Patrick\u2019s Beef & Beer, a longstanding tradition for the parish in \u00a0Philadelphia\u2019s Fairmount neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s excited to celebrate our heritage\u2014whether they\u2019re Irish or not,\u201d said Bridget Bowen as she took a break from the lively festivities. The Irish were well represented, with the McGivelys and the Coffeys, the McCrimmons and the Finleys among the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Longtime parishioner and volunteer Linda Beershank has cooked for the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Beef & Beer for years. She was thrilled when she learned the celebration was returning to St. Francis Xavier Parish.<\/p>\n

The parish\u2019s last St. Patrick\u2019s Day Party was seven years ago. The 2020 celebration was cancelled at the last minute, just days before schools and businesses shut down to slow the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Looking back, the decision to cancel was prudent. \u201cWe would have had a superspreader,\u201d said Father Paul Convery, C.O., on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the pandemic, there were lots of traditions like this,\u201d said Father Georges G. Thiers, C.O. He and Father Convery co-founded the Philadelphia Oratory<\/a>, part of the Congregation of the Oratory, within St. Francis Xavier Parish in 1990. \u201cPeople have to get reacquainted,\u201d he said as he looked around the darkened, crowded gym. \u201cThis is getting reacquainted.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. Francis Xavier Parish<\/a>, founded in 1839 by Bishop Francis Patrick Kenrick, has deep Irish roots. Original parishioners were primarily Irish and German immigrants who worked in Fairmount shops and factories. Not surprisingly, the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Party has been a longtime favorite parish activity.<\/p>\n

For more than 25 years, the event was a general fundraiser. This year, it was about much more than raising money for the church\u2014 it was a reunion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary reason was to bring people back,\u201d said Father Mosko, a Philadelphia Oratory priest<\/a> who spearheaded the event in response to parishioner requests. \u201cSo many Philadelphia neighborhoods used to be close-knit, but we\u2019ve seen many people move away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathleen Bannon left the neighborhood five years ago but returned for the celebration with childhood friend Patricia Rapone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always come back for stuff like this,\u201d Bannon said. She, her children, and grandchildren all attended St. Francis Xavier School.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brother Joshua Vargas, C.O., of the Philadelphia Oratory serves roast beef during the St. Patrick\u2019s Day Party at St. Francis Xavier in Philadelphia\u2019s Fairmount neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Linda Beershank has helped to prepare food for the party for many years but intentionally kept this year\u2019s menu simple\u2014roast beef and rolls, macaroni and potato salads. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know what to expect,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Turnout exceeded expectations, said longtime parish business manager Christine Powell. She deserves much of the credit for the party\u2019s success, Father Mosko said.<\/p>\n

Final count: 230 people.<\/p>\n

The green-clad crowd was entertained by school-aged dancers from the Celtic Flame School of Irish Dance and music by the Sean Fleming Band. From jigs to rock and roll, the band\u2019s eclectic playlist appealed to all ages. Several partygoers noted the many young people in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so happy to see a lot of the old timers, but there are a lot of young faces, too,\u201d Father Mosko said. \u201cPeople are here to have fun and support the parish.\u201d<\/p>\n

The party was a first for parishioners Dave and Cassandra McClafferty. \u201cI always wanted to attend, but we had young children. Then there was COVID,\u201d Cassandra said. \u201cThis year I had to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Sue Denny \u2022 Posted March 13, 2026 Linda Beershank broke into song and dance when Father Alex…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[69,71,70,29802,29803,29959],"class_list":["post-137485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philadelphia-oratory","tag-st-francis-xavier-church","tag-sue-denny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}