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A \u2018Wreaths Across America\u2019 event was held at Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton Dec. 13, 2025, to honor the approximately 15,000 veterans that are interred in the cemetery. (Photo\/Dan Piazza)<\/p>\nSCRANTON \u2013 Despite cold temperatures, dozens of people gathered at Cathedral Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, for an annual event to honor the men and women who served our nation and now rest there.<\/p>\n
Families, volunteers, and area veterans all participated in the 2025 Wreaths Across America ceremony this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a magnificent event,\u201d Mary Alice Fenwick, location coordinator for the Cathedral Cemetery\u2019s Wreaths Across America event, said. \u201cThis is our fifth year doing the event here. We are blessed to be able to try to pay tribute to the men and women who gave everything for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
A \u2018Wreaths Across America\u2019 event was held at Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton Dec. 13, 2025, to honor the approximately 15,000 veterans that are interred in the cemetery. (Photo\/Dan Piazza)<\/p>\n
The Fenwick family has helped to coordinate the Wreaths Across America effort each year at Cathedral Cemetery. Mary Alice Fenwick, along with her daughter Megan and granddaughter Molly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were truly blessed to have this many people come out this year. We were fortunate to have so many wreaths. We have wonderful, generous donors,\u201d Mary Alice added.<\/p>\n
Wreaths Across America, which began in 1992 in Maine, has grown into a nationwide effort held annually each December. Its mission is simple but profound: to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach future generations the value of freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have approximately 15,000 veterans that are interred in this cemetery, and every year, I feel like it gets a little bit bigger,\u201d Megan Fenwick added. \u201cThe Northeast PA Marine Corps League comes every year for us. They are able to do the 21-gun salute and do the colors.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s ceremony began early, with volunteers setting up the City of Scranton show mobile and preparing for the formal program. Members of the Catholic community were joined by local organizations, including Girl Scouts, union members, and veterans\u2019 groups, all united in a shared purpose.<\/p>\n
At the heart of the ceremony itself is a simple but powerful act repeated thousands of times nationwide: laying a wreath on a veteran\u2019s grave and speaking his\/her name aloud.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a great way to honor our veterans, especially at this time during the Christmas season,\u201d donor Alice McDermott said. \u201cMy dad was a veteran. It\u2019s emotional not having him here with us, but it gives us a time to stop and think about what they did for our country and the freedoms they gave us.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDermott, a parishioner at nearby Mary, Mother of God Parish, said she sees the event resonate strongly with children who participate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t even know half of these people that they\u2019re laying wreaths on \u2013 but they thank them,\u201d she added. \u201cFreedom is everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Molly Fenwick, a Girl Scout Juliette, served as the emcee of this year\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started when I was around seven in Girl Scouts, and now I\u2019m here coordinating my own event,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a big event. People look forward to it every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
After all the wreaths had been placed on veterans\u2019 graves, organizers reflected on both gratitude and responsibility. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just proud to be a part of this wonderful organization,\u201d Mary Alice said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important for the next generation to know this is why we have the freedoms we have,\u201d Megan added. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON \u2013 Despite cold temperatures, dozens of people gathered at Cathedral Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-64436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64436","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=64436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}