“I’m from a family of Christmas-lovers. My Dad always took us kids downtown to watch the annual Thanksgiving Parade. Bundled and mittened, my sisters and I shivered anyway in the cold, perched on ladders to peer over the crowd of merry-makers. And the highlight, of course, was always Santa – his merry ho-ho-ho! thrilling children lining Woodward Avenue along the route which ended with Santa’s climbing to his throne in front of J.L. Hudson’s.
“Years later, when my own children were small, we took them to the Parade, as well.
“And years later, I got to meet Santa—the jolly, bowl-full-of-jelly elf who waved to our family and to all the children of Detroit from his sleigh at the end of the parade. I learned something I’d never known, in the years of watching old Saint Nick bring happiness to little children:
“Santa Claus was really a Catholic priest.
“No, really. And I don’t mean St. Nicholas, whose feast we celebrate today. . . .
“The St. Nick who brought holiday cheer to the city of Detroit was actually Father Joseph Marquis, a Catholic priest in the Byzantine rite.”
In a recent commentary, writer Kathy Schiffer reflected on the double ministry of Father Marquis – as a Catholic priest (pastor of Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic Church, Livonia, Michigan) and in the St. Nicholas Institute – a school for Santas which he founded.
To access Ms. Schiffer’s complete post, please visit:
Seasons of Grace: Catholic Priest Brings the Spirit of Christmas to Life in Detroit (6 DEC 13)
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