�
Reverend Frank Scornaienchi, TOR
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
806
Eleventh Street
Altoona, PA 16602-2594
Dear
Father Frank,
�����������
�Peace and Good Things!
������������ Congratulations to you and all the friars, staff and
parishioners on the joyful occasion of your 100th
anniversary!� Such a milestone is indeed a cause for celebration and
rejoicing, for looking back with gratitude and looking ahead with
hope.
����������� �Although the Italian immigrant population that made up
the population of the parish for much of its early history has
diminished and the railroad industry is but a shadow of its
once-bustling past, the parish and people of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel continue to be a vibrant sign of the presence of God in the
City of Altoona.� Having weathered many changes in the last 100
years, you remain a community of faith that welcomes and nourishes
those who seek a relationship with God and the Church.
����������� Much of the parish�s rich history is intertwined with
the beginnings and history of our�own beloved Province of the
Immaculate Conception.� The early friars labored long and hard to
minister to the needs of the people they came to serve and, one
hundred years later, the friars of our Province continue to care for
the spiritual needs of their children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren, along with many others who have come to call
Mount Carmel their spiritual home.
����������� � As you celebrate this time of jubilee, know that I and
all the friars of our Province celebrate with you.� May all the
accomplishments of the past century provide a solid and �������
����������� �����sure foundation upon which to build your future.
����������� �May God bless and keep you and may Our Lady of Mount
Carmel protect and intercede for you always!
��������������������������Fraternally,
�����������������������������������������������������������
�����������������������������������������������
��������������������������� (Very Reverend) Anthony M. Criscitelli,
TOR
���������������������������������������������Minister Provincial
�
�
Apparition Appears in Mount Carmel School
The following
article appeared in the March 5, 1926 edition of the
Altoona Mirror.�
It is reprinted exactly as it appeared. No� corrections have been
made to the text to address stylistic changes.� The article was
submitted for the Province newsletter by�
Damian Drass.�
It seems fitting to reprint the article at this time as the parish
of Mount Carmel celebrates its 100th anniversary.
����
Teacher and pupils in room No. 4 of
the Mt. Carmel parish school at Eighth avenue and Eleventh street
yesterday morning shortly before 11 o�clock were amazed and startled
by the appearance in the room of what appears to have been an
apparition.� According to the teacher and the pupils it was in the
form of the Blessed Mother with the infant Jesus in her arms.
���� The
extraordinary phenomenon was first observed by one of the boys of
the school who had been out of the room.� The teacher was attracted
by the look of mingled fear and astonishment on the boy�s face and
she asked what it meant.� In fear, he pointed to the apparition and
then the sister and the other pupils saw it.� It then became
brighter and all could see it plainly.� It remained in view for a
period of about five minutes according to the teacher and pupils.
���� The
teacher at first thought that one of the boys had a mirror and by
that means was throwing a reflection of some kind, but inquiry among
the pupils revealed nothing of the kind.� The sun was not shining
and there is no image in the room from which a shadow could be
projected and no apparent way in which a picture could have been
thrown into the room from another building.
���� The sister
and her pupils, numbering fifty-eight, were awe-stricken by the
strange phenomenon and it created a tremendous sensation.� The
pupils of the grade who average about 10 years of age, spread the
news of the remarkable occurrence during the noon hour at their
respective homes and there was universal interest in it.
���� Rev.
Father Benignas Gallagher,� assistant rector, when he heard of what
had transpired, went to the school room and talked with the teacher
and pupils and sought to find some explanation for what all seemed
to think was a vision or apparition, but he stated to the Altoona
Mirror today that he could not account for it.
���� The
rector, Rev. J. N. Zazzara, D.D., is out of the city at present.�
Father Gallagher said that the church in nowise encourages a belief
in such supernatural occurrences, but that there is no gainsaying
the fact that the teacher and her fifty-eight pupils saw something,
and whether or not it was from a natural or supernatural cause, must
be left to the imagination.
���� The vision
was about life size and it did not appear to be projected against
the wall, as a picture thrown on the screen. On the contrary, it
seemed to be in the space away from the wall of the building.
����� A side
view was presented and there was no motion of the figures during the
brief interval it remained.� The sister, amazed by what appeared
before her vision, sent one of the boys for the mother superior, but
by the time she reached the room, the apparition had vanished.
�
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