Sant' Andrea grooves into '70s
Attendees will be grooving into the 1970s when the 70th Annual Sant' Andrea Society Charity Ball gets under way Friday, April 19, at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple.
Josh Mast and Paul Blackledge and Jeff D'Angelo's Design Group will help those reveling in the Cultural Center's ballroom time-travel back a few decades, and those attendees may just be sporting the fashions of that time.
The event is being planned by Sant' Andrea officers, including Beth Colarossi, president; Kathy Mihok, vice president; Ann D'Arienzo, treasurer; and Noelle Lynett, secretary; as well as Dr. Cathy McGrath, chairwoman, and with the blessing of the Rev. Bernard McIlhenney, society moderator. It includes a sit-down dinner catered by Constantino's followed by a night of dancing to the music of AM Radio. A silent auction will feature items from local businesses and '70s-inspired memorabilia.
The ball is the major fundraiser for Sant' Andrea, with proceeds benefitting the education of Jesuit Priests.
Shelter renamed
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., officially designated its Newark-based emergency family shelter in honor of Scranton natives Joseph Jr. and Judith Fidati Calabro on Friday. Previously known as the St. Rocco's Family Residence, the Joseph and Judith Calabro Family Residence is located at 368 S. Seventh St. in Newark, which is where the ceremony was conducted.
The Calabros are the late parents of Dr. Joseph J. Calabro, also a native of Scranton, who was on hand to see his parents honored.
The founder and president/CEO of Physicians' Practice Enhancement, a medical practice management group, Dr. Calabro and his family have continued his parents' lifelong commitment to serving the underprivileged through their lifetime of community service, culminating with the bequeathal of the 59-bed emergency family shelter which provides a secure temporary living environment for those in need.
"Dr. Calabro has shown his deep commitment to Catholic Charities over many years. The Joseph and Judith Calabro Family Residence, which is named in Dr. Calabro's parents' honor, will help emphasize the importance of urban health in homelessness and social services," said Dr. Phillip Frese, CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark.
A professor and chairman of emergency medicine at the Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, Dr. Calabro has roots that run deep throughout the Newark and Scranton/Carbondale communities. His uncle owns the Circle Drive-In movie theater, one of the longest-running drive-ins in America.
High notes
Scranton Mayor Chris and Donna Doherty were among the guests at a White House reception as well as Vice President Joe Biden's St. Patrick's Day breakfast for Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny last week in Washington, D.C. Mr. Biden held the belated annual St. Patrick's Day breakfast celebration for the Taoiseach at his Naval Observatory residence after returning from Rome, where he attended Pope Francis' installation Mass. Along with Irish food and song, Mr. Biden, who lived in Scranton's Green Ridge section as a child, read a poem by his grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt, said Chris, who noted that he and Donna paid for their trip to Washington, which also included a visit to the USS Scranton, whose new commander, Seth Burton, visited his submarine's namessake city in November. Chris also noted that Mr. Biden revealed at the breakfast that he is 5/8 Irish, which he said he learned from research done for the story, "Joey From Scranton - Vice President Biden's Irish Roots," written by by Megan Smolenyak for the April/May issue of "Irish Times."
- TERRY BONIFANTI