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St. Patrick's Cathedral
Christmas Nineteen
Eighty-Something
featuring a great actor
leading the priest's choir
That priest appears to be singing with the other priests but, in truth, he is suppressing a yawn. The night before Christmas Eve, FATHER FRANK who preferred that monicker to "Monsignor Oliverio" was refereeing Midnight Basketball in Harlem until 4AM Upon returning "home" to St. Patrick's, he was handed a telephone and a short list of "reluctant" names. By noon, five more New York priests committed to singing at Midnight Mass. The choir's formal rehearsal began at 3PM and lasted four hours. My Uncle cat-napped for one hour then met three very well-dressed Harlem gangbangers for dinner in Rockefeller Center. Earl, Pearl, and "Monroe" were—respectively— the team captains and the highest scorer from the Midnight Basketball game. They refused to let my Uncle pay for the meal. Monsignor Oliverio was influential enough at St. Patrick's to secure two pews for a dozen gangbangers (and their girlfriends) Their behavior at the Midnight Mass was impeccable and each one deposited $50 in the collection plate |
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Footnotes
This page is the copyrighted property
Footnotes
This page is the copyrighted property
of LCSoL
Father Frank was the only
Oliverio of his generation
to spend his formative years
in Harlem
Only three of the twenty-four
"Harlem attendees"
at this Midnight Mass
were practicing Catholics
The most profound thing
my Uncle told me
about this Mass
was that he would rather
have been sitting with
the gangbangers
What should be obvious
to anyone familiar
with Paul Blogiverio
is that Father Frank inspired
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