post-Catholic Boston

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Feb 21, 2008

This year St. Patrick's Day falls during Holy Week: a fact that calls for some shuffling of liturgical calendars. Not even a beloved saint-- not even the patron saint of the New York and Boston archdioceses-- takes precedence over Holy Week observances.

In South Boston, however, the annual St. Patrick's Day parade takes precedence, Holy Week or not. Parade czar Wacko Hurley (yes, that's the name he goes by) says that the parade will step off on schedule on March 16, regardless of the fact that it's Palm Sunday. (And just by the way, March 16 isn't St. Patrick's Day on any calendar.)

Church leaders might not be happy about the scheduling, but nobody is asking them what they think. Parade organizers are famous for their pugnacious independent spirit. Thus Hurley tells the Boston Globe: "We aren't scared to do things that aren't fitting to, say, 'peace on earth' and all that."

Thanks for that concise summary of what the Catholic faith means in South Boston today: "peace on earth and all that." Oh, and Wacko, just wondering: Have you read Phil's book?