By Paul A. Barra

Jesus Our Risen Savior parish was graced with the presence of the Bishop of Charleston on Tuesday, May 15. The occasion was the blessing and dedication of the new St. Francis Caracciolo Adoration Chapel.

The Most Rev. Robert E. Guglielmone celebrated mass at noon with eight Adorno Fathers concelebrating. The bishop gave a strong homily about the centrality of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church and the blessings that can accrue from adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

 At the end of mass, Fr. Frank Palmieri, pastor of JORS, said that the chapel will be a place of refreshment, “where you can sit and stay and pray.” He went on to say: “I hope this occasion will produce a spiritual rebirth of this parish.” Following the pastor’s remarks, the congregation processed out of church and to the adjoining chapel where the blessing ceremony occurred.

 Perpetual adoration of the exposed body of Christ is scheduled to begin on Pentecost, May 27, 2012.

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By Paul A. Barra

The Reverend Frank Palmieri, CRM, is a multifaceted Roman Catholic priest who hails from a medieval European town with a ninth-century church and who now serves at an American parish that has yet to build a church. He was born and bred in Italy, and now thinks in English; he is a traditionalist philosophically, and a big supporter of the changes agreed to at the Second Vatican Council; he speaks three languages, and believes the ethnic groups in his parish should each be given the freedom to maintain their individual identities.

His given name is Franco but he prefers to be known as Father Frank. He is the pastor of Jesus Our Risen Savior Catholic Church in Spartanburg, one of three parishes within the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, managed by his religious order, the Clerics Regular Minor (CRM), better known as the Adorno Fathers.

The Adornos were founded in 1588 in Italy by three men, Saint Francis Caracciolo, Venerable Augustine Adorno and Fabrizio Caracciolo; the priests and religious men of the order are also known as Caracciolini and are found in the Philippine Islands, Germany, Africa and India, as well as in their homeland and the United States. Palmieri has been stationed in this country since before he was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 22, 1962.

Palmieri has been bound to his religious congregation from childhood: “I have always been an Adorno.”

He went to pre-seminary at the age of eleven in Anagni, south of Rome, leaving his parents (his mother is still alive at age 97) and four siblings back in Triea, a walled and gated hill town of 13,000 in Macerata province in the central Italy region known as Le Marche. From Triea, a national treasure of antiquity, one can see the Adriatic to the east and the Apennine mountains to the west. He left all that to serve his community in the New World. Sometimes today, he says, when he speaks to his mother he lapses into English and doesn’t realize it until she tells him she can’t understand what he’s saying.

He went to the University of St. Thomas, a Dominican institution in Rome, where he earned a bachelors in philosophy despite not speaking English.

“The courses were in Latin and I spoke Latin then,” Fr. Frank said.

The young novitiate was then sent to St. Francis Seminary in Loretto, Pennsylvania, for theology training and more priestly formation. There the texts were in Latin but the language of the school was English. The seminarians taught the young Palmieri English, while the Franciscan professors taught the philosophy of John Duns Scotus, famous as being both complex and nuanced. Palmieri was a Thomist.

“I was caught in the middle, and one of my professors called me The Little Heretic because I disagreed with some of his philosophy,” he said.

But he earned an A in the course and graduated in 1962. He was ordained six months later in Rome. He then studied the social sciences at Seton Hall University from 1962 until 1965, serving at the same time at St. Joseph’s Church in Lodi, NJ. At the parish he was parochial vicar, youth minister and director of religious education (DRE). He celebrated a children’s mass as well as adult masses and revived an old parish tradition, the Feast of St. Joseph. He ran Bingo games and raised funds for the parish. He stayed in Lodi for 18 years.

Palmieri then went to St. Michael’s Seminary in Ramsey, NJ, where he filled many positions, “including cutting the grass.” He raised more than $500,000 in Ramsey, where the main order house is located, and was on the staff of the seminary when the Adornos expanded to India and Africa. Thirteen years later, in 1996, he was assigned as pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Goose Creek, SC.

The Adorno priest became the first superior of the order House in Goose Creek, and was there when the congregation followed the lead of Fr. Edgardo Enverga, now pastor of St. Philip Benizi in Monck’s Corner, into the Philippines. Pastor Palmieri accepted the first Adorno vocation from those western Pacific islands. His vicar at JORS, Fr. Ted Kalaw, is a native Filipino.

Palmieri believes that the Church should keep her roots deep into the tradition of Catholicism, a tradition that continues to evolve as the people of God live it. 

“Vatican II went back to the roots of tradition but changed things according to the realities of the ‘sixties (when the Council convened),” he said. “The Church must have room for everybody.”

 He cites the old rule of abstinence from meat on Fridays as an example of evolving tradition.

“I have a friend in New Jersey who doesn’t eat meat on Fridays, but he goes out to an expensive restaurant and eats lobster. Fridays are supposed to be the day of the week when we observe a spirit of penance. How is eating lobster a penance? Not eating meat is no longer a burden, so the Church dropped it. But penitential Fridays are still our tradition.”

He believes that the church building is the house of God, but also the place where the people of God – the Church – meet on Sundays: “You should say hi to your friends. I expect silence only when the mass starts.”

He also thinks families should bring their children to mass (“A mass is lonely without kids”); we should sing hymns at mass with twenty-first century meanings (“Why sing 15^th century songs?”);  and worshippers should dress appropriately for mass (“I won’t ever say anything, but remember, clothes are a man and woman’s best friends: they cover a multitude of sins.”).

Father Frank Palmieri also knows that the absolute truths of the Catholic Church can never evolve. For instance, abortion is always wrong, he said, because our tradition is rooted in respecting life in all forms.

He is energized about his parish on Reidville Road and its brand-new adoration chapel named after St. Francis Caracciolo. He thinks the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities at JORS should work together while respecting each other’s unique gifts: “When you form a melting pot, like making minestrone, all the individual flavors disappear; the parish should be more like a salad bowl, where each individual specialty brings a richer identity for all of us.”

He said that the Adorno Fathers are in Spartanburg to stay, with Jesus Our Risen Savior as the centerpiece of their mission.

I traveled to Nicaragua during my Spring Break this year. It was the most incredible experience of my life! I am honestly so thankful to have had the privilege of going! I learned so much from my trip, and I’d like to share some of it with you. I learned how incredibly blessed we are to live in America. So many times have I heard, “I don’t like my shoes, I need more; I don’t like my clothes, I need more; I don’t like my car, I need another one.”  But in Nicaragua, the kids don’t have the luxury of getting new shoes, new clothes, or a new car. Most of the children there, from infants to teens, have only one pair of shoes, if any. Lots of the kids only had one pair of clothes to wear – some didn’t even have any. And forget about cars – on the islands of Oronoco and Pearl Lagoon, I saw at most two cars. If they want to get somewhere they have to walk. Now that I’ve been there I can no longer say that the weather in South Carolina is hot, it’s just warm. Hot is 115° with no air conditioning! There were times in Nicaragua where I honestly thought I would pass out from the heat. We were doing a basketball camp for the kids, it was the hottest day there, we were outside on the hot pavement running around, and shooting a basketball at broken goals, holding kids, and I had a limited supply of water. Although that seemed miserable for me, those kids have to deal with it every day. I had to learn about the terrible things that are happening in the world outside of my own. Prostitution and sex trafficking are big problems in other countries. Nicaragua is one of the leading countries for these problems. While we were there, we were taken to a prostitution rescue center called House of Hope. We learned they were rescuing girls from ages 5 – 18 along with their families. I couldn’t even comprehend what would possess a person to take a five year old, let alone anyone. While I was there I bonded with a little girl named Veronica. The whole time I was with her I battled with the thought if she was one of the girls rescued. I could not stand the thought of someone hurting her, but I was hit with the hard reality that kids just like Veronica are being abducted every day.

While we were there we were also taken to the dumps. They were infested with wild pigs, smoke, and mountains of trash.  Instead of going to school here, kids head out early in the morning to go to the dumps. They rummage through the trash to find meals, things they can fix, or things they can trade. I couldn’t imagine having to wake up early just to get the first pick of garbage, and knowing that if they couldn’t find food at the dump they would return leaving themselves and the rest of their family hungry. While we were at the dump we handed out flip-flops, stickers, cross shaped candy, and anything we could find to give away. It was heartbreaking to be handing out flip-flops and run out while you’re stuck in a sea of outstretched hands begging for something to put on their feet. The lessons I learned there have made me a different person; a thankful person, thankful for everything from a toothbrush to a roof over my head. 

Although there were many hard lessons on this trip there was also a lot of fun. On the last day there we went zip lining through the rain forest. There were three different styles of zip lining. One was regular where you would lean back in a seated position, one in a superman position where the harness is hooked to your back and your outstretched position while a guide keeps you balanced, and the last style is upside down where your literally flipped upside down hanging so your head is pointed down and your feet are pointed up, which is a major blood rush! We also went shopping in the market. The dollar there is worth a lot more money so you can get a lot of nice stuff very cheap. We also ate at two nice restaurants. One of them was a nice little pizzeria located on the side of a mountain and overlooked the city of Managua.  The other one was more of a cultural food restaurant that was right above a volcano that had a lake in it and you could go swimming. In all, the trip was a life-changing experience.

Alicia Hannouche 

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The group was made up in part by 11 Past Grand Knights, spouses, widows and some special guests. They included the State Deputy of South Carolina Tom Monahon and his wife Kathy, Rev. Frank Palmieri (9575 Chaplin) and Rev. Ted Kalaw (1^st Degree Knight).

The evening started with libations, meeting of old friends, an opening prayer by Rev. Palmieri, followed by dinner.

Current Grand Knight Brian Folkman emceed the program and introduced all of the guests. This was followed by an awards presentation where all Past Grand Knights or their widows were given Certificates of Recognition of their service and pins in honor of their dedication and leadership.

The event was turned over to Knight Ron Stanley who presented a power point program, with commentary and highlights from the inception of the Council to present day.

Some of the slides showed the first meeting held in the basement of the Rectory, there were only 32 or so members at that time and they have now grown to 208. Depicted was the outdoor picnic shelter which was built and paid for by the Council and the white cross located at the entry of the church that was purchased and installed by the Knights as well. Ron also showed Knights in action, painting church halls and classrooms, building the adoration chapel in the rectory, remodeling the basement of the rectory so it could be used for meetings, holding fish fries and other fund raising events in the All Purpose Room. The accomplishments were too many to mention them all on the list.

State Deputy Tom Monahon closed the program with his remarks which included his thanks for all the hard work our Council does, including becoming “Star Council” for nine years running. This is an accomplishment highly relished but not achieved often. He congratulated the group for supporting “Operation Hope,” the Knights major charity. Lastly, he presented a Certificate of Achievement for a job well done, from Thomas Anderson the Supreme Grand Knight of all councils here in the United States and abroad.

Something that resonated over and over again in conversations throughout the evening was the unselfish dedication to the Church, priests and the community shown by all the Knights of Council 9575.

All in all those present had a great time at the celebration and they looked forward to bigger and better things from the organization. The evening came to a close with prayers by Rev. Kalaw.

Anyone wanting more information about this great organization can contact Ed Hedbloom the Membership Chairman at 680-0815, or Dan Schramm 595-9130, send emails to ehedbloom@aol.com or cardans001@aol.com respectively.

Submitted by Dan Schramm