Cathie Jescavage of Plains Township, standing at right, and her friend Kathy Marinelli of Plains brought Jescavage’s two granddaughters, 6-year-old Charlotte Ruch and 4-year-old Magnolia Ruch, to St. Ann’s Basilica in Scranton for a Mass designed especially for grandchildren and grandparents as the annual St. Ann’s Novena neared its end.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Three generations who maintained a family tradition by coming to the St. Ann’s Novena included, from left: Joseph and Darlene Krysko of Clarks Summit, their daughter Jennifer Soy of Moosic and her children, 7-year-old Luke and 9-year-old Bridget.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Deacon Peter Lemoncelli, who gave the homily during a special Mass for grandparents and grandchildren, gave three young members of the congregation a close look at the kind of animals, including a cat and a rabbit (in a carrier), that might have been represented in the stable in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Cathie Jescavage and her friend Kathy Marinelli were early arrivals Saturday morning on the grounds of St. Ann’s Basilica in West Scranton, where a special Mass for Grandparents and Grandchildren was to be celebrated outdoors as the 102nd annual St. Ann’s Novena neared its end.
The Plains Township women brought Jescavage’s granddaughters, 6-year-old Charlotte Ruch and 4-year-old Magnolia Ruch of Wyoming, who, Jescavage said, “have been coming since they were babies.”
When they were babies, the girls were too young to understand that the annual Novena honors St. Ann, who is revered by many as the grandmother of Jesus, because according to Catholic tradition, she and her husband, Joachim, were the parents of Jesus’ mother, Mary.
But now Charlotte and Magnolia are old enough to realize that Jesus had the same kind of relationship with St. Ann that they have with Jescavage.
“St. Ann is Jesus’ GiGi,” Jescavage explained to the girls, using the same nickname they use for her.
As more and more people arrived, they assembled in hundreds of folding chairs that were in place for the outdoor Mass, some under a tent and some under the sun.
Another family of early arrivals included Jennifer Soy of Moosic, accompanied by her 7-year-old son, Luke, and 9-year-old daughter, Bridget, and her parents, Darlene and Joseph Krysko of Clarks Summit.
“My mom brought me every year when I was a little girl,” Jennifer Soy said, explaining she is happy to continue the tradition by bringing her own children to the novena.
“I think it brings them closer to the church,” she said.
The family sat near the front, which made it easy for Luke to become one of three kid volunteers from the congregation to come forward as Deacon Peter Lemoncelli gave his homily. They had a close view of some animals — a cat and a rabbit — whose visit the deacon had arranged so they could represent animals who might have been present in the stable where Mary gave birth to Jesus.
Moments earlier, Deacon Peter had read the story of Jesus’ birth from the Gospel of St. Luke in a Contemporary English Version of the Bible, which may have been easier for children to understand. In this version, for example, Mary “dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay” as opposed to “wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.”
The Novena at St. Ann’s Basilica was in its 102nd year in 2026 and has spawned many traditions within traditions, as people pray, sing and ask St. Ann to intercede for them. While most visitors drive to the Basilica, over the years, some attendees have walked about eight miles from Pittston, or even farther.
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