Birthday celebration at St. Anthony’s Parish

Birthday celebration at St. Anthony’s Parish

Tagalog Mass is held every last Sunday of the month 3:30pm at St. Anthony’s Church on Bloor and Rusholme. This is followed by fellowship in the church hall.The gathering is an opportunity to celebrate birthdays. Fr Mark Escobar calls on all celebrants in front of the altar where he gives them his special blessings. On this day, October 25, it was Fr Mark’s birthday. The parishioners turned the tables around and gave him their special prayer.

Fr. Mark Escobar has been the Administrator at St Anthony’s Parish since December last year. He came from different parishes in the U.S. before coming to this parish. He belongs to the Scalabrinian Missionaries, an international community of religious serving migrants and refugees of different cultures, religions and ethnicities in 32 countries and on five continents. It is fitting that Fr. Escobar, of Filipino origin, is now involved in a multi-racial, multilingual church. He is in the process of galvanizing all the cultures, nationalities and traditions of various ethnic groups in the parish, making them vibrant and engaged not only during Sunday. Different feasts and events originating in native countries are celebrated. Masses in different languages are offered. (Seth Papasin, Chairperson, Concerned Filipinos of St. Anthony’s Parish)