Holy Toledo

I spent part of last week in Ohio, and in four days visited three dioceses: Cleveland, Youngstown and Toledo.

A highlight was having a chance to meet some of the deacons of Toledo, where I gave a talk to them and their wives about my own vocation and my career in the media. We all met at St. Alphonsus Parish in Peru, Ohio.

It’s a gorgeous setting—and a noteworthy shrine. St. John Neumann lived there for a time in a rustic cabin that is now used for conferences, retreats and parish events.  There’s also a small altar set up for the celebration of Mass.

Before my talk, the wives prepared a delicious dinner which ended, memorably, with pie.  Or, rather, pies. (I had the banana cream pie. Apple and blueberry were in attendance, too.)

Deacon Norb Wethington arranged the whole thing, and was my host for my time in Toledo. He could not have been more congenial or generous, driving me from one end of Ohio to the other and offering a running commentary that gave me an engaging history of every intersection we crossed and every steeple we saw. As we say in Brooklyn: he’s a mensch. Richard Attenborough should play him in the movie version.

Thank you, Holy Toledo!