{"id":7242,"date":"2011-09-21T06:49:27","date_gmt":"2011-09-21T10:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/deaconsbench\/?p=7242"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:37:06","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:37:06","slug":"man-of-the-century-priest-celebrates-mass-for-100th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2011\/09\/man-of-the-century-priest-celebrates-mass-for-100th-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"Man of the century: priest celebrates Mass for 100th birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A Pennsylvania priest has hit a remarkable milestone<\/a>: <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rev. Harry Lewis<\/span><\/a> was born the year Chevrolet started competing with the Ford Model T. He served in the military at the Battle of the Bulge, became a priest the year \u201cAll About Eve\u201d won the best picture Oscar and retired from priesthood as Ronald Reagan\u2019s presidency wound down.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

On Monday, as he waited for the start of a special Mass marking his 100th birthday \u2013 apparently the first Diocese of Scranton priest ever to reach that watershed \u2013 the wry, endlessly upbeat Lewis answered the inevitable question about his secret to longevity<\/span><\/a> with a tease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to write a book about it,\u201d Lewis said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Asked what it felt like to reach such a milestone, he beamed again. \u201cYou look forward to it, but when you actually get there, it\u2019s even more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis got a front-pew seat as Bishop Joseph Bambera, retired Bishop James Timlin and nearly a dozen other priests concelebrated the Mass in the chapel of Little Flower Manor, where the centenarian resides along with four other retired priests.<\/p>\n

Before the service, the Wilkes-Barre native chatted briefly of his winding path to such a long life as a priest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t become a priest until I was 39,\u201d he said. Before that, \u201cI was what they called a soda jerk.\u201d He chuckled at the thought. \u201cI dispensed ice cream and soda in a store in Wilkes-Barre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gladly admitting \u201cI always wanted to be a priest,\u201d Lewis explained the delay: He worked to help his four brothers and three sisters get a better start in life.<\/p>\n

Though he has been in the Diocese of Scranton most of his life, Lewis noted he did plenty of traveling \u2013 in the military. \u201cI was in England, France, Germany and Czechoslovakia,\u201d he recounted of 38 months of service.<\/p>\n

Turned out Lewis was being a bit modest. During his sermon, Bambera noted the guest of honor had served in the Battle of the Bulge, the last major Nazi offensive in World War II.<\/p>\n

Bambera put the longevity in perspective by citing a few things that happened in 1911. Along with the birth of Chevrolet as a Ford competitor, Crisco cooking shortening was invented and Lucille Ball and Ronald Reagan were born.<\/p>\n

Bambera, the 10th bishop in Scranton, noted Lewis was born during the tenure of Bishop Michael Hoban, the second leader of the 11-county diocese. \u201cYou can personally reflect on nine of the 10 bishops,\u201d Bambera said, adding with a smile that, \u201cbe particularly kind to bishops eight and 10,\u201d referring to Timlin and himself.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/strong> Ad multos annos!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Pennsylvania priest has hit a remarkable milestone: The Rev. Harry Lewis was born the year Chevrolet started competing with the Ford Model T. He served in the military at the Battle of the Bulge, became a priest the year \u201cAll About Eve\u201d won the best picture Oscar and retired from priesthood as Ronald Reagan\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,1,52],"tags":[768,11200],"class_list":["post-7242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-priests","category-uncategorized","category-vocations","tag-scranton","tag-vocations"],"yoast_head":"\nMan of the century: priest celebrates Mass for 100th birthday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Pennsylvania priest has hit a remarkable milestone: The Rev. 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