It goes without saying, Sacramental Communion and Holy Confession is what I miss most during this crises, but communal devotions like feasts and processions are a close second. Normally on April 2nd, a handful of us would get together and celebrate the Feast of San Francesco di Paola with a modest, but jovial, pizza party with some Paulaner hefeweizen (wheat beer with yeast) from Bavaria.
For those who don’t already know, in addition to tasting great and perfectly complimenting pizza, we drink Paulaner bier because it has an intimate connection to the great Calabrian saint. Originally brewed (1634) to support the charitable works of the Minims, a mendicant order of monks founded by St. Francis in the fifteenth-century, the name Paulaner itself is a corruption of Paola, the town in Provincia di Cosenza where St. Francis was born.
For obvious reasons we skipped the get-together this year, but we all promised to have a drink during dinner for a little levity in these trying times and make a toast in honor of St. Francis. Seeing how it’s still Lent and I’ve been practicing the traditional Lenten fast (only one meal a day at sundown with absolutely no meat, dairy or eggs throughout Lent, not just Fridays), I had a small cheeseless focaccia with caramelized onions and olive tapenade. Not one to drink alone (excluding wine), I made a rare exception for the occasion and enjoyed a cold pint of this most excellent brew.
May our glorious patron watch over you during these difficult times. God bless you all and evviva San Francesco!
