Had there been any question as to why nearly 200 people were gathered the evening of Sept. 20 at St. Joseph Church on French Street in Wilmington, it was erased with the stirring rendition of “every praise” as celebrants entered the church.
It was the lively celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities and the dedication of their faith as more than 100 members of the Delaware-based family joined parish worshipers at the intimate church in the middle of the city.
They were joined by two cardinals, three bishops and numerous priests and deacons in celebrating the blessings of the Catholic-centered foundation that has supported the church locally and worldwide since 1945.
But it was the Diocese of Wilmington Gospel Choir that set the tone from the first note, welcoming the local and visiting clerics and churchgoers with “every praise, every praise is to our God. Sing Hallelujah to our God. Glory Hallelujah is due our God. Every praise, every praise is to our God.”
The main celebrant for the Mass was Cardinal Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the United States.
Members of the foundation are descendants of the founders, John and Helena Raskob. Membership is now in its fifth generation of their family. Some members are the great-great grandchildren of the founders. John Raskob was a financial executive and businessman for DuPont and General Motors, and the builder of the Empire State Building. The foundation has a legacy of grant making and philanthropic activity in service to the Catholic church and institutions and organizations identified with it, according to the group’s website.
“I’m very happy to be with you to celebrate the 80th anniversary with the Raskob family, which has been so generous to so many Catholic institutions,” said Cardinal Pierre, Pope Leo XIV’s top representative in the United States.
“To every member of the Raskob family, thank you,” Cardinal Pierre said in his homily. “Thank you on behalf of Pope Leo XIV. It is not simply the matter of sharing, but putting your skills, love, wisdom to the benefit of others. We have God’s presence through the death and the resurrection of Jesus and each of us has a mission to continue this work.”
Concelebrant priests and assisting clergy included Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, C.S., Scalabrini International Migration Network; Bishop William E. Koenig, of the Diocese of Wilmington; Bishop W. Francis Malooly, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Wilmington;
Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Camden; Father Leonir Chiarello, C.S., superior general, Scalabrini International Migration Network; Father Father Márcio Toniazzo, C.S., executive director, Scalabrini International Migration Network; Father Glenn M. Evers, vicar for clergy, Diocese of Wilmington, pastor, St. Joseph’s Church; Father Michael A. Preston, director of the Office of Worship, Diocese of Wilmington; Msgr. John P. Hopkins, pastor, Saint Joseph on the Brandywine, Wilmington; Father Robert Hughes, Diocese of Camden; Father Phillip J. Brown, P.S.S., president-rector, Saint Mary’s Seminary & University; Father Manuel Williams, C.R., director, Resurrection Catholic Missions; Father Iouri Koslovskii, Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia; Deacon Robert J. Cousar, Jr., Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Wilmington, and Deacon Matthew Boyer, Saint Ann parish, Wilmington.
“The Diocese of Wilmington is especially blessed the way John and Helena Raskob cared for the needs of the diocese,” Bishop Koenig said at the close of Mass.
The foundation website lists its mission as “to aid the Roman Catholic Church by providing resources in support of organizations, ministries, programs and projects associated with it throughout the world” and its purpose as “to be of service and work for the common good of all God’s people, nourishing the seeds that God plants all over the world.”
