The feast day of St. Joseph holds a special place in three generations of the St. Colombia family, who attend St. Mary Church in Helena.
Every year near March 19, Joseph St. Columbia Sr., Joseph St. Columbia Jr. and Joseph St. Columbia III meet for a day of fishing, camaraderie and faith-sharing.
“We enjoy being together and remembering the father of Christ. St. Joseph was the caretaker of Jesus. He taught Christ how to live as a man. To have his name is important to me and I try to instill that into my two Josephs,” St. Columbia Sr. said.
These three generations of the St. Columbia family set out March 18 for their annual fishing trip in honor of St. Joseph.
This year’s celebration was on a Sunday, so they attended the vigil Mass on Saturday.
On their trips, they catch crappie, bass and brim. They’re not “prejudiced,” for any fish, St. Columbia said. The fish that they catch are used for fish fries during Lent.
“We always seem to catch a mess of fish,” St. Columbia Sr. said. “We love us boys being together. He grew up in a hurry, so we cherish these times. It makes a big impact on a young man’s faith and life with being able to teach and learn from us. Your family gives you values. What we’re passing onto him makes an impression, and we can only hope it will guide him in the future.”
The first outing was 10 years ago when his grandson was 9 years old. St. Columbia and his son planned the day in advance with his teacher, as he would miss school that day.
Joseph III is now 19 and studying aerospace engineering at Mississippi State University.
The St. Columbia’s make sure to make “sfingi di San Giuseppe” (St. Joseph doughnuts), which are Italian drop doughnuts, as part of their annual celebration.
St. Columbia Sr.’s father and grandfather came from Italy and got off the riverboat at Helena in 1892. There was a Catholic Church there, so they never went farther north.
“Religion is very important to me. It was important to my father and his father before him. I taught my son to be a good Catholic and now he’s trying to teach his son. I believe in the saying that the family that prays together stays together,” he said.
Family and tradition are important in the St. Columbia family. St. Columbia and his wife have two sons and four grandchildren. Each week, they occupy two pews at St. Mary for Mass.
“We make it part of our lives to be together. I don’t bother them much during the week, but I expect them to be in church on Sunday.
“When you walk through my front door, you know you’re in a Catholic house. I’m proud to be American and Catholic,” St. Columbia Sr. said.
The family gathers afterward at St. Columbia’s house for a meal.
“You have to lead your family, not leave it up to someone else. Religion starts at home,” he said. “It’s the family’s responsibility to teach them. What parents give children is coming from God, and that’s something we cannot forget.”
