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WILKES-BARRE — “I feel like a kid tonight,” Sister Elsa Moore said, smiling as she watched parishioners and friends of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church add to a huge pile of toys in front of the altar Thursday evening.
“I would love that big black bear myself,” she teased, pointing to a large plush animal and proving that, after more than 50 years as a nun, she’s still young at heart.
“Some kid’s going to love that to pieces,” she added.
The toys, ranging from jigsaw puzzles to dolls to Star Wars action figures, are Christmas presents for the needy, and it’s a long-standing tradition for members of St. Nicholas Church to bring such gifts to a special Mass each year on Dec. 6.
That’s the feast day of their patron saint, a 4th-century bishop who was born in what is now Turkey and who became legendary for his generosity and compassion for the poor.
“He gave in secret, during the night. Doesn’t that sound like somebody else we know?” the Rev. Joseph Verespy said during his homily, referring to the way Santa Claus evolved from St. Nicholas.
People who carried presents to the altar Thursday ranged from great-grandparents to preschoolers, and some of the older folks said it was a good tradition for their children to begin.
“I want them to know St. Nicholas was a real person and he would give to the less fortunate,” said Mary Conti, of Wilkes-Barre, who brought her 5-year-old son, also named Nicholas, and 14-month-old daughter, Josephine, to the Mass. “I want them to follow in his footsteps.”
As the Mass drew to a close, a tall “St. Nicholas” suddenly arrived, sporting a curly white beard and a bishop’s hat and cloak. Accompanying him was his elf-like sidekick, “Ruprecht,” who in keeping with folklore had some less-than-ideal “presents” to give away.
To the delight of onlookers, Ruprecht, portrayed by 13-year-old Charlie Revitt, gave pieces of coal to Christopher Tigue, who is his principal at St. Nicholas-St. Mary School, and to several sisters, including Sister Elsa.
He also tossed coal to Deacon Michael Golubiewski and to the Rev. Fidel Ticona, who were standing just a few feet away from him. At the urging of several adults, he pitched a piece of it a considerably greater distance — up into the choir loft for director of music Edward Loch.
“That was a good throw,” Sister Elsa congratulated Revitt later.
After Ruprecht’s basket of coal was emptied, “St. Nicholas” gave peppermint candy canes to younger members of the congregation, and admitted his other identity is church volunteer Chris Kohl.
“I did this last year and I was told I was too young-looking, which anybody over 50 likes to hear,” Kohl said. “So this year I have spectacles and (bushy white) eyebrows.”
