South Phila. parish dedicates shrine to addiction recovery patron
Faithful pray before a statue of Venerable Matt Talbot at a newly dedicated shrine in St. Gabriel Parish in South Philadelphia. The parish has long been a “hub of devotion” to the saint in the making, who has become a popular patron of addiction recovery for his renunciation of alcoholism and his profound spirituality. (Gina Christian)
By Gina Christian • Posted May 12, 2021
A South Philadelphia parish has just dedicated a shrine to a former alcoholic now on the path to sainthood.
Some 160 faithful gathered May 2 at St. Gabriel in the city’s Grays Ferry section, where a new statue of Venerable Matt Talbot — commissioned with the generous assistance of the DiCocco Family’s St. Jude Shop in Havertown — was unveiled after the 10 a.m. Mass.