PROVIDENCE - With the exception of the winning Indianapolis Colts and their fans, Super Bowl XLI is likely all but forgotten, but the weekend of Feb. 4-5 will long be remembered by those who benefited from the Souper Bowl of Caring, spearheaded by young parishioners at several parishes in the diocese.
Touted as "the nation's largest youth-led weekend of giving and serving," the Souper Bowl campaign began on Super Bowl Sunday in 1988 and the presence of "soup pots" at the entrance of churches has become a tradition at some parishes every Super Bowl weekend since.
The following parishes in the diocese reported participating in the event Feb. 3 and/or Feb. 4:
At St. Mary Church in West Warwick, 12 religious education students in Grades 6-9 volunteered to man the soup pots after Sunday Masses, asking that parishioners contribute $1 each. In all, their efforts raised $344 for the R.I. Community Food Bank. This was the 10th year that the parish participated in the campaign.
At St. Brigid Parish in Johnston, the collection was taken by the confirmation candidates in Grades 9 and 10 after all Masses the weekend of Feb. 3 and 4. In all, $325 was raised for the St. Robert Bellarmine Food Pantry in Johnston.
Youth group members at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish also conducted their own Souper Bowl. Members explained the fund raiser to parishioners during the weekend Masses on Feb. 4 and 5 and then collected the money in soup pots which were placed at the back of the church. In all, $1,605 was raised, which was to be donated to Bishop Thomas J. Tobin's "Keep the Heat On" challenge, St. Robert Bellarmine Food Closet, St. Francis Food Ministry, St. Charles Soup Kitchen and other charitable efforts.
Henry Marques, director of Religious Education at St. Robert Bellarmine, said as part of their presentation, the young people pointed out some of the statistics highlighted on the Souper Bowl of Caring Web site, wwwsouperbowl.org.
"In our nation, we have way too much food, yet we don't have enough; we are the world's most highly civilized and industrial nation, yet we cannot feed all of our people," the site reported. It also cited statistics that indicate that five million children die from hunger worldwide.
Keith and Lisa Kline, youth ministers at St. Robert Bellarmine, who were in charge of the fund raiser, announced to the parish, "The youths of our parish and others put God's love into action through this great event. You can help them feel the significance of helping those in need and caring for one another. They will be standing in the back of the church collecting donations in large soup pots."
Marques said he is pleased with the amount of money raised this year, the seventh year the parish participated in Souper Bowl. He thinks that it first became an annual event at the parish "when the Patriots first started winning some games."
Father John G. LaPoint, pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine, said the money raised "is a testimony to the generosity and kindness of the people here" at the parish. He also credits the Klines for their hard work which resulted in the event being a success. "They put their heart and soul into it and as a result, many local groups and individuals will benefit," he said.
(This article originally appeared in The Providence Visitor)
