Councils 7816 and 15417 Fish Frys
- Sat, Feb 25, 2023 11:28 AM
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Lent season started this past Wednesday and for many, that means fish fry Fridays. Tons of local Catholic churches are hosting fish fries for those who want to participate or just meet others in the community.
“This is a long-standing tradition with Knights of Columbus here in St. Thomas,” said Paul Lacroix.
Paul Lacroix works with the St. Thomas Aquinas Church and helps plan the fish fries. It’s a long-standing tradition selling fish, mac and cheese, coleslaw and more.
While fish fries are known to be a Catholic tradition, it’s one that is not solely celebrated by Catholics.
“It is definitely open to the community as of course but we hold it because it is part of the Catholic faith. But we provide this type of service to the community,” said Rick Centeno.
Rick Centeno helps with the fish fries at Cristo Rey Church. He says it’s a time for the community to reconnect. For the Knights of Columbus, it’s their primary fundraiser for charities.
“The money that we earn doing fish fries will go to support those organizations and let them keep doing the good work that they do,” said Lacroix.
Fish fries is part of a bigger picture, Lent. Several Christian denominations practice Lent, a 40-day period of sacrifice and spiritual discipline. That means each person gives up things to draw them closer to God, including red meat on Fridays.
People look forward to fish fries at churches like Cristo Rey and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Help from Council members from Msgr. Jerome MacEachin Council #7816 at St. Thomas and St. Juan Diego Council #15417 at Cristo Rey the dinners are provided every Friday during the Lenten season.
“Turnout is fantastic we definitely bring in 300 or so people every week there’s a lot of fish fries that are twice as big that bring in a lot more people as well but I think that is received by the community as well as by the churches,” said Centeno.
Click on the video link to view the report from WILX TV Channel 10 in Lansing.
