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NEW CATHOLIC

3 sacraments in 1 day at age 96

It's never too late to join the Catholic Church. Just ask Flora Chiarello Menges: On Sept. 5, the 96-year-old was baptized, made her First Communion and was confirmed in the presence of friends and relatives in the community room at Whitehall Court Apartments in Albany.

The new convert's youngest brother, Mario Chiarello, and cousin Rosemarie Chiarello Saleh were godparents and sponsors for the sacraments, conferred by Rev. Kenneth Doyle, who is pastor of St. Catherine of Siena parish in Albany and diocesan chancellor for public information.

"I always said that the greatest gift my father gave me after my mother died and he remarried when I was almost 40 years old was a baby brother named Mario. 

Having Mario as my godfather and sponsor was the greatest gift our heavenly Father could have given me for my 96th birthday," boasted Mrs. Menges, who was born on August 29, 1913.

Having gone to live at Whitehall Court after her husband, Theodore, passed away, Mrs. Menges saw the participation of her cousin Rosemarie as another blessing. 

"Our fathers were brothers and Rosemarie and I would see each other at family gatherings like weddings and wakes when we were girls, but we lost touch over the years," she explained. 

Group effort
Mrs. Menges praised Mrs. Saleh for playing a major role in introducing her to Sister Eileen Kelleher, SNJM - who, in turn, introduced the senior citizen to Father Doyle. 

"Flora Menges is by far the oldest person I've ever baptized," noted Father Doyle, who called the convert "vibrant and thrilled" to have joined the Church. "It was wonderful to see how alive her faith was as she received the sacraments in the presence of loved ones."

Father Doyle said the experience "was not only a reminder that one is never too old to be baptized, but also a wonderful evangelical example of how friends and neighbors can invite others to learn more about our faith."

Sister Eileen said those present Sept. 5 were "ignited with joy" as they welcomed Mrs. Menges into the Church. 

Asked what took her long, Mrs. Menges revealed that although her older siblings had been baptized when the family resided in Italy, her father severed ties with the Church after they immigrated to the U.S. 

"In Italy, my mother had the support of her family, but after they crossed the Atlantic and settled here, she had to do what he said. When I was born, he refused to allow my mother to have me baptized. When I once brought home a book of a religious nature, he threw it in the furnace," Mrs. Menges recalled. "He made it very clear that he did not want me or the brother who was born after me to become Catholics."

AHN student
Her father did permit Mrs. Menges to attend the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany "for one year only when I was a junior in high school," possibly because of a music program or special event that was taking place that year.

"How my parents got me admitted when I had never been baptized, I'll never know, but they did and nobody there ever questioned my church background," Mrs. Menges noted. "I used to feel terrible sometimes, but in those days, I was very shy and didn't know what to do. 

"I once thought about talking to a priest, but there was a group of teenage girls nearby and I just couldn't get up the courage to ask him. I've sometimes wondered what might have happened if I hadn't been so timid."

Instead, she married Theodore Menges, a man of German descent, and joined the Dutch Reformed Church. 

"We would attend services together on Sundays and I learned a lot about Scripture," noted Mrs. Menges, who prepared with Father Doyle for about a month before receiving the sacraments.

Times changing
At the age of 36, Mrs. Menges mourned the loss of her mother, but soon embraced the presence of a loving stepmother. 

"My father had gone to Italy after my mother died and returned with a wife named Mary who was only 38 or 39 years old. He treated her much differently than he had treated my mother and when they had a son, my father did not try to stop her from having him baptized in the Roman Catholic faith. 

"That's how Mario came to be my baby brother in 1952 - and now my godfather and Confirmation sponsor. He really was the best gift my father ever gave to me."

Mrs. Menges - and all those who witnessed her conversion - said she's been on "cloud nine" since receiving the sacraments. 

"I can't explain it," she said; "but I just feel happy. Very happy."

(09/17/09) [[In-content Ad]]

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