April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
NEW CATHOLIC
Convert going strong at 100
When The Evangelist profiled Flora Menges following the 2009 sacraments, which were administered at her senior apartment home by Rev. Kenneth Doyle of Mater Christi parish in Albany, she was on "cloud nine." Father Doyle called her "the oldest person I've ever baptized" and said "it was wonderful to see how alive her faith was."
Today, she receives communion weekly in her home, donates to Mater Christi and eagerly awaits the parish bulletin: "I read it all," she said, adding that she appreciates occasional cards from parishioners.
Welcome, visitors
When Father Doyle visits about twice a year, "I feel important," Mrs. Menges said. "I always feel different [and] special."
Anneliese Bain, a neighbor and Mater Christi parishioner, brings Mrs. Menges communion on Saturdays.
"She enjoys it," Ms. Bain said. "I don't think she remembers how to say the Lord's Prayer, so I say it for her. She watches me.
"She tries to remember certain things," Ms. Bain added. "I don't push her into anything. But it's remarkable that she knows on Saturday I come for communion - because that [offertory] envelope is waiting for me on the kitchen table."
Today, Mrs. Menges has difficulty explaining why she chose to become Catholic, but she knows she wanted it: "It means a lot to me."
As a child, her father had prevented her baptism after the family emigrated from Italy because he had severed ties with the Church there. When he allowed her to attend the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany for one year, "nobody really knew that I hadn't been [baptized]," she said.
Secret services
"The nuns didn't understand what was going on [so] they treated me the same," Mrs. Menges continued. She couldn't find the courage to notify a priest or a nun and received sacraments anyway.
"I was 13 [and] I was very, very bashful," she said. "I wanted to do something about it." Outside of school, "my father wouldn't allow us to go to church," but "my sister and I used to sneak in sometimes."
Mrs. Menges and her late husband used to attend a Dutch Reformed church twice a year. Her career included jobs at a shirt factory and hotels and more than a decade as an accountant for the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
Her four siblings were Protestant or not religious as adults, but "because I had gone to a Catholic school, it meant more to me" to pursue Catholicism, Mrs. Menges said. Being Catholic now "makes me feel better."
Re-energized
Mario Chiarello, Mrs. Menges' half-brother - younger by 39 years - said his sister "thought it would be beneficial to be closer to God." About five years ago, he said, aches associated with her age left her feeling downcast and tired of living.
"I don't know that I can ascribe it to being baptized," Mr. Chiarello said, "but the process certainly contributed to a renewed spirit. There was an aspect of rebirth, of being energized, of new life."
Mrs. Menges enjoys knitting hats and afghans, cooking, reading and spending time with her brother, nieces and nephews and other relatives. She calls her cat, Bootsy, "my baby."
Her apartment building and her family will throw her birthday parties for her personal centennial; she also received a letter from President Barack Obama for the occasion.[[In-content Ad]]
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