Like most religious orders, the Oblates of St. Joseph is broken down into geographical units, called either "provinces" or "delegations." (Between the two, a province has a greater degree of autonomy, whereas a delegation is more dependent upon central government of the Congregation, in Rome.) Within the United States of America, the Oblates of St. Joseph have two provinces, one in California (the Guardian of the Redeemer Province), and one in Pennsylvania (the Our Lady of Sorrows Province). Naturally, not every province of the Congregation is able to fulfill the entirety of the Oblate apostolate. Let's explore the Pennsylvania Province in some more detail:

Geography

Since all of the United States and Canada is covered by only two OSJ provinces, their geographical "territory" is quite large. The Our lady of Sorrows Province could be said to cover the entire eastern half of the continent, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast, while the Guardian of the Redeemer Province could be said to cover everything to the west, including Alaska and Hawaii. In practical terms, however, the Oblates are only present locally. In the case of the Pennsylvania Province, the actual work of the Oblates is limited to the Diocese of Scranton, in Northeastern Pennsylvania. In the past, the Our Lady of Sorrows Province has had additional presence in Middletown, CT, Washington, DC, and Ontario, Canada, though all of those apostolates have now ceased, largely due to a decrease in vocations.

The Name

One might wonder, why did the Oblates choose to name the Pennsylvania Province after Our Lady of Sorrows? There are multiple reasons. For one thing, devotion to Mary under the title "Our Lady of Sorrows" has long been a dear part of Oblate spirituality. In addition, it was on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows that the Congregation received Pontifical approval, for which reason Our Lady of Sorrows is considered the patroness of Oblate vocations, and it is on her feast day that Oblates make their perpetual vows. Lastly, devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows is especially important to the Oblate laity served in the province, many of whom come from Italy, where that devotion has always had the strongest following.

A Brief History

In the early 20th Century, the area surrounding Scranton, PA, was flooded with immigrants, most of whom were coming from Europe and found work in Scranton's vast coal mining industry. Many of these immigrant groups formed communities together, so that they could live and work with people from the same culture. Italian immigrants in large concentrations gathered in the small city of Pittston. There was a problem. The Italian immigrants spoke no English, and the diocesan clergy spoke no Italian. As a result, the immigrants had no way to effectively communicate with their priests. To resolves this issue, the bishop of Scranton sought an order of priests from Italy who would be able to come to Pittston and minister to the immigrants there. He found the solution to his problem in Asti, where he met with the superiors of the Oblates of St. Joseph. The Oblates said that they would be willing to come to the United States and care for the Italian-speaking population there.

In 1929, the first Oblates arrived in New York City and were brought to their new home of Pittston, where they would eventually become solely responsible for the administration of the parishes of St. Rocco, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and St. Anthony of Padua, across the Susquehanna River in Exeter. Over the next seven and a half decades, the Oblates opened seminaries in West Pittston, PA, Ontario, Canada, Washington, DC, and Laflin, PA, of which only the last remains. They also erected a parish in West Wyoming, PA, named after their patroness, Our Lady of Sorrows, which is now staffed by diocesan clergy. For a time, the Oblates of the Our Lady of Sorrows Province were also responsible for the Parish of St. Sebastian, in Middletown, CT, where there is also a vibrant Italian-American community. Since the year 2008, the Pennsylvania Province has had the opportunity to reach out the Hispanic community in the Diocese of Scranton, which continues to grow. Thanks to the arrival of a confrere from Perú, the Oblates were able to assist the Hispanic Community in Lackawanna County from the Parish of St. John Neumann, until, in July, 2009, we were given our own parish with an Hispanic community, in Hazleton. The Oblates have been serving the people of the Parish of the Holy Annunciation in Hazleton since July, 2009.

Since the arrival of the Oblates in 1929, they have made a name for themselves as men of great dedication and prayer, and are recognized among the diocesan clergy for their constant effort to meet the needs of their congregations. As a part of their parish ministry, the Oblates have always placed great emphasis on catechism and youth ministry, which continue to play central roles in the lives of the Oblate parishes.

What do you do?

The Our Lady of Sorrows Province is numerically small, but we try not to let that stand in our way. The Oblates provide pastors and associate pastors for the parishes of St. Rocco, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, St. Anthony, and Holy Annunciation, all of which are full-time apostolates with challenging demands. In addition, the Oblates staff their own Provincial House, St. Joseph's Oblate Seminary in Laflin. At present, the seminary is used for the formation of seminarians (who receive education at the University of Scranton), and also as a center of prayer for the laity of the area. The seminary is well-known as a place of devotion, for daily Mass, for the weekly Novena to Ss. Joseph and Joseph Marello, for the monthly First Thursday Holy Hour for Vocations, the monthly Blue Army First Friday Vigil to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and periodically for other groups and activities, such as the monthly meetings of the Secular Franciscan Order and the Diocesan Ministry with the Deaf and Persons with Disabilities.

In addition to this active care for the people of the Diocese of Scranton and their many needs, the Oblates of St. Joseph remain committed, according to the example and instruction of St. Joseph Marello, to assist the diocesan clergy in their needs, which often involves being available to say Mass for a priest who is for some reason unavailable or unable. The Oblates are well-known for traveling throughout the eleven counties of the diocese to help the local clergy meet the sacramental needs of their people.

While the above constitutes the bulk of the ministry of the Oblates of St. Joseph, they are also engaged in certain additional apostolic activities, such as spiritual direction, education (accomplished largely through the diocesan Pastoral Formation Institute), and preaching retreats. In recent years, the Oblates have renewed their own commitment to vocation ministry, in an effort to actively seek young men who might be called to the Oblate way of life, so that their ministry and presence in the diocese (and perhaps even beyond) can become more vibrant and more effective.