FOR CATHOLICS, LENT IS a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Locally, Lent also means fish fry season – a time to gather together in community and fellowship. And parishes throughout the Diocese are ready.
BENNY JONES PREPARES FRIED FISH FOR THE HUNGRY CUSTOMERS ATTENDING ST. KILIAN’S FIRST FISH FRY OF THE LENTEN SEASON. PHOTOS BY JEFF ANTENORE/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
In Mission Viejo, the annual fish fry has become the hottest meal ticket in the city and a major fundraiser for St. Kilian’s parish.
Fr. Angelos Sebastian, pastor of St. Kilian and Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Orange, said, “I think we have a right to claim this is the best fish fry in the entire Diocese because we have such a major operation here.”
GUESTS OF ST. KILIAN PARISH’S FISH FRY ENJOY FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP ON MARCH 7.
Fr. Angelos speaks from experience.
“I love to fish because that’s been my family’s profession. My dad was a fisherman, my grandfather was a fisherman and I fished before joining the seminary.”
Fr. Angelos continued, “We have a drive-through and dine-in. We sell between 400 and 500 dinners at the drive-through, and in the parish hall, we have up to 1500 diners.”
It has become a legend in the city.
ST. KILIAN PARISH’S FISH FRY OFFERS BOTH DRIVETHROUGH AND DINE-IN OPTIONS.
Many happy diners are not necessarily Catholic but enjoy the feast for a relatively low price of $15 per meal or $10 for a pizza or other vegetarian options.
By Holy Week, St. Kilian’s typically raises around $100,000, making it the parish’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
The fish fry has been a parish tradition for over 20 years, but it started on a smaller scale.
THE FISH FRY HAS BEEN A ST. KILIAN PARISH TRADITION FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
“With the Holy Spirit’s help, we just kept growing – like the loaves and the fishes,” said Fr. Angelos. “We have a whole team of staff and volunteers that all work together.”
St. Kilian volunteers prepare all the food, including the side dishes. The servers are often teens who pitch in with their parents to ensure everyone gets their meal on time. Diners choose between cod or salmon, six side dishes, bread and several desserts.
Repeat customers come back every year to enjoy the tradition. It has been as such for Marie Burrell and her family, who have been members of St. Kilian since about 1980.
“We have been coming for years; for the last 10 years, we always went to the drive-through, but this year, we decided to dine in — and it’s great,” said Burrell.
Since Burrell doesn’t eat fish, she enjoys the pizza, but the rest of her family appreciates the fish.
Although the practice of forgoing meat for fish on Friday dates back to the early days of Christianity. It was first mentioned in 590 by Pope Gregory I and later entered into canon law.