Bishop Zubik enjoys Blessed Sacrament fish fry, chatting with parishioners

Updated 6 minutes ago

Bishop David Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh thoroughly enjoyed the fish fry meal he received at Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament School in Harrison on Friday.

His food rating score? A 10 out of 10.

"It was very good," Zubik said of his dinner, which included baked cod, coleslaw and homemade potato chips — but no macaroni and cheese because he's watching his carb intake. "It was a nice piece of fish. The coleslaw was great."

"It was terrific."

An annual tradition for the bishop has been to travel to parishes throughout the Catholic diocese to perform The Stations of the Cross during the Lenten season.

There are 188 parishes in the diocese, Zubik said, and Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish was one of the locations chosen this year.

"The seminarians and I go to a different parish every Friday of Lent, and if the parish has a fish fry, that's where we have dinner," the bishop said. "The reason for coming is not so much the fish fry as it is The Stations of the Cross."

"I keep a list of where I've been so that I don't go to the same place twice for Stations."

Zubik said he enjoys attending the parish fish fries because they give them a chance to meet and chat with parishioners, which he thinks is important.

"All the fish fries are examples of people who love the church and are working to support some element," he said. "For example, this fish fry was established to support the school. The teachers, the principal, the principal's husband, they're all part of the welcoming team. The kids are serving.

"What I see as the most important part of it is people coming together to mix with each another.

"That pretty much is the story of all the fish fries no matter where you go, in any of the six counties in the diocese."

The fish fry is one of the largest fundraisers for Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament School, which is part of the Pittsburgh Diocese and serves Pre-K through eighth-graders.

"We have probably three main fundraisers — this is probably the second largest in comparison to the school festival that we have in the summertime," Principal Audrey Bowser said.

Bill Lukac, a lifelong parish member, said he never met Zubik before Friday, but the two were chatting like old friends as the bishop ate his dinner.

"I was ready to get up," said Lukac, 71, of Harrison. "He came over, and so we started talking, and one thing led to another — and here we are."

Bowser also had some one-on-one time with Zubik. She found him to be very approachable and personable.

"I did talk with him and I joked around about my husband eating most of the baked goods instead of selling most of them," Bowser said. "I think it helps everyone that interacts with him to see that he's just a normal guy.

"And when he's making decisions for the parish, or for the schools, that he is really taking into account us as people — not just him as an authority figure."

Logan Fitch and Georgia Horgan, both eighth-graders at the school, agreed.

Horgan, 14, said the visit humanized the bishop and thinks it will be good for the school.

"Hopefully he'll like our school so (we'll) get more stuff," she joked.

Fitch, 14, said it was exciting to have the bishop at the fish fry.

"We only ever hear of him just in a context as he's just a high person in our diocese," he said. "It's kind of nice to see him in a humanizing way."

Madasyn Czebiniak is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-226-4702, mczebiniak@tribweb.com, or on Twitter @maddyczebstrib.

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