At 11:00 AM on Holy Saturday, April 4, 2026, join us in the Chapel for the blessing of your Easter food. You’re invited to bring your Easter baskets of meats, breads, decorated eggs, jelly beans, chocolates, etc. to be blessed in the chapel.

The custom of blessing food for Easter arose from the discipline of fasting throughout Lent and the special Easter fast during the Triduum. Easter was the first day when meat, eggs, and other foods could again be eaten.

Swieconka (sh-vee-soon-kah) is one of the most enduring and beloved Eastern European traditions. Baskets containing a sampling of Easter food are brought to the church to be blessed on Holy Saturday. The basket is traditionally lined with a white linen or lace napkin and decorated with sprigs of boxwood, the typical Easter evergreen. Special pride is taken in preparing a decorative and tasteful basket with crisp linens, occasionally embroidered for the occasion, and just enough boxwood and ribbon woven through the handle. Observing the foods and creations of other parishioners is one of the special joys of the event.