For the 30th consecutive year, men and women from The Communities of Don Guanella and Divine Providence (DGV/DPV) celebrated the Feast of Saint Luis Guanella at a special Mass held Tuesday, October 24th. Reverend Roland D. Slobogin, Pastor of Our Lady Fatima Parish in Secane, was the principal celebrant and homilist. DGV/DPV are part of the Development Programs Division of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia serving men and women with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The celebration was held in honor of Saint Louis Guanella, the patron for the DGV/DPV. His patronage stems from the historical context on which the programs were founded. Saint Louis Guanella founded the religious congregation of men, the Servants of Charity, who opened Don Guanella School in Springfield in 1960. He also founded the religious congregation of sisters, the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence (DSMP), who opened a program for children and adults with intellectual disabilities at Saint Mary of Providence in Elverson (Chester County) in 1948. This program was moved to the newly built campus of Divine Providence Village in 1984 where the sisters remained as administrators of the program until 2005. The DSMP also oversaw the program at Saint Edmond’s Home for Children for a number of years in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. The spiritual legacy of Saint Louis Guanella remains an integral part of the mission of the Developmental Programs Division.
Approximately 350 men and women from the DGV/DPV along with their families and staff attended the celebration. A luncheon was held in the adjoining parking lot under a tent following the conclusion of Mass.
To learn more about DGV/DPV, please visit www.dgvdpv.org.
