Posted December 28, 2020

Some 60 faithful braved torrential rains to ring in Christmas with a midnight Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia’s Cobbs Creek neighborhood.

Pastor Msgr. Federico Britto, who concelebrated the two-hour liturgy with Francophone chaplain Father Rene Againglo, said the solemnity of Jesus’ birth is a “miracle (that) gathers us all together in a great new burst of fellowship in the name of Christ.” 

(All photos by Gina Christian.)

  • A young parishioner bears a statue of the infant Jesus during the entrance procession for midnight Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia’s Cobbs Creek section.

  • A statue of the infant Jesus rests in a Nativity scene at St. Cyprian Church in Philadelphia. During the parish’s Dec. 24 midnight Mass, pastor Msgr. Federico Britto said that Christmas “achieves a great leveling off” by ending divisions and “lifting us all up.”

  • The responsorial Psalm is proclaimed during midnight Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia, Dec. 24.

  • A woman kneels in silent prayer during Christmas Eve Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia.

  • A family listens prayerfully during Christmas Eve Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia.

  • In his homily for a Dec. 24 midnight Mass, Msgr. Federico Britto, pastor of St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia, described Christmas as a “miracle” that “gathers us all together in a great new burst of fellowship in the name of Christ.”

  • Schola members lead the singing of the Our Father during a Dec. 24 midnight Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia.

  • Msgr. Federico Britto and Father Rene Againglo concelebrated a Dec. 24 midnight Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia.

  • Schola members pose for pictures following a Dec. 24 midnight Mass at St. Cyprian Parish in Philadelphia.

  • A statue of St. Cyprian stands in a shrine near the altar of the West Philadelphia parish that bears the name of the third-century bishop and martyr.