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St. Vincent de Paul workers to be at Loughney ordination. He worked there a while.



 

 
Loughney
 

 

WILKES-BARRE -- Greg Loughney of Mount Pocono will be ordained a Roman Catholic priest on Saturday, and he&rsquo;s invited his friends along to witness the event. 
On Saturday, 28 volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen on Jackson Street, Wilkes-Barre, will take a bus together to St. Peter&rsquo;s Cathedral in Scranton to witness Loughney&rsquo;s ordination. The attendees know Loughney from when he worked at the soup kitchen during his spring 2010 semester at St. Pius X Seminary in Dalton. 
St. Vincent de Paul serves lunch every day and dinner three days a week to the Wyoming Valley&rsquo;s low-income residents. Loughney&rsquo;s service there provided him with a positive and eye-opening experience with helping others. 
&ldquo;I learned that it&rsquo;s important not only to provide a person with their material needs, but to come to understand who they are and appreciate them as a person. We&rsquo;re seeing in this person more than someone in need. We see a person with a story,&rdquo; he said.
Loughney was impressed with the St. Vincent de Paul volunteers, too. &ldquo;It was a beautiful experience to see the generosity of so many people in our community. So many people work to make the mission of the kitchen successful.&rdquo; 
Originally from Scranton, Loughney studied finance and economics at the University of Scranton before he decided that he wanted to be a priest. 
&ldquo;I changed (career) tracks as I came into a deeper understanding of God&rsquo;s call,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was always interested in learning more about my faith and the mystery of God.&rdquo; 
In addition to St. Pius X, Loughney studied at the North American College in Rome, from where he earned his degree in theology. 
Loughney, who began his studies for ordination under Bishop Joseph Martino, now is serving St. Mary of the Mount Church in Mount Pocono. Following his ordination, Bishop Joseph Bambera will assign him to the church he will serve. In the meantime, he&rsquo;s looking forward to the event. 
So is Ann Marie McCawley, who&rsquo;s been the director of the St. Vincent de Paul kitchen for 27 years. 
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m thrilled,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I know all the volunteers wanted to go because (Loughney) was such a great guy. He was so willing to help everybody and so loving toward the people who came into the kitchen.&rdquo;

Soup Kitchen, Future Priest Linked