The longest running St. Patrick’s Day tradition in the Greenbrier Valley, the annual Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church will be held Thursday, Mar. 17, from 4-7 p.m. in the parish hall at the corner of WV 63 West (Greenbrier Avenue) and Walnut Street, just one block behind the Ronceverte Public Library.
Served continuously since the 1970s, the meal of corned beef, cabbage, potato salad, hard rolls, dessert and drink will be served by members of the church and its mission, St. Louis, King of France, of Lewisburg and volunteers from St. Charles Borromeo and the Alleghany Highlands Council 8689 Knights of Columbus.
Take out and eat-in dinners will be available for $10 adults; $5 (children 5-12) and free under 5. This year, take out service will be available through a drive-thru arrangement in the parking lot off Greenbrier Avenue behind the church. Signs will be erected in the parking lot directing “take-out” customers.
Established in 1918, St. Catherine of Siena Church’s membership was originally almost totally Irish. The church was built by members who made the brick on site and harvested the needed wood from nearby farms. The culinary history of the church began as the women of the church would bring lunch to the workers building the church and then sell the extra food to downtown workers with the proceeds going toward the building of the church.
Father Chapin Engler, Jr. of St. Catherine of Siena and St. Charles Borromeo, invites all area residents to join in this major annual community event with proceeds from the St. Patrick’s Dinner go toward church projects and to support area charitable needs.
For additional information, contact the Office of the Catholic Churches of the Greenbrier Valley at 304-536-1813.
