Western New York Catholic

They arrived by motor vehicles, rather than by camels, to dozens of homes throughout the city of Buffalo. Upon arriving at their scheduled stops, teams of “Magi,” made up of priests, deacons and lay volunteers dressed in costumes, delivered blessings to each home, inscribing “20+C+M+B+24” on a front door or on its frame with a piece of chalk, then dispensing holy water and incense.

These visits were carried out by people from SS. Columba-Brigid Parish in Buffalo to mark the Feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the visit of the Christ Child by the Magi. The tradition of putting the inscription on the door and blessing the house is a Polish custom but has gained the attraction of Catholics of other backgrounds.

“We taught that at a class that we had here, and Father Jud (Weiksnar, OFM), being Polish, said, ‘Well, let’s start doing this.’ So that’s how it kind of happened,” said Paula Hunt, pastoral associate at SS. Columba-Brigid.

Donna Treverton writes the inscription “20+C+M+B+24” on her door as Ernest Gladden watches. Gladden, a member of SS. Columba-Brigid Parish in Buffalo, joined priests, deacons and lay volunteers who visited dozens of homes as “Magi,” providing blessings on homes to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira)

The parish launched this project about five years ago, beginning with an estimated 20 homes in the church’s immediate East Side neighborhood. On Jan. 6, the outreach expanded to more than 70 homes in numerous Buffalo neighborhoods, within 10 miles of the church.

Father Weiksnar was among one of several teams of “Magi” making the rounds. His route began in Buffalo’s Riverside neighborhood. At some households, the blessing was spoken in Spanish while at other homes it was spoken in English.

The three letters within the inscription, C, M and B, represent the initials of the three kings Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar (in Polish homes, however, the letter K is used rather than C). The letters also represent the blessing “Christus Mansionem Benedicat,” or “May Christ bless this house.”

Father Weiksnar recalled a time when he was making similar visits to homes in Camden, New Jersey. Onlookers there, he recalled, had no knowledge of the tradition, and suspected it was something more sinister.

“There were a lot of gangs there,” he explained. “We would bless houses. People weren’t home but we would just do the blessing. Some people thought that was gang markings.”

He and Father Ron Sajdak, a fellow “Magi,” chuckled over the story. Luckily, there were no such misunderstandings on this route.

There was, however, a pleasant reunion while making the rounds. One of the addresses on their list was the home of Fidele Dhan and his family. Last year, as the Christmas blizzard raged, Dhan had finished working but was unable to get home in time to beat the storm. He was lost in the howling wind and blinding snow, stranded not far from the home of Pedro Liriano, who was also among the Magi traveling with Father Weiksnar and Father Sajdak.

Fidele Dhan (center) holds one of his sons while enjoying a reunion with Pedro Liriano, who helped bless Dhan’s house to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. Liriano took Dhan into his home during the Christmas 2022 blizzard when the latter’s car was stranded in the storm. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira)

As the story goes, Father Weiksnar had received a call from Father Sajdak during the Christmas 2022 blizzard. He was asked if he had a suitable vehicle to get Dhan. Father Weiksnar didn’t have such a vehicle available, but he remembered that Liriano, whose home was among those blessed in past years, lived a short distance away from the intersection where Dhan was now stranded. Liriano and his son braved the elements to seek him.

“We couldn’t see anything,” Liriano said. “When we got there, we were lucky that we had seen somebody making a U-turn. It was perfect how it happened. Because then I called out and I was like, ‘I think that’s him. I think that’s him.’ And we waved at him. He rolled down his window. And then we were like, ‘Are you Fidele?’ And he said yes. We were able to get him to pull into our street, and we brought him in.”

Dhan stayed with the Lirianos through Christmas Day, and returned home to his family when it was finally safe enough to travel.

This Christmas was much different, of course, as Dhan got to spend it with his family. During the visit to bless their home, two of his young sons helped write the inscription on their door. And Dhan relayed renewed gratitude to Liriano and his family for their life-saving hospitality one year before.

“Pedro! Say hi to your boy, to your wife, and your grandpa and grandma! I remember the food,” Dhan said cheerfully.

Click on the button below to hear Michael Mroziak’s report.