It starts with a single stitch. A skein of yarn. A pattern. Hands. And in the end, with some work and maybe a little bit of unraveling and starting again, you make something beautiful, comforting and strong. Maybe peace is like that too; it starts with our individual hearts, but when we join together, we can create something beautiful. We can create a better world. 

When war broke out in the Holy Land in October 2023, the students, faculty and staff at Holy Ghost Prep, a Spiritan-founded school in Bensalem, PA, felt convicted to “wage peace” focusing on Matthew 5:9 which says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.”

Fr. Dan Sormani, C.S.Sp., the Spiritan chaplain, held Masses and prayers for peace. The students started brainstorming how they could help and the whole community was, as Fr. Dan described it, “listening to the Spirit to guide us to be peacemakers wherever we are, to fight against antisemitism and Islamophobia and any kind of prejudice, beginning within ourselves!”

They wanted to raise money to help with all of the tragedy they were watching unfold, so they had “dress down days,” cookie and hot chocolate sales and a day of prayer and fasting. Students, clubs, faculty and staff also added what they could to the small donation box outside of the “Chapel of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” 

Then Fr. Dan got an idea. He wanted to encourage students to think outside the box on how they could raise money and wage peace. So he used one of his hobbies: 
crochet! 

He had some items crocheted from over the Christmas break and he offered them up for additional donations. They quickly disappeared, replaced by money in the donation box. Though Fr. Dan was working on more crocheted items, it was a time-consuming process to make new things to sell. 

That’s when the help came in, starting with Mrs. Yvonne Jesiolowski, a student’s mom who started sending in donations of her handiwork. She also encouraged others to donate handmade goods. Debbie Kostosky from Duquesne Campus Ministry gathered items she’d made and some items made by students. It was a snowball effect of support. 

“That’s when the Mom of one of our students donated a good number of beautiful wool caps!  And my cousin’s wife sent a carton of yarn for us to use! A student’s Grandmother also sent over many things! And our friends at Duquesne University sent a box filled with all kinds of wonderful hats and scarves, done by students and some of Duquesne’s Campus Ministry! It was so profoundly touching to see the solidarity of us all, working for peace and goodness.”

The project, aptly named “Crocheting for Peace” took off with the help of friends from all around and it continues to grow. After another beautiful donation from Mrs. Jesiolowski of an intricate Afghan, the HGP group held an auction of handmade items. 

So far 40 items have been donated and $7,034.05 (from all of the fundraising initiatives) has been sent to Caritas International to help all victims of war in the Holy Land. 

This little project is hugely Spiritan: Using one’s talents, building community, working together and focusing on justice and peace. It’s just one example of the ways Spiritans creatively follow the Spirit and live the Gospel in their daily lives.
 
It may not be every day that you hear of a crocheting priest though many of our Spiritans have unique hobbies. Fr. Dan finds crochet to be a way to relax, reflect and pray. 

“In college I dated a girl who was a very talented crocheter and made such extraordinary things. Back then you never saw men knit or crochet, but I thought it was so nice to be able to make such beautiful things that are very useful, make them yourself by hand, and then share them with others, so I asked her to teach me. 

I never did pick up the “correct” way to hold the yarn as I crochet, my big, clumsy hands couldn’t follow the standard way, but easily found a comfortable variation that surprises seasoned crocheters when they see me, but luckily it works well! What took the most practice was the tension, making sure your stitches are the same tension, not too tight, not too loose, and most of all, not a mixture of both! That took some practice, but I finally got it. I learned simple things and became quite comfortable and happy making scarves and blankets, nice squared things that I could do in great relaxation, not needing to count stitches or constantly stop, look,  and change things. I found it calming and often listened to soft classical music while crocheting. More and more I began to pray, finding it helped me to clear my busy, noisy thoughts and focus on God and listen carefully to God. 

My friend moved and I had only learned the basics, but there were a lot of scarfless people out there, so I continued to enjoy crocheting. After I joined the Spiritans, I did more needlepoint than crocheting, but my poor eyesight put an end to that and I rediscovered the joys of crochet. After ordination I rarely had the occasion to crochet, living in Algeria and then the tropical Philippines. Sometimes when I was back in the U.S. on home leave, I’d get some yarn and make a few things just so I wouldn’t forget. After coming to Holy Ghost Prep in 2018, I got back into a rhythm of crocheting again, a time of peace and reflection and prayer.”