SCRANTON, Pa. — Families filled the pews at St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton for a special kind of service.
While the Mother's Day mass recognized mothers of all kinds, many parents here are blessed to have their children thanks to Saint Joseph's Center adoption program.
“We work with couples who have fertility issues and have tried to conceive and may have had miscarriages, so when they come to St. Joseph's Center, we are their last chance to have a family,” said Tamara Hall, St. Joseph’s Center’s maternity and family services director.
“All of the families come together, and they've experienced this desire to be a family, and they've been blessed by someone else. So to come and give thanks maybe for the birth mother they've never met,” added Sister Mary Alice Jacquinot, St. Joseph's Center CEO.
The mass was specifically dedicated to mothers of adopted or foster children. That brought Beckie and Chuck Samuel from Scranton here. Beckie tells Newswatch 16 she's waited 11 years to finally become a mother, and St. Joseph’s made that a reality.
“We tried on our own, and then we had three miscarriages, and then we were like, 'You know what? It's just in our plan to adopt.' And we wanted to stay local, and now we have him,” she said about Sullivan Albert Samuel, their 9-month-old son.
Beckie's first Mother’s Day is a milestone in her and her husband's journey of becoming parents.
“It's really hard to speak, you know, with him being our first child after waiting for so long. You know, every day's a new day with them, and every day is an amazing day with them,” said Chuck Samuel.
Beckie Samuel is just one out of many moms who now get to participate in Mother's Day thanks to St. Joseph's Center.
“Learning that you have the inability to conceive, then when you find out that you have the gift of adoption coming your way, there's nothing like that,” added Jackie Galvin, who adopted her son J.J. from St. Joseph’s years ago.
If you're a family looking to adopt, or a mother-to-be, looking for an adoption plan, you can find ways to get involved with St. Joseph's Center here.
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