GREENSBORO — Santa is delighting passersby this Christmas season – making a surprise return to the attic window of St. Pius X Church’s rectory overlooking North Elm Street.
Parishioners worried the tradition would be lost when their beloved former Pastor, Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, died in July – and the original Santa he had displayed for years went missing.
Although he was a little late this year, a three-foot, light-up Santa returned to his perch before Christmas where he will remain until Jan. 12, when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
One commuter wrote a letter of thanks: “I was worried you had moved away when I didn’t see Santa in your window…This little detail has brought me so much joy at Christmas. Thank you for putting a smile on my face!”
The church’s new pastor, Father Christian Cook, says: “People were asking about the attic Santa, so I contacted the North Pole and he agreed to return to Greensboro. For all the things Monsignor Marcaccio did for this church, it’s amazing how much this one little gesture meant to people, and what it said about him.”
— Photo provided