Business
News
Family,
business built in gratitude to St. Jude
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
In 1963, when Norma and Louis DiCocco were expecting their fifth child,
Norma really wanted a little girl. They already had four boys: Robert,
Mark, Greg and Lou, and she thought a girl would be a wonderful addition.
So she did what all good Christians do — she prayed.
Because it seemed to be an impossible dream, she prayed for the intercession
of the “saint of the impossible,” St. Jude Thaddeus, and she
went to daily Mass and prayed a novena. The baby was due to be born in
early October, but that didn’t happen. Finally, on Oct. 28 —
the feast of St. Jude — the child was born, and yes, it was a girl.
In gratitude the DiCoccos named her Jude Thaddeus Marie (Judy to her friends
and family).
Two years later, Louis, a civil engineer, and Norma, a medical secretary,
decided simply working and raising a family wasn’t enough. They
wanted to use their talents to touch other people’s lives.
Again, after prayer, they opened a little religious goods shop in Havertown
because they knew many Catholics wanted something more than Mass on Sunday.
That was Oct. 28, 1965, the feast of St. Jude, and of course, it was the
St. Jude Shop.
Louis DiCocco died 13 years ago, but his little shop keeps growing.
“Now we have four stores,” said his son, Lou, who is president
of St. Jude Shop, Inc. In addition to an expanded store in Havertown,
there are stores on Castor Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, Passyunk
Avenue in South Philadelphia and in Cherry Hill, N.J. The company also
has a huge mail order and internet business.
The business started with retail and branched into institutional sales.
A continuing project for the company has been the renovation of the Cathedral
Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul. So far, that has included the new tabernacle
and reredos, other renovations in the sanctuary, the restoration and installation
of Stations of the Cross from the former St. Boniface Church, and planned
renovations and restoration of the side altars.
“This is one of our most satisfying projects because it is our home
town,” DiCocco said. “Beautifying churches was a natural extension.
It’s part of [our] ministry. Through our Web sites and catalogues,
we sell in every state in the U.S. and in Canada and Europe. Every time
we start a new venture, we try to do it on St. Jude’s feast day.”
The tradition continues. He and his wife, Victoria, are members of St.
Francis de Sales Parish in Lenni, where they are raising two daughters,
Michelle Leia and Natalie.
All of the DiCocco brothers are actively involved in the family business
— as is Judy, who is in charge of bookkeeping.
So too, is their mother, whose devotion to St. Jude was the inspiration
for the venture.
“We wanted to create a chapel in people’s hearts, and we’ve
been able to touch so many people. But we never take it for granted,”
she said. “It only happened through prayer and dependence on
God.”
Norma DiCocco is especially proud of the Vietnamese Chapel to Our Lady
of La Vang, which St. Jude Shop created for the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
But the core retail business is also dear to her, especially during the
season of Easter. And, she said, there is a side benefit for her, a widowed
mother of five children: “I get to see them every day.”
St. Jude Shop Inc. Web sites include www.stjudeshop.com, www.giftswithlove.com
and www.stjudeliturgicalarts.com.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.