It’s a tradition that goes back a number of years at St. Elizabeth’s Church, where a number of parishioners gather each Friday during lent to offer some of the finest and most delectable fish and chips and other seasonal entrees to their hungry customers.

During Lent, the church’s Santo Christo Committee is a renowned organization noted for its superb dinner options, especially during the Lenten season (March 5 to April 17 this year).

Since Lent began last month, fish and chips have been served each Friday for take-out or to dine-in in the church auditorium. The event draws many happy customers. The menu included fish and chips, shrimp Mozambique, hake, chicharros (stickleback) and Blount’s clam chowder.

Among those committee members who made the event such a success are Debra Hughes, John Hughes, Nick Cordeiro, Carlos Medeiros, Jr., Jose Medeiros, Helio Cordeiro, Liz Damasio, Sonia Abreu, Fatima Pereira, Christine Mimoso, Joe Martins, John Cordeiro, Fatima Andrade Milhomens, Rosemary Oliveira and Edgardo Oliveira.

The committee has also benefited by having the St. Elizabeth’s CCD students volunteer their time to bus tables.

During Lent, many Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays, and fish and chips is a common and traditional alternative. Lent is a period of spiritual preparation for Easter, and many Catholics observe a tradition of abstinence from meat on Fridays, including Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Edgardo Oliveira has been a member of the Santo Cristo Committee for many years and still enjoys doing his part to make the event the success that it is.

“I always do what I can for this church,” he has said in the past. “I really enjoy helping out any way I can.”

Santo Cristo Committee Vice President Joe Martins says this event has been going on for a number of years now.

“This fund-raiser has been around for a long time around Lent,” he said. “Since 2012, when then-President Manuel Pereira decided to introduce more items to the menu besides just fish and chips, he added the shrimp Mozambique with rice and fries, hake and chicharros (stickleback) with boiled potatoes. Afterwards, the next committee president, João Medeiros, and current president John Cordeiro continued the tradition, adding to the menu the famous clam chowder.”

Martins added: “At times we also have the great homemade sweetbread on the menu, thanks to great parishioners who volunteer to bake them, and other parishioners who do sweets and cookies to add to the take-out or dine-in dinners. Without this incredible team of volunteers and parishioners, it would be impossible to pull this event off. The Santo Cristo Committee would like to thank the whole community, parishioners and volunteers, for supporting our cause.”