Msgr. Doskey’s Endymion cup runneth over

By Peter Finney Jr.
Photo courtesy of Krewe of Endymion
 

 

It’s not much of a stretch to argue there is no other city in the world that celebrates Mardi Gras quite like New Orleans.
 

But it is Gospel truth that no other city except New Orleans has given birth to a merry band of revelers – in this case, the Krewe of Endymion – which has provided its Catholic priest chaplain with a gold chalice and vestments to celebrate Mass for many of its 3,200 members before they “go in peace” and hit the streets on the Saturday evening before Mardi Gras.
 

The intersection of Catholicism and Carnival is an only-in-New-Orleans story with roots in the former St. Rose of Lima Parish, where newly ordained Father Clinton Doskey was a parochial vicar during his first priestly assignment in 1954. 
 

One of his altar servers was a teenager from the neighborhood, Edmond “Ed” Muniz, who went on to acclaim in business, owning several New Orleans radio stations and later joining other area businessmen in forming the Krewe of Endymion in 1967.
 

In the shadow of St. Leo
 

In1969, when then-Father Doskey was appointed pastor of St. Leo the Great Parish, Endymion began its route on DeSaix Boulevard, just a 60-second walk from the church, close enough to cast a shadow on the St. Bernard Avenue-Gentilly Boulevard traffic circle.
 

“My dad saw Msgr. Doskey in the crowd, and he was going to throw him beads or whatever – and Monsignor just kept chasing the float,” said Mary D’Aquin, Muniz’s daughter. “My dad always said, ‘Any priest who’s willing to chase a float a block down the street for a pair of beads – he’s going to be my chaplain.’”
 

In the early 1970s, Msgr. Doskey began serving as “chaplain” of Endymion, one of the few krewes that has made a Catholic priest its official chaplain. His main duty was to celebrate two Masses – one before the krewe’s coronation ball, held several weeks before the parade, and another on Endymion Saturday.
 

Msgr. Doskey viewed the Saturday Vigil Mass as more than merely a vehicle allowing Endymion’s Catholic flock to fulfill its Sunday Mass obligation before embarking on the reverie. Every year, he made a special plea to krewe members before bestowing his final blessing.
 

“He would always tell the riders, ‘Have a good ride!’ but he would always follow it up with, ‘Remember, throw to the people and not at the people!’” D’Aquin said, laughing.
 

The priest’s cautionary advice became so familiar that krewe members began parroting it before he could finish getting the words out.
 

Mardi Gras is a priestly duty
 

In a 2012 interview with the Clarion Herald, Msgr. Doskey was asked about his 40-year love affair with Endymion, saying he considered his participation in Mardi Gras as fundamental to a priest’s duties. He also was chaplain of the Touchdown Club, a fan club associated with the New Orleans Saints.
 

“This is the way I look at it,” Msgr. Doskey said just a few months before his death. “A priest should be part of the life of his people, and I see in the life of the people of New Orleans two main things – Mardi Gras and the New Orleans Saints. Therefore, I decided to be involved in both of those things.”
 

In the 1980s, Endymion went to the next ecclesiastical level for Msgr. Doskey, commissioning a gold chalice with the krewe’s emblem affixed to the cup. Two inscriptions are etched into either side of the chalice base: “Msgr. Clinton Doskey Chaplain” and “Krewe of Endymion 1967.”

In addition to the chalice, Endymion commissioned a gold-plated paten, cruets for the wine and water and two sets of vestments (chasubles for the priests and dalmatics for the permanent deacons) for the Masses.
 

A ‘sacristy’ at home
 

The chalice and vestments have been carefully stored and maintained for more than 40 years by krewe member Phil Wetzel, a former cantor at St. Joseph Church on Tulane Avenue who has set up the altar for the Endymion Mass since the 1970s. 
 

“My locker at home looks like a sacristy at church,” Wetzel said, smiling. “I’ve got everything – a lectionary, a sacramentary, vestments, books, hosts and cruets. I set it up for the Masses and bring it all back. I’m just honored to be a part of all that.”
 

After Msgr. Doskey’s death in 2012, the chaplain’s role fell briefly to Father Paul Clark and then to Father John Arnone, who died tragically in 2017. Archbishop Gregory Aymond has been the principal celebrant of the Endymion Mass since then, assisted by several priests and permanent deacons who ride in Endymion. 
 

About 700 krewe members and their wives attend the Endymion Mass, many of them receiving Communion in costume. Unlike Msgr. Doskey, who rode for years in a convertible at the head of the parade, Archbishop Aymond does not ride.
 

Wetzel said the joy of Mardi Gras, evident in Msgr. Doskey’s face, will always be a great comfort to him.
 

“He loved the whole spirit of Mardi Gras,” Wetzel said. “He loved throwing to the people with their hands open. It’s just like us on the float and we see these faces, these smiles. You’re almost in tears when you throw something to people because it means so much to them.”