Pastor's Notes - 06/09/2019

So what does it mean for a parish to celebrate 150 years of worshipping in the same place and having a 185 years of existence in the community?

How different our life as a parish might be if the church had remained out by 14 ^th and Jefferson?  We are a downtown parish, well recognized and a significant part of the skyline of Washington.  At night you can see it for miles around, including across the river.  As you well know, there are advantages and disadvantages of being downtown.  Parking sometimes is a challenge, but we survive and thrive. 

We are so blessed by the past and present parishioners who so generously supported the parish and school.   I think about how much foresight the parishioners had in 1866 to envision, and then build a church building that would last so long, after the church building of 1846 lasted less than 25 years before it was out grown.  It is true that our outside structure has not changed a whole lot except for the changes which happened because of the tornado of 1910.  When I look at our history books I see the many changes made throughout the years.  One of the main changes was the effects of Vatican II, when the altar was turned around and the Mass was celebrated in English. 

Let us continue to ask God’s blessing upon our parish community which has a strong faith and that it will be passed down to the future generations.  I pray we keep our faith and the worship of the Lord vibrant in our 150-year-old church building, which has been the place of so many sacraments celebrated, and strengthened the faith of this community.

Thanks to the 150th Dedication of the Church Committee, choir, musicians and all who helped to make this celebration a reality and really something special.

Thanks for all you do!
 
Fr. Joe Wormek