BETHEL—The commemoration of the Assumption of Mary was particularly meaningful for St. Mary church in Bethel this year, as it celebrated the rededication of the newly renovated house of worship.
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano presided over the Saturday noon Mass and commended the leadership and great care that was taken to breathe new life into the church.
Bishop Caggiano said he was grateful for the “remarkable work as a parish family, to take a church which was worthy and beautiful in its own right and uplift it in ever greater elegance and beauty—renovated so that it can become in the next chapter of its life an enduring place where many generations to come will come here to meet God.”
At the beginning of mass, Bishop Caggiano walked around sprinkling holy water throughout the church and on members of the congregation attending the Mass in person.
The church on Dodgington Road underwent an extensive nine-month renovation and recently opened to limited public masses in June.
“A church is a building unlike anything else human beings will put their hands to create,” Caggiano said. “It is a sacred meeting place to encounter the living spirit of God. This is holy ground; unlike any other ground you and I will walk upon.”
Significant changes were made to the church including elevating the altar, installing marble throughout the church with meaningful color choices to reflect Catholic heritage as well as updated heating, cooling and light and sound systems.
“When we come to this sacred place, we are invited to find the compass of our life,” said Bishop Caggiano, encouraging parishioners to not only bring what they experience in church to others in their everyday lives but to also invite others to come to church to experience it for themselves.
“Come here with your family and friends and with your neighbors and with those of whom you share your life here in Bethel and beyond. Come here to be refreshed and healed, freed and renewed and help me to bring the world to Jesus,” Bishop Caggiano said.
During the Mass, Bishop Caggiano poured and rubbed Chrism, a consecrated mixture of oil and balsam, on the altar. A vessel was also placed on the altar, filled with incense and burned.
“As your house is filled with a pleasing fragrance, so let your church be fragrant with the aroma of Christ,” Bishop Caggiano said.
The altar was then dressed with an altar cloth, adorned with candles and flowers before the Mass continued, punctuated with the sounds of a beautiful music ministry.
At the end of Mass, Pastor Father Corey Piccinino thanked everyone for their prayers, dedication and contributions to help make the church renovation a reality. “We (now) have this timeless beautiful church to praise All Mighty God,” he said.
A sentiment that was echoed by many parishioners.
“It’s incredible,” parishioner Susan Barr said after the Mass. “We’re home.”
Parishioner Michael Urban, also of Bethel said he remembers attending the original church on Greenwood Avenue, where standing-room only became routine before this church was built in 1995.
Details and the significance of all the changes in the church are documented in a book written by Father Robert Wolfe, who was deeply involved in seeing the project to completion. A copy of the book was given to all in attendance and is available through the parish.
“Being a part of something that is and always will be bigger than myself is wonderful,” Urban said. “I hope that this will continue for generations to come.”
Bishop Caggiano offered these words of wisdom on the anniversary of the Assumption of Mary.
“Every time you and I have doubts or fears…run to Our Lady. She will bring us to Him like a good mother will always, always be at our side,” Caggiano said. “May Our Lady keep you close to her wrap you in the mantle of her love and see us all safely to the journey our heart desires; what this sacred place teaches us, that our destination is not the ordinariness of life, it is eternal life.”
By Kathy Ann Gobin