History tells us that within the parish property of St. Philip the Apostle in Millersville where colonial roads cross, Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn met with Native Americans in peaceful relations in the late 1600s to forge settlement agreements for the fledgling commonwealth of “Penn’s Woods.” But it was here, too, on December 14, 1763, that the peace was shattered at old Conestoga Manor as remnants of the once flourishing Susquehannock tribe were brutally massacred by white vigilante settlers dubbed the Paxton Presbyterian Boys, whose mission it was to eradicate the natives off their hunting and farming lands. The violence shocked Lancaster County, which was Colonial America’s largest inland city at the time.
St. Philip the Apostle Parish was established on May 11, 1965, the Feast of St. Philip, and the name was chosen in honor of Bishop Philip McDevitt – the fourth Bishop of Harrisburg – who died in 1935. During the centennial celebrations of the Diocese of Harrisburg, the new church perched on top of Quaker Hill at the intersection of New Danville Pike and Blue Rock Road was dedicated by Bishop George Leech. More than 1,000 families call St. Philip’s their spiritual home, just outside the college town of Millersville which is also home to the state’s first and oldest teacher’s college.
On the Solemnity of the Feast of the Lord’s Presentation, Bishop Timothy Senior made a pastoral visit to the church. Framed by beautiful floor-level stain-glassed windows, parishioners lit candles during the procession as winter’s golden twilight bathed the sanctuary. Celebrated 40 days after Christmas to signify Mary and Joseph’s dutiful Jewish duty of taking the infant Jesus to the Temple, Catholic tradition marks the feast with the lighting of candles to announce Christ’s light entering the world.
After Holy Mass, Father Lawrence Sherdel, pastor, thanked Bishop Senior. “We are so blessed to have you with us tonight; you are a holy man as our bishop and a very good leader, and we are grateful you came to St. Philip’s to celebrate with us tonight.”
In his homily, Bishop Senior said to the faithful, “This feast, we light candles, to show the transformative light when Christ came into the world. Darkness can never overcome the light. Is the light of God really vividly on display in my life? Does it shine in me?”
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness
