Annunciation Parish celebrates the consecration of a new altar and 125 years of faith
It’s not every day that a bishop has the opportunity to consecrate a new altar. On Saturday, June 27, Bishop Timothy Senior had his first opportunity to conduct this sacred ritual as he consecrated the altar for Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in McSherrystown.
“I’ve been a bishop for 17 years and I’ve never had the opportunity to dedicate an altar,” said Bishop Senior at the start of the morning Mass. He went on to explain that the prayer of dedication is the focus of that Mass and it is a reminder of how important the altar is in the Catholic faith.
The first reading for the Mass recounted how Joshua, in following the command of Moses, built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal. The bishop explained that we remember how Moses sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on the altar and how this prefigured the blood of Christ on the cross.
“The whole of the Old Testament…culminates in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus,” he said, adding that through the prayers to be said during the altar consecration, we too “will beseech the Lord to pour forth from heaven the sanctifying power of His death and resurrection upon this altar.”
In the Gospel reading, we heard Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well and how the people of faith will worship God in spirit and in truth.
“Brothers and sisters, we are that people,” Bishop Senior said. “We are called to worship the Father in spirit and in truth at this altar where Jesus’ sacrifice is made present for us.”
The consecration of an altar marks it as a permanent sacred table which can only be used for the Eucharistic sacrifice. The process to consecrate an altar is very involved and begins with placing the relics of saints inside or below the altar. In the case of Annunciation Parish, the relics of St. Stephen, St. Gaudentius and St. Castus were placed inside the altar.
After the relics were placed, Bishop Senior prayed the prayer of dedication, consecrating the altar. He then anointed the altar with Sacred Chrism by tracing five crosses on its surface – one in the center and one in each corner, signifying the five wounds Christ suffered during the crucifixion. Bishop Senior then spread the Chrism across all parts of the top of the altar.
Parishioners then came forward to wipe the Chrism from the altar and Bishop Senior then incensed it.
The final step was to have parishioners dress the altar by covering it with the altar cloths, add the candles and prepare the altar for use.
Bishop Senior then celebrated the Liturgy of the Eucharist for the first time on the newly consecrated altar.
Historic Anniversary
Although the parishioners of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrate its 125th anniversary this year, Catholics have always been prominent in McSherrystown, which enjoyed a booming population with the growth of the area’s cigar industry after the Civil War.
Before Annunciation’s establishment, Catholics in McSherrystown traveled to either the small Holy Trinity chapel at St. Joseph Academy on the edge of town or to Sacred Heart a few miles away in Conewago for Mass.
But their growth in number resulted in a parish of their own, and Father Pius Hemler was named the first pastor in 1900. He immediately set forth plans for the construction of a church that would be larger and more centralized than the mission chapel. After securing property from the estate of Samuel Stormbaugh at the corner of North and Third streets, the men of the parish broke ground for the new church. It was dedicated in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on June 2, 1901, by Bishop John Shanahan.
Throughout its history, Annunciation Church has undergone several renovations, including new marble altars and frescoes in 1921 and the addition of the circular window of the Last Judgment three years later. The church’s crucifix, hand-carved in Bavaria and purchased in 1923, still hangs in the sanctuary.
In anticipation of the 125th anniversary, the church underwent a months-long renovation in 2024 that included the restoration of its stained-glass windows, aesthetic lighting and new paint and flooring.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Rachel Bryson, The Catholic Witness
