On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Sunday, September 14, Bishop Timothy Senior celebrated Mass for the people of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Lancaster and blessed its renovated parish hall. As Father Matthew Morelli, pastor, explains in the following article, the parish hall is an important foundation in the history of the 155-year-old parish.
In 1870, the 24-year-old Father Anthony Kaul, the first priest ordained in the Diocese of Harrisburg, founded St. Anthony of Padua Parish to serve the German population of the East Side of Lancaster. St. Anthony Hall, where we stand today, is where he laid the foundations of our church. Holy Mass was celebrated here while the rest of the church was completed in 1875. Since then, the “Lower Church” continued to welcome new communities in the celebration of Holy Mass.
Italian immigrants were the first to be welcomed into the Lower Church, followed by the Latino community and the Vietnamese community. In 2018, a renovation was attempted but ultimately failed. Until today, the Lower Church was off limits to the public until significant repairs and renovations were completed. Now, St. Anthony Hall serves our parish as an accessible parish hall, welcoming our families for fellowship, formation and worship.
Two historic and sacred objects serve as the focal points of St. Anthony Hall. The first is a beautifully restored Mission Crucifix from 1875, the year our church was completed. It has not been displayed publicly for more than 70 years. It’s return to us on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross serves to remind us that Jesus Christ is the center of our life as a parish family.
Another focal point of St. Anthony Hall is a statue of St. Anthony holding the Christ-child. This statue graced the façade of our Church since its completion in 1875. Due to an irreparable crack, we are unable to display the statue outside. We have chosen to repaint it and preserve it in a place of honor here in St. Anthony Hall. The railing which protects the statue was fashioned from the original altar rail of our church. The rest of the altar rail was given to San Juan Bautista Parish, where it now serves its original purpose in their sanctuary.
In the future, we will also display historical statues and archival items which bring to life the amazing history of our parish. St. Anthony Hall joyfully proclaims the beauty of our faith and encourages us to imitate the heroic virtue of our forebearers.
A kneeling cushion caught fire in the church this morning at about 8 a.m. It was put out and nothing else was damaged. The firemen evacuated the church and said we could not re-enter the church until the smoke had cleared. The smoke did not clear in time for the 8:30 a.m. Mass, so we celebrated Mass in the new hall. The chairs and tables were already set up for the grand opening potluck, we brought the liturgical books and sacred vessels down for Mass, and I wheeled out the altar from our former convent which we now store in St. Anthony’s Hall.
Just like the founders of our parish, the first meal we celebrated together in St. Anthony’s Hall was the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. That may not have been our plan, but God surprised us with His plan.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
