October 6, 2002

When our parish was chartered in 1955, many doubted whether Cardinal Spellman had made a right decision. Was a church needed in this area and at what expense? The purchase and demolition of the townhouses on our present site was expensive then and would be prohibitive now. Master stonemasons and wood carvers came out of retirement to work on the church, for such craftsmanship was already dying out (happily, there seems to be a revival now). As one example of quality, the two columns of Languedoc marble in the sanctuary were quarried in France and sent to Italy for polishing. Their installation was an engineering marvel, and they now stand as the two largest solid uncut marble columns in the city.

By reasonable estimation, the total cost of land and building was the equivalent of more than 75 million dollars in present terms. The burden weighed on a resident population that was not large in a commercial and commuter neighborhood. Hard work whittled that debt, but it was frequently said that the debt would never be paid. For years, it was a challenge just to meet the interest on the mortgage. On Sunday, September 29, it was a blessing to be able to announce that the mortgage debt has been paid in full.

At a date to be announced soon we hope to celebrate in a modest way this significant achievement of our people. Now we move on. No Catholics in the whole world have a more attractive, central, and challenging place to do the work of evangelists. As part of that work, we cannot neglect the physical needs of this beautiful and solidly constructed building as it reaches an age when repairs done now will avoid tremendous expense in the near future. Some projects, like emergency repair of the roof to save the grand Renaissance-style ceiling, cannot be postponed. This year we surpassed the quota of the Cardinal’s Appeal and significantly contributed to other charitable works outside the parish. So as not to be parochial in the bad sense, this will continue. The major second collections will be taken as customary during the year. However, we will revive an old practice in the parish. By reducing a multiplicity of extraordinary second collections, we will soon concentrate on one second collection on the first Sunday of the month, for which envelopes will be provided, specifically for the Parish Restoration Fund. This will be only a symbolic gesture for those who are already giving to the Fund. It will be a significant chance for others to share in this work. Eighty percent of the financial support of the parish comes from just eighteen percent of our parishioners, many sacrificing from limited means. If all did their part, there would be no problem.

Fr. George W. Rutler