A Formal Dedication For

St Rose’s New Gathering Hall

By Shannon Hicks

The brand-new parish hall at St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church was formally dedicated on December 13, just a few hours before a celebratory ball was to take place in the same location. Because of the timing of the ball, the hall was already partially decorated for the evening’s event, which gave the dedication and blessing an even more festive air.

Bishop William Lori told those gathered on Saturday afternoon that he “stopped by to express my congratulations, support and prayers, that God will continue to share His support now and for many years to come.”

The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes and included a few readings, the singing of two hymns by the choir, presentation of gifts to Bishop Lori and many of the people who were involved in the process of planning, financing, and building the new hall, and a blessing by the bishop of the new space. It also featured the debut performance of the St Rose Seventh Grade Bell Choir, which played two songs.

The new building has been constructed adjacent to St Rose School, allowing easy access to a few new classrooms and the combined gymnasium-stage area, which is where Saturday’s ceremony took place. The interior of the gym is off-white, with tall ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows that let in more natural light than the parish’s previous parish hall, which dated to the 19th Century.

Ground had been broken for the expansion of St Rose School, with the adjacent parish hall, in June 2007. The old parish hall, constructed in 1879 and formerly located in the parish parking lot between the church and school buildings, was used until this past spring. It was cleaned out and gutted, then used by fire companies for a few drills before finally being demolished in June.

Construction on the school addition and parish hall continued steadily thanks to a mild winter of 2007-08, and the new hall and classrooms were ready shortly after the start of the 2008-09 school year.

The new building offers a 7,500-square-foot gathering hall with full kitchen facilities, a gymnasium, and a stage; a state-of-the-art multimedia center for both the school and parish libraries and computers for instruction and research; a 700-square-foot meeting room; significant storage areas; additional restrooms meeting all to ADA requirements; and a large atrium entrance area that can facilitate parish social activities.

“After much work and prayer, we gather now to bless and dedicate this gathering space for St Rose Parish and School,” Bishop Lori said in his opening remarks. Among those recognized by the bishop were the clergy of St Rose, the student ambassadors who were in attendance at and serving within the ceremony, the church choir, St Rose School Principal Mary Maloney, the Knights of Columbus, “and all of you who have come here today as we gather to bless this new and beautiful place.

“This is the result of much, much work, not of little anguish, and now of few frustrations,” continued Bishop Lori. “We should offer our collective gratitude to the one who led the way, and that would be Monsignor Weiss.” With that, Bishop Lori turned to his left, where Monsignor Robert Weiss, the pastor of St Rose, was seated. The remark led to a standing ovation for Monsignor Weiss, who also took a turn at the podium.

The monsignor continued the bishop’s celebratory remarks, pointing out that the new space is not only a place of many uses, but “at a deeper level, this event speaks to the vitality of St Rose parish and St Rose School.

“It speaks of people who are growing, motivated, and mobilized in faith, commitment, to Christ, to our church, and also to our young people,” said Monsignor Weiss. With this he asked Mary Maloney, the principal of St Rose School, to stand for a moment of acknowledgement, followed by Pam Arsenault, the director of religious education for St Rose.

Mrs Maloney was also thanked, later during the ceremony, for her patience during the construction of the gathering hall.

“The school had to be extra patient,” said Monsignor Weiss. “It’s hard to teach young people while hammers and other loud work is going on outside. Thank you Mary, and Sister Thaddeus [Rajca, the preschool director] for your patience and for leading our school’s faculty and students.”

Also recognized last weekend were many people who helped raise the funds for the design and construction of the gathering hall, as well as those who coordinated the project. Susan Lopiccolo and Dan Lansin, “who put in an astounding amount of time, energy and angst,” said Monsignor Weiss, in co-leading the Building Committee, were recognized along with their committee members.

Members of the Finance Council, “who had the mammoth task of overseeing this project,” said the monsignor, were also recognized. The Knights of Columbus, the St Rose Woman’s Club, Jean St Jean, and Peggy Baiad were also singled out for their exemplary efforts.

“A lot of pennies and nickels and dimes went into this project,” said Monsignor Weiss. “There wasn’t one big donations but much digging by so many. That’s the spirit of this parish. I thank each and every one of you for all you have done. Now we have a facility that will allow us to continue to bring the Word of the Lord to everyone in this town.”

Bishop Lori offered a verbal blessing of the building and then, accompanied by Monsignor Weiss, he walked down the center aisle of the gathering and around the perimeter of the building while blessing the space with holy water.

“My very warmest congratulations, and may God bless each and every one of you,” the bishop said in closing, while the choir stood once more and concluded the celebration by singing “Thanks Be To God.”