Hundreds of people gathered on June 25 to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood.
Bishop Edward Malesic celebrated the bilingual anniversary Mass. There were five concelebrants: Father Joe Callahan, OLL pastor; Msgr. Richard Antall, pastor of nearby Holy Name Parish; Father Robert Jasany, pastor of nearby St. John Nepomucene Parish; Father Tom Mahoney, a senior priest-retired who once served as parish administrator, and Father Hernandez Argueta, a priest from El Salvador who served with Father Callahan at the diocesan mission in El Salvador. Father Argueta traveled to Cleveland for the celebration.
(See photo gallery above.)
“This parish is a beacon of light and hope on Cleveland’s Southeast Side,” the bishop said.
“Today, we remember the past, celebrate the present and have hope for the future of God’s people here in Southeast Cleveland,” he added.
The bishop noted that Our Lady of Lourdes was founded as a Bohemian parish in 1883 primarily to serve the growing Czech and Slovak population in the area. Over the years, demographics changed and a number of Hispanics from places like Venezuela, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and Mexico began settling in the area. Today, the parish has a robust Hispanic congregation and celebrates Mass in Spanish at 12:30 p.m. every Sunday in addition to the regular Masses in English. Father Callahan is fluent in Spanish.
The parish also is known for its hospitality, the bishop said, recalling his previous visit.
The first pastor, Stefan Furdek, came to Cleveland as a seminarian from Slovakia. He was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland in 1882 and was assigned to the former St. Wenceslas Parish in Cleveland. In May 1883, he was assigned to establish a new parish, which he placed under the patronage of Our Lady of Lourdes. A frame church, which was dedicated in 1883, was built on the site of the school. The growing parish soon outgrew the building so a new church was started in 1891. That church – the existing building – was dedicated in 1893 and completed in 1902. The parish school was built in 1883. It was staffed by the Sisters of Notre Dame.
The bishop pointed out the beauty of the church, which is filled with many statues and other pieces of religious art.
“But a parish is much more than its buildings. It is a gathering of people. As beautiful as this church may be, what we really need is people with heats made beautiful for God. The beauty of this church is really found in you,” he told the congregation.
Today, Our Lady of Lourdes continues to serve many people, including those who come from other places.
The bishop said a parish has three main purposes: a community of people who gather to worship God, a community of people who evangelize by proclaiming the faith as Jesus revealed it to us and a parish is a community of service to each other and our neighbors.
Worshipping God is at the heart of what we do, the bishop explained, pointing out the sacraments that are celebrated in parishes. He encouraged everyone to be an evangelist, to share the good news and to tell everyone about Jesus.
“A watered-down faith is of no use to us. Be Catholic to the core. And let the world know that you are ready to welcome all who want to come to the same faith as you. Living the faith is something best done together,” he added.
Regarding service, the bishop said we gather together in a parish to find strength in each other. Caring for those in need, giving food to the hungry, making donations to the poor, fighting for what is right, defending the lives of the unborn, opposing what is wrong, welcoming the stranger, opposing racism and being like the Good Samaritan who cared for the suffering man he met along the road.
“In short, we are called to be like Christ who came not to be served, but to serve, and who gave his life as a ransom for many,” Bishop Malesic said. He encouraged the faithful to continue worshipping God, being ambassadors for Christ by proclaiming the Gospel and being people who serve those in need. “Worship, proclaim, serve,” he added. “Never stop being that place of hope where Jesus is at the center of all that you do.”
Father Callahan translated the bishop’s remarks into Spanish and added a few closing remarks, thanking the bishop for his interest and support of the parish.
After Mass, the congregation was encouraged to stand on the front steps of the church in an effort to recreate a group photo of the parishioners and clergy like the one that was taken for the parish’s 50th anniversary in 1933.
An outdoor reception with a variety of Hispanic foods followed. There also was music and a display of parish memorabilia in the old school.