“If you build it, he will come.” The words heard by fictional Ray Kinsella while working in his corn field set the plot to the iconic movie Field of Dreams. The same could be said for the founding pastor, Father Robert Hilkert, whose image among the corn fields of Green Township grace the vestibule of Queen of Heaven Parish.
While much of the landscape has changed over the 60 years since the parish’s founding, Bishop Edward Malesic celebrated Mass at Queen of Heaven parish to mark the milestone while noting the parish’s missionary beginnings.
“This sacred place in which we celebrate today was built by solid, stalwart, ‘living stones,’ people like you and me, who offered up their time, talent, and resources not just for their generation but for future generations. And so here we are today, building on the foundation and legacy they laid, and working hard to ensure that the mission of this parish - to bring others closer to Christ - continues for many generations to come.”
Following the standing-room only Mass filled with inspirational music from a multi-generational choir, Bishop Malesic, along with the liturgical ministers and the faithful, walked in procession to the newest shrine on the parish’s property. Father David Durkee, the current pastor, is proud of the dozen shrines and other prayer spaces that accentuate the 10-acre campus.
John Paul, a parishioner and Eagle Scout, was responsible for the new shrine, a quiet space dedicated to St. Dymphna, patroness of those afflicted with mental and nervous disorders. Bishop Malesic blessed the shrine, which is located just inside a wooded trail on the parish grounds, where the faithful are invited to “walk with the saints.”
After the blessing, attendees filled the Parish Life Center for a reception that featured parishioner reflections, a video montage of pictures and messages, and proclamations from the mayor of Green, Rocco P. Yeargin and Ohio State Representative Jack K. Daniels. After a presentation honoring Father Durkee, the reception concluded with a prayer from a former parochial vicar Father Sam Ciccolini, who adapted his work from St. Padre Pio’s Stay with Me, Lord Prayer.