“Your faith is a fingerprint of God’s presence,” Bishop Edward Malesic told the faithful at St. Peter Parish in North Ridgeville as he celebrated Mass on Dec. 14 marking the end of a yearlong celebration of the parish’s 150th anniversary.
He was joined by six concelebrants, all with connections to the parish, including Father Bob Franco, the 24th and current pastor, and Father Isidore Munishi, parochial vicar. Both also serve St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Ridgeville.
(See photo gallery above.)
Other concelebrants were Father Allan Laubenthal, a retired diocesan priest and former Saint Mary Seminary professor who grew up in the parish; Father Charles Ryba, retired, Father Bob Sanson, retired, and Father Dave Durkee, pastor of Queen of Heaven Parish in Uniontown. All three previously served at St. Peter as parochial vicars.
Deacon Mitch Carson, a son of the parish who is scheduled for priestly ordination in May, Deacon Del Sherman and retired Deacon Donald Jankowski assisted at the liturgy.
The bishop blessed a set of new sacred vessels – a ciborium and four chalices – that were purchased in Italy during an anniversary pilgrimage. The vessels, which were used for the first time at the Mass, were presented to the bishop by Marilyn Sgro, parish council chairperson, Jack Nunney, finance council chairperson, and Sara Golden, St. Peter School PTU president.
“God is present among his people under the faith of Peter, upon whom he built his Church,” the bishop said in his homily. He reflected on faith, noting John Glenn the first man to walk on the moon, was also a man of great faith. He acknowledged that someone greater was responsible for the universe.
John the Baptist also was a man of faith, but during his imprisonment, his faith waivered somewhat and he sent people to ask if Jesus really was the Messiah. Jesus’ answer was to look around because the Messiah would be recognizable by the works he did.
The bishop asked the congregation about the strength of their faith and encouraged them to heed Jesus’ call to “come, follow me.”
After Mass, there was a brief ceremonial groundbreaking for a new building that will be built where the rectory had been located.
A lunch reception followed during which several of the priests shared stories about the parish and its history while a slide show of historic photos played.
The yearlong anniversary celebration included a proclamation from North Ridgeville Mayor Kevin Corcoran, a holy hour and dinner, car blessing, ice cream social, tours of the historic parish cemetery, a parish picnic, Mass, a carnival, blessing and dedication of a new Rosary Garden and dedication of a month expressing gratitude for 150 years in North Ridgeville.
St. Peter’s was established in 1875 to serve the primarily German farmers who had begun settling in the area in 1838. The first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day 1875. The current church was built in 1923 to replace a previous structure that was destroyed in a fire.