Our Ninth Anniversary!

02-04-2024Pastor's LetterVery Rev. Richard C. Wilson, VF, Pastor

Dear Friends in Christ,

Nine years ago, on the Feast of Candlemas, His Excellency Robert Guglielmone, Bishop of Charleston dedicated our church. This marvelous event, this milestone, in the life of our parish was the result of many long years of prayer, sacrifice, and hard work by Father Gregory Wilson, his staff, and so many deeply committed volunteers. I think it is indisputably clear that our Lord and St. Mary Help of Christians have highly favored our parish.

There is indeed a lot to take in when you reflect upon this nine-year-old church. Recently, I gave my first tour of St. Mary’s and was overwhelmed in trying to get my head around all the history and beauty of our church. Did you know that the sanctuary lamp and the seating for the presider, deacons and altar servers came from the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia? The crucifix above the tabernacle is from a closed church in Belgium; it is about 70” tall, carved by hand ca. 1870. Our tabernacle is also from Belgium from about 1870. The left door features the image of a pelican feeding her starving chicks from her very own body. The right door has the Lamb of God displayed. On the inside of the tabernacle doors there are images of two angels guarding the Eucharist, reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament.

Then there are the roundels, a series of twenty decorative medallions by painted by Mrs. Alice Judd, each of which is based on a title of the Virgin Mary. These decorative medallions decorate the arcade of the nave, the transepts, and the sanctuary. These roundels depict the many titles of our Lady as listed in the Litany of Loreto, titles such as Mary, Mystical Rose, Mary, Ark of the Covenant, etc. There’s a binder in the back of the church that has photos of all of the roundels.

And now as we celebrate nine years in our “new” church, we are blessed to have 19 new stunningly beautiful needlepoint tapestries that were stitched by hand by a group of 13 women from our parish! These beautiful tapestries will decorate our liturgical seating and the ambo and have colors that were chosen to match our stained-glass windows.

At the 11:00am Mass on Sunday, Most Reverend Robert E. Guglielmone, Bishop Emeritus, will be here to bless these beautiful needlepoint tapestries and to celebrate Mass for the ninth anniversary of the dedication of St. Mary’s.

May our Lord and our Lady continue to bless the work of our hands!

All the best…in Christ,

Father Wilson