St. Anne parishioners celebrate past, present and future
Artifacts from the time capsule preserved in the cornerstone of St. Anne Church in New Castle include crucifixes, crosses, religious medals, a flag and historic documents. (Submitted photo)
By Mary Ann Wyand
The past, present and future are closely linked this year in the history of St. Anne Parish in New Castle.
St. Anne parishioners recently had an opportunity to look at artifacts representing their parish’s history, which were preserved in a time capsule sealed in the former church cornerstone.
The cornerstone dated 1923 was cemented in the foundation of their historic brick church, and the time capsule wasn’t meant to be opened yet.
But after an arson fire gutted their beloved church on Holy Saturday, April 7, 2007, the damaged remains of the formerly sacred building had to be demolished for safety reasons and to make room for the construction of their new church on the same site at 102 N. 19th St.
Franciscan Sister Shirley Gerth, the parish life coordinator of St. Anne Parish and St. Rose Parish in Knightstown, and several parishioners arranged a special ceremony on Feb. 18 so members of the 260 household Henry County faith community could see the contents of the time capsule.
About 100 parishioners at the ceremony were happy to find crucifixes, crosses, religious medals, a flag and historic documents safely preserved in the time capsule and cornerstone.
“Some of the oldest members of the parish were present,” Sister Shirley said, “and they were so honored to take the things out of the time capsule. We have a lot of pictures … on our Web site.”
She said the past, present and future of the parish are represented in pictures of the artifacts taken from the time capsule as well as architectural renderings of the new $4.2 million church and the computer technology that shares the images on the Internet.
Parishioner Steve Dyer of New Castle said three journals written by Father John Gallagher, the pastor in 1923, were among the items preserved in the time capsule and he is interested in reading them.
The concrete cornerstone will be preserved and used as part of a pedestal in the new church to display the statue of St. Anne and a young Mary which survived the fire.
“The architect had a wonderful idea about that,” Dyer said. “I thought that was a marvelous idea. I think with all the [architectural] plans we have really blended the old and the new, and I think that’s one reason why [the new church design has] been so well received by the parishioners.”
Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein will help St. Anne parishioners look to—and build for—the future when he helps with the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church at 2 p.m. on March 29 on the parish campus.
Sister Shirley said construction is expected to be well under way before Easter so St. Anne parishioners will be able to celebrate a special resurrection in the life and history of their 136-year-old faith community.
(To view pictures of artifacts from the time capsule, log on to St. Anne Parish’s Web site at http://saintanne.us.to.) †
