November 20, 2024

By Keith Benman
Contributing Writer

The 100th anniversary of the first Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Massena and the constancy of the Catholic faith are being celebrated with a prayer service, organ recital and other events at the church this fall.

Solemn Vespers, also known as evening prayer, will be prayed on Sunday, Dec. 8, at the church and an organ recital on the refurbished organ will be held Sunday, Dec. 22. All Catholic parishioners as well as other Christians in Massena are being invited.

The reason for the celebrations is simple, according to St. Peter’s Parish Pastor Father Mark Reilly.

“Out of respect,” Father Reilly said. “We were handed something that we didn’t ourselves build. It’s significant. And I feel we have a responsibility to make sure we hand it on to folks coming along in the next century.”

The church at 212 Main Street replaced an earlier Sacred Heart Church building, which opened for Mass in 1875 at a site about a quarter mile south of the current church.

One event celebrating the 100th anniversary has already occurred. It involved the enclosing of a time capsule behind the 1924 cornerstone plaque at the base of the rebuilt buttress on the church entrance’s north side.

In early November, Father Reilly, construction workers and a few others gathered for the occasion. Items enclosed included a holy relic of the parish’s namesake, St. Peter; copies of the North Country Catholic and Massena Courier; the Catholic Church’s liturgical guidebook for the year, called an Ordo; and church bulletins. Also included was the name of the anonymous donor who helped get the buttress project “over the line” financially. The time capsule will be opened in 2124.

The event both celebrated the 100th anniversary of the church and marked the completion of the rebuilding of the two stone buttresses. That in turn represents the completion of the parish’s five-year, $500,000 capital campaign. The first two projects were undertaken at the St. Mary’s social hall, where a new elevator and roof were installed.

“As our Faith tells us, we’re going to be here forever,” said Deacon Guy Javarone, whose construction management firm helped oversee the projects. “And it’s always important to keep our churches in great condition so they can be handed down to our children.”

For the buttress project, R.E. Kelly of Bowmansville, New York, was the contractor and the time capsule vault  was  donated by Jefferson  Concrete   of Watertown. The romanesque-style church was built in the early 1920s by skilled stone masons working with parishioners, who gathered the stones out of farmers’ fields.

Today, parishioners say it’s more than the stately, beautiful architecture that makes the church dear to them. It’s what goes on there.

“God is the principal person in my life,” said St. Peter’s parishioner John Kozsan. “I mean, I was always taught that’s the way you express your love for God is going to Church.”

Kozsan is an informal parish historian. His excitement at the upcoming celebrations at Sacred Heart was palpable as he provided information on the church during a recent interview.

Both Father Reilly and Kozsan acknowledge a lot has changed over the years in both the way Mass is celebrated at Sacred Heart and the church building itself. The biggest changes in liturgy came following the Vatican II Council.

Physical changes to the church have included the installation of the beautiful stained glass in the clerestory – the upper part of the walls – sometime after WWII.

A recent change most parishioners will notice for the first time during the centennial celebrations will be the organ – it can be played again at its full capabilities. A two-year restoration project has made that possible. On Dec. 22, Parochial Vicar Father Lukas Gruber and parishioner Devlin Germane will perform on the instrument joined by a choir.

Parishioners who have kept track of the organ project can’t wait to hear it again.

“I am thrilled,” said 95-year-old parishioner Elsie Scruggs. “I am absolutely thrilled, because that fine church deserves to have an organ played in it.”

From 1965 to 1973 Scruggs was the assistant organist at Sacred Heart. In 1973 she was appointed head organist and for the next 20 years continued to play for weddings, funerals, Sundays and Holy Days. Often, she was accompanied by a “wonderful” four-part choir, she said.

The restoration of the organ, the buttress project, and the improvements at St. Mary’s are all part of the parish’s commitment to future generations, Father Reilly said.

“It’s been a long relay since Christ rose from the dead,” he said. “The buildings are outward signs of handing on the faith.”