Building for the Body of Christ
SS. Simon and Jude Parish
By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer
On a rare day off from school just six days before the new church of SS. Simon and Jude in West Chester was dedicated, 15-year-old Chris McLaughlin spent five hours helping the parochial vicar program the new lighting system, and another hour assisting with other details for the dedication day.
A freshman at Salesianum School in Wilmington, Del., it was McLaughlin’s choice to spend his school’s in-service training day for teachers doing his part to help with the church. It is located at 8 Cavanaugh Court, at the intersection of Routes 3 and 352, in Chester County.
“God gives us so much, and we really have to try to give back as much as we can,” said McLaughlin, who is also an altar server at SS. Simon and Jude.
He is one of more than 9,300 registered parishioners, many of whom have rolled up their sleeves to make the new church a reality.
Cardinal Justin Rigali dedicated the church at a 12:30 p.m. Mass Sunday, Nov. 20. With the renovation of SS. Simon and Jude’s former church to accommodate an expansion of the parochial school, the CCD program and other parish activities, as well as expanding the existing parking lot, the entire project totals $9.1 million in costs.
“I’m feeling elated,” said Msgr. Francis X. Meehan, pastor of SS. Simon and Jude. “It was a thrilling day. It was a packed church. People were on such a high. It brought tears to my eyes.”
The pastor commended his parishioners — “so many committees and subcommittees, and just plain people stepping forward to do a thousand things” — who contributed their efforts to the project.
Among those Msgr. Meehan thanked were two priests he called his “sidekicks,” Father Kevin P. McCabe, the parochial vicar, and Msgr. Richard T. La Hart, a priest in residence. He also acknowledged the diligent work of the parish’s permanent deacons, Rev. Mr. James E. Lyon, James T. Owens and Bernardus C. Stam, and members of the parish staff.
The timing of the dedication Mass — just four days before Thanksgiving — touched the heart of 44-year-old Rene Eells, a member of the building committee who is a wife and mother of three children, ages 9, 13 and 17.
“It just felt like a coming-together of a community, a real celebration, lots of gratitude,” Eells said. “You could feel anticipation of our Thanksgiving holiday. The sun was shining, people were smiling. We’re just so happy for Monsignor Meehan, and his vision and perseverance.”
Noting all who put “untold hours into all the minute details,” she added: “The journey to dedication has been a journey of faith. I can see it moving us into the future.”
Among her favorite aspects of the new church are its vast, open space and abundance of light and air.
There are red oak pews with upholstered backs that seat 1,050 in the main church and 150 in the adjoining chapel.
The former church, which opened in 1962, seated 720. In its early years, the parish served 360 families and held Sunday Mass at a fire hall.
SS. Simon and Jude Parish presently has more than 3,200 registered families and 9,300 registered parishioners.
In its modified-cruciform roof over a semicircular seating plan, the new church, which also has red-oak paneling, combines both traditional and contemporary elements.
Msgr. Meehan mused that, given the new layout of the church — there are 14 pews in the semicircle, and the distance from the back row to the altar is 65 feet — congregants can no longer “hide in the back,” nor can they “open up the bulletin during the homily anymore and get away with it.”
Square-footage on the main level is 24,775; the lower level, which will eventually include a large walk-out basement, is 16,085 square feet.
Natural light streams through clerestory and gable end windows. Stained glass graces the sanctuary.
Numerous items from the old church have found a home in the new church, among them the crucifix, stations of the cross, the stained-glass window of the Sacred Heart, and numerous statues. Additionally, the iron grating from the first Communion rail gate in the old church has been transformed into an ambry [a wall cupboard that holds the holy oils] in the new church.
“We wanted to catch the wonderful affection, beauty and love of the old church and bring it into the new,” Msgr. Meehan said.
Those inclusions mean a great deal to 83-year-old Gloria Vetter, a lifelong parishioner of SS. Simon and Jude. “We worked very hard for the [original] church,” she said.
Yet, Vetter had realized that a bigger church was necessary to accommodate the ever-growing parish. “I was so glad to see the second church, because we were outgrowing [the first church],” she said.
She also noted that there had not been enough meeting rooms or storage space for the parish’s numerous ministries.
The new church has four meeting and multipurpose rooms, and eight storage closets.
Not only does the church look “beautiful” and “magnificent,” it sounds good, too, Vetter said of its superb acoustics.
According to Vetter, Sunday’s dedication Mass, which she attended with her husband, Norman, could not have been scripted any better. “It was just a perfect day.”
A special effort was made to highlight the Catholic tradition of statuary and saints. In addition to the statues of Mary, Joseph and the Sacred Heart, a shrine has been carved for images of SS. Simon and Jude, St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Katharine Drexel.
Another shrine features a relief of “Jesus and the Children of the World,” and two photographs of saints devoted to youth. The saints’ images will rotate with feast days, and prayer cards and other background material on the saints will be distributed for devotional purposes.
Ten-year-old Melissa Becker, a fifth-grader at SS. Simon and Jude School, said she is eager to learn more about the saints through the new church.
Her reaction to the completed new church: “Wow! It’s done.”
Melissa was back at the new church Monday morning, Nov. 21, for the first official school Mass there.
“Everybody was just so excited and [out of reverence] really quiet,” she said. “After the Mass, we got treats, like cupcakes, and we talked about the new church.”
The youngsters got a sneak peek of the church before it was completed, when the pastor gave them a tour, five weeks before the dedication. “Their questions were just so on-target,” Msgr. Meehan said. They wanted to know: “‘Where is the Blessed Mother? [Her statue was not yet installed.] Where’s our old crucifix going to be?’”
Not only did the youngsters seem to know all the liturgical elements that go into a church, “they knew exactly where” those things should be, the pastor said.
The daily Mass chapel includes a weekly liturgy for children. The pastor plans to institute perpetual adoration in the chapel in the near future.
The 600-square-foot Infant of Prague cry room seats 25 and includes a rest room and changing table.
Dave Owsik, 57, a co-chair of the parish’s capital campaign, said more than 75 percent of over $4.6 million pledged in the capital campaign has already been collected. The parish has also borrowed $2.5 from the Archdiocese. The remaining $2 million came from the parish’s reserve fund, which it had been saving for the project.
The success of the campaign “is really a reflection on how the parish feels about Msgr. Meehan,” Owsik said of the generosity of the parishioners who, through their time, talent and treasure, helped build the church.
Owsik also attributes the new church’s “awesome” appearance to the pastor’s “not ostentatious but very uplifting” taste.
Lisa Bodisch, 40, a member of the parish pastoral council and building committee, said she was also delighted about the dedication Mass. “My heart just had a couple extra beats. Everything we worked so hard for came to fruition.”
The new church’s bright, open space, spectacular stained-glass windows and overall welcoming atmosphere also appealed to Bodisch. “Just the way it is set up pulls you in.”
It is her hope that more young adults are pulled into the new church as well, she said: “Get involved. There are different ministries for everybody. Find [your] niche. Everyone is welcoming and wants [young adults] to be involved. They’re the future of the Church. They need to help shape that.”
Those who have yet to see the new church may take a tour during an open house scheduled from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11.
A special invitation is extended to those who have been away from the Church for whatever reasons, Msgr. Meehan said.
For more information on the new church, check out the SS. Simon and Jude Parish Web site at: www. simonandjude.org or call the parish at (610) 696-3624.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.