The country roads of Limerick wind past modest homes, small churches and businesses, as in many a Pennsylvania town.
But now high spires poke out of the Montgomery County landscape, marking where members of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish now worship God – their new church.
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput dedicated the 2000-square-metre Gothic edifice on October 27.
The church contains artistic and architectural elements of five closed Catholic churches and a Catholic hospital.
The most striking features are a towering 37-foot-high main altar piece from St Boniface Church in the sanctuary and priceless stained-glass windows from St Clement Church.
St Boniface parish closed in 2006; St Clement in 2004.
It might seem as though a church was plucked from the 19th century and nestled into the former farm that is the 30-acre parish campus, but parishioners have watched as the modern steel construction church has risen over the past 38 weeks.
The new church with its stone facing and twin spires makes a statement, according to the pastor.
“We are here and we are Catholic,” Father Paul Brandt said. “There’s no question this is a Catholic Church.”
Nowhere is this sense more apparent than in seeing the church on the inside, where worshippers “have no sense of space or time. You could be in a 19th-century church,” the pastor said.
The narthex, the area immediately welcoming people inside, features a baptismal font and a large coloured glass and mahogany wall in the Gothic style.
The wall and font are from St Boniface Church, founded in 1866 by German immigrants.
Gothic touches abound in the church, reflecting the churches from where they were drawn.
Wooden confessionals and marble Communion rails came from S Boniface.
The murals, holy water fonts and painted statues are from St Peter; the pulpit from St Clare is used as the cantor’s stand; the main altar and pulpit are from Immaculate Heart of Mary in Middleport; and Stations of the Cross are from the chapel of Mercy Hospital in Scranton.
Many of the pointed-arch motifs in woodwork, glass and stone reflect the Gothic style even though they were created for the various closed churches.
Father Brandt said his parishioners were “excited to be recycling so many things.”
On the other hand all of Blessed Teresa’s red oak pews with kneelers are new because of a consideration for modern ergonomics and comfort.
New lighting fixtures offer brighter, more energy efficient light.
A team of carpenters have been creating new wooden pieces or adapting older pieces for reuse throughout the summer.
It all came together on October 27 for the Mass with Archbishop Chaput, which featured a 30-voice choir and 17 instrumental accompanists, all parishioners, and all led by the parish music minister, John Seitz. “Mother Teresa sent him to us,” Father Brandt said.
The parish’s namesake also has a prominent presence at the parish.
A bronze statue by artist Tony Visco called “Teresa of Calcutta, Mother of the Poor” will be placed in the daily Mass chapel.
When completed, the statue’s two hands will reach out to visitors.
“I want her focus to be on the person kneeling in front of her, she will be reaching out to them,” Father Brandt said.
The $7.9 million cost of the new church is financed through a 30-year mortgage.
“Some people said it would never happen, but it got done,” he said.
“They got to watch this being built from the ground up. There’s great excitement, and it’s about God’s house.”- CNS