St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Celebrates Renovations, Repays Loan That Funded Them | Local News

0


[ad_1]

URBANA – It’s not every day that you pay off a loan of $ 2 million. For St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Urbana, this calls for celebration.

The church will host a mostly outdoor “Keep the Fire Alight” celebration on Sunday – and not just because it has repaid its loan from the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

Parishioners will also celebrate a newly renovated music space and a chance to come together again as a parish community, according to event co-chair Mardia Bishop.

The diocese had loaned nearly $ 2 million to St. Patrick to help cover the expenses of a $ 6 million construction project to significantly expand the church at 708 W. Main St., U, and connect it to the adjacent parish center.

In the end, the pledges from church members covered the entire cost of the construction, including the loan repayment. The loan was repaid two years in early February, Bishop said.

A ceremony of cremating a false loan document will be part of the celebration, she said.

Also included will be a Mass co-celebrated by the current pastor, Reverend Anthony Co, and previous pastors and priests – the Reverends. George Remm, Joe Hogan and Joel Phelps.

The festivities will also include food, dancing and games.

Bishop said the church is working with the Champaign-Urbana public health district to ensure pandemic safety guidelines are followed.

It will be the first larger-scale event held since before the pandemic, she said.

As in-person mass resumed in the church, not all ward members returned to in-person worship, Bishop said, with some continuing to participate online.

The upcoming celebration also includes a connection to the 42 founding families of St. Patrick, represented by 42 stars above the altar. Current ward members have been asked to write on their own stars how they plan to keep the spirit of the church alive, and those stars are displayed on two banners, Bishop said.

Pat Justice, a parish council administrator, said the church felt right at home and the chance to come together and celebrate “means the world to me.”

“From my perspective, I am truly grateful to be a part of this parish,” she said. “This is my family. A lot of people here are transplant recipients from all over the United States, so since you don’t have your immediate family on hand, this parish has become my family.

[ad_2]

Share.

Comments are closed.