12
iiiOctober 22, 2021 | catholicnewsherald.com
FROM TH
(Above) Young parishioners warily eye the roast pig – apple in his mouth – featured on the buffet table.
(Right) Parish archivist Maureen Miller worked for months to compile historical information and artifacts dating from the parish’s founding in 1936, including old photographs and, shown behind her, the original blueprint drawn up by the famed church architect Benedictine Father Michael McInerney. PHOTOS BY PATRICIA L. GUILFOYLE | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
A celebration of gratitude and love Swannanoa parish marks 85th anniversary PATRICIA L. GUILFOYLE EDITOR
SWANNANOA — Parishioners of St. Margaret Mary Church celebrated their parish’s 85th anniversary with a special liturgy, festivities and more Oct. 16. The Saturday afternoon celebration began with a Missa Cantata featuring the Proper of the Mass for the feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the parish’s patron. Father Brian Becker, pastor, offered the special Mass, assisted by visiting seminarians from St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly. Referring to the feast day’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 11:25-30), Father Becker noted, “It is in the
Sacred Heart of Jesus that we are able to simply rest: ‘Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.’” A 17th century French nun, St. Margaret Mary had visions of Jesus over the course of 18 months with messages that formed the basis of the Sacred Heart devotion, in which Jesus’ human heart symbolizes His enduring and generous love for all people. St. Margaret Mary encouraged devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, including the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and she was canonized in 1920. In his homily, Father Becker encouraged people to learn more about the Sacred Heart devotion as an invitation from Jesus to abide in His love. “Jesus wants to pour out the love of His Sacred Heart to us,” he said. After Mass, parishioners enjoyed food, folk music and more in Grovemont Park, located across the street from the historic church. An extensive historical collection, created by archivist Maureen Miller, was displayed in the parish office for people to read more about the early presence of Catholics
in Buncombe County and the growth of the parish over the past 85 years. St. Margaret Mary Church was among the first Catholic churches in the region, built in 1936 to serve the growing Catholic population who had moved there for the textile manufacturing industry. The parish expressed gratitude to festival coordinators Jennifer Puzerewski and LeAnn Wilson, the Swannanoa Community Council, Claudia Graham, Kim MacNeil, Maureen Miller, John and Maureen Czarnecki, Mark Puzerewski, Peter Graham, Bill Bauman, Knights of Columbus Council 13016, Harwood Home for Funerals – Black Mountain, Mike Sobol, master of ceremonies Nick Kramer, the seminarians, and many volunteers from the parish. “A celebration of an anniversary such as this puts us in mind of the gratitude that we owe not only to God for giving us this parish, but also to those who have gone before us as part of this parish,” Father Becker noted. “The good things that we enjoy in this community have all come to us from those who have done the great material and spiritual work to gain such blessings.”
