by Marc and Julie Anderson
mjanderson@theleaven.org
PERRY — When St. Thérèse of Lisieux was canonized on May 17, 1925, the parish here first known as St. Cecilia changed its name to St. Theresa, honoring the new saint.
On Aug. 23, both current and former parishioners packed the church to mark 100 years since that cornerstone was laid and 145 years since the parish’s formation in 1880.
Festivities began at 10:30 a.m. with a candlelight procession from the rectory to the church steps and then inside the sanctuary for a Mass of thanksgiving.
Archbishop Shawn McKnight served as celebrant and homilist. Pastor Father John Kolencherry, OFM Cap., along with Fathers Francis Hund and Bob Hasenkamp, former pastors, and Father Jomon Palatty, MSFS, pastor of Annunciation Parish in Baldwin City and St. Francis Parish in Overbrook, concelebrated. Father Keith Chadwick, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Kansas City, Kansas, served as master of ceremonies.
A dinner followed the Mass along with tours of the church and rectory showcasing recent repairs and updates.
In his homily, Archbishop McKnight discussed the importance of physical places of worship to our faith.
“We need designated places, edifices that we consecrate for holy and sacred interactions that take place here, where God reveals himself on this mountain that is our sanctuary,” he said, “because we, as human beings, need to use our whole selves — not just our minds — to worship God in spirit and in truth.”
“This is the place where the church gathers, where the assembly, where the people of God — that network of relationships — comes to encounter the Living One,” the archbishop added. “And having been regenerated and reinvigorated, we go out and continue our worship of the Holy One in how we live our lives — ultimately, a life of sacrificial charity of one kind or another.”
“I am here to congratulate you and to join with you in your celebration of the history of this parish,” he concluded. “One-hundred-forty-five years of being the church present in this territory and 100 years of dedicating this temple, this abode of God, in which we offer the perfect prayer of praise, the sacrament of the Eucharist.”
After Mass, parishioners reminisced.
Ruth Ellis’ roots go back 70 years to when her parents Mathew and Maxine Willkomm joined the parish.
Through the years, Ellis said she’s “done everything” and has been everything from sacristan and eucharistic minister to parish secretary, the position from which she is retiring this year.
Of the celebration, she said, “It couldn’t have been any more perfect.”
Vickie Mulvihill agreed.
Her husband’s family has belonged to the parish since 1895, 15 years after its formation. One of the stained-glass windows in the church was donated by her husband’s grandparents and great-grandmother. It’s dedicated to the family’s “dear departed ones by the Mulvihill family.”
A member since 1978, Mulvihill is quoted in The Vindicator, the newspaper for nearby Valley Falls, as saying, “From baptisms to weddings, from fish fries to funerals, St. Theresa’s has been a spiritual home to many.”
The “many” include 86-year-old lifelong parishioner Ann Hurd.
Hurd’s grandparents John and Regina Quinlan were charter members, and the family is honored with not one, but two, stained-glass windows.
While Hurd is proud of that, she said her favorite memories center around music. She’s been a member of the choir since she was a small child. She and her sisters, Helen Hamm and Rita Higgins, sang three-part harmony for years with Hamm on lead, Higgins singing tenor, and Hurd on alto. To this day, Hurd remains in the choir and said she was “thrilled” to represent the Quinlan family, singing for the celebration.
St. Thérèse’s favorite flower — roses — was well-represented in the decorations, from the altar itself to centerpieces on the dinner tables.
Parishioner Betty Grollmes is a member of the arts and environment committee and was thrilled with the many displays.
“They were so beautiful,” she said. “I’d never seen such beautiful white roses. They just opened for us, and they were gorgeous.”
But more than the music, the flowers and the food, many, including Karla Spurling, commented on the sense of family that exists within the parish.
“Today, during Mass, I just felt so much community there,” she said. Both she and her husband, both converts, have been parishioners since 1967.
“Ever since then, it’s just felt like family,” she said, adding she enjoyed seeing so many former parishioners return.
Grollmes agreed, adding, “I’m going to remember how it all came together. . . . Hearing Father [John] talk about what he had hoped for this day, his vision, my thought was, ‘How can we ever do this?’ He’d talk about different things.
“One thing was this fan of roses in front of the altar. There were just different things that he wanted. There was always this little part of me that said, ‘We want to please him. We want to do that, but how is it going to happen?’”
The look on Father John’s face throughout the day, Grollmes said, was one of sheer joy.
When she asked him if his vision of the day had come true, he didn’t hesitate.
“Oh, yes! And more!” he said.
