Pittsfield church celebrates 100 years of service

[media-credit id=3 align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]PITTSFIELD – Hundreds of parishioners, visitors and guests attended a special Mass, reception and jam-packed dinner in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of St. Mark’s Church, at 400 West St.

Fragrant incense, flickering candles, jubilant organ music, singing, prayers and readings, and confirmation of 20 young men and women were all part of the special celebratory Mass.

Bishop Timothy McDonnell, of the Diocese of Springfield, was the main celebrant.

Co-celebrants included Fr. John Salatino, pastor; Fr. Tomasz Parzynski, parochial vicar;  Deacons Sean Mulhollan and Peter Calik; and eight additional priests, some of whom formerly served at St. Mark’s.

Those priests were Fr. Michael Wood, Fr. Henry Dorsch, Fr. William Cyr, Fr. Joseph Romano, Fr. Geofrey Deeker, Fr. Dave Darcy,  Fr. John Roach and Fr. Mark Mengel.

Church has long history

Bishop McDonnell welcomed everyone in the packed church.

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He asked everyone to think back and contemplate on how many baptisms, first communions, confirmations, marriages and funerals have been performed at St. Mark’s since its founding in 1913. There is a lot of history at the local church.

Fr. Michael Leonard built the church at a time when Pittsfield was a bustling, growing community with burgeoning population.  The original building was actually a wooden chapel located on the corner of West and Onota streets, where Epworth Arms Apartments now stand.

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That structure tragically burned to the ground.  The cornerstone of the current building on West Street was laid and the majestic Gothic-style structure was built in 1932. The cost of building it at that time was $250,000.

Bishop McDonnell told the young people being confirmed they were following in the footsteps of all those who came before them, and he reminded them they are the future of the church.

Mayor, police chief and wives attend

Bishop McDonnell also welcomed Pittsfield Mayor and Mrs. Daniel  L. Bianchi, parishioners of St. Mark’s, as well as visitors Pittsfield Police Chief and Mrs. Michael Wynn.

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The bishop and all of the attending priests wore off-white robes. Beneath the bishop’s traditional white crown was a magenta skull cap.

As always, Bishop McDonnell’s style at the Mass was reverent as well as warm, down-to-earth and sprinkled with humor.

He told the confirmation students about an article in the Smithsonian Magazine stating young people under 20 years of age today have a good chance of living to 100 years old. Therefore, he said, he expected them to attend  St. Mark’s  200th jubilee year celebration.

The Mass also included singing by the Taconic High School Honors Choir, St. Mark’s Choir and a song at communion by the Wicker sisters, whose late Lithuanian grandparents and late parents were St. Mark’s members.

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Jeff Hunt is music director at the church; Carlton Maaia II played the organ,  and Alex Kutik played trumpet. The Knights of Columbus Color Guard, in bright regalia including feathers, were also present.

Dinner held at ITAM Lodge

A well attended dinner took place at the Itam Lodge, overlooking Pontoosuc Lake. Rock ‘n Roll Heaven provided live music.

Karen Auge, a parishioner, made and decorated a huge cake that was a replica of St. Mark’s Church, and she also was part of the band.

Editor’s Note: Next week, The Beacon will have a profile on Fr. John Salatino, pastor of St. Mark’s.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on May 2, 2013. Filed under Community Events,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry