Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Each year at the Easter Vigil, we bless a new fire and take the first light from that fire to light our Easter Candle. We carry that candle into the darkened church and greet the new light three times with the proclamation, “Jesus Christ is the Light of the World.” Candles are lit throughout the Church and we make our Easter Proclamation in the glow of that light.
We are people of light. Our faith in Jesus Christ challenges us to bring the Light of Christ to the darkness of our world wherever we see it. Our Gallery of Light is a continual reminder of that mission. As we walk on the Jerusalem stone flooring, we need to remind ourselves that each one of us is called to walk in the footsteps of Christ reflecting as we do the Light of Christ. The light comes into our gallery through the glass ceiling, which opens the space to the outside allowing light to pass through in both directions.
The Gallery of Light also acts as a connector bringing together the many varied activities of the Faith Development Center to our mission of bringing the Light of Christ to dispel darkness wherever we may find it.
Watching over the Gallery of Light as she watches over our Church and all our comings and goings is the statue of Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, Mother of All.
At the entrance to our Faith Development Center, we find the Library and Media Center. This area fulfills a dual function of introducing our school students to the appreciation of books and the history and knowledge they contain, and providing a rich resource of faith formation materials. It is our hope that this library will serve to enrich, enhance and expand our knowledge of and appreciation for the richness of our Catholic faith.
Bishop Fulton Sheen has made a major contribution to the appreciation of our Roman Catholic Tradition across the United States through his weekly television show, Life is Worth Living, which ran from 1951–1957. One of the first members of the Catholic hierarchy to preach the Word through the use of media, he was able to bring his gospel message of wholesome and holy living into homes across the nation. Bishop Sheen won an Emmy Award for “Most Outstanding Television Personality” in 1952. He attended all the sessions of Vatican Council II.
At the heart of who we are as a parish is our sense of hospitality. ALL ARE WELCOME is more than just beautiful words put to music. They are words that guide our daily activity and the way we gather as a community of faith. Our sense of hospitality must act as a magnet attracting others to our community and then to Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord.
Placing our Hospitality Center as the first room of our Faith Development Center and at the main opening of the building serves as a continual reminder to all of our parishioners of the importance of this virtue for each and every one of us. It offers a warm, inviting space for visitors, family, and friends.
Mother Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, encouraged her sisters to greet visitors with a cozy cup of tea. Our Hospitality Room provides not only a cozy cup of tea, but also a fire to warm yourself, and a comfortable space to meet and greet one another.
Our teaching out over our Gallery of Light, connecting the two sides of our upper level is our Welcome Bridge. The bridge serves both a practical and a symbolic function. Practically, it connects the two sides of the upper level; symbolically, it can remind us of our mission of reaching out and making connections between people and programs. It is our hope that the many different programs of our Center will serve to connect people to one another, invite people from their isolation to and weave a web of connections, living relationships that can strengthen and support the church, the Body of Christ.
The word “ WELCOME” in some of the many different languages of origin of this local parish should greet visitors as they enter our building. It is our hope that no one will feel a stranger here. From the Gallery of Light, the Bridge is a continual reminder of our challenge to use our gifts and talents, and take the initiative to reach out in love and friendship to others.
Our Room Of Prayer
Prayer is at the heart of all we do as a parish community. Our Chapel is our space for prayer. Although in many different ways and in many different places our chapel is our space set aside for prayer. As we gather for prayer, we raise our minds and hearts to God and open ourselves to God’s action in our lives.
The statue of the Resurrected Christ encourages us to look for Jesus present in our lives and in our world. The stained glass windows of Mary and Joseph are gifts from our original church and the many faithful parishioners who provided the foundation of our parish. The recessed stained glass windows and the panels in our doors is the work of parishioner Dr. Joseph Syoka who was able to gather the colors of our old windows into a more modern geometric design.
One wall of our chapel opens to the outside as a reminder that our prayer must always move beyond the community gathered to reach out to the needs of the church and the world.
Christ at the Center
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The tabernacle, visible upon entering the church, is for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament, the abiding Real Presence of Christ (Matthew 28:20). The Blessed Sacrament is reserved for the sick, for the dying, and for devotional adoration.
The tabernacle rests on a marble pedestal in a uniquely designed niche as part of the newly constructed church. The wooden cover that now graces the tabernacle is the work of parishioner, Larry Lucash. The three artistic panels attached to the cover depict three Resurrection stories as found within the gospels. They are the artwork of Sister Kathleen Aucoin (Sister of Charity) from New York.
This niche was enlarged and transformed into a small Reservation Chapel, inviting all who wish to spend some time in devotional prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Kneelers and seating are provided for this purpose. Holy silence is requested. The tabernacle is now the physical center of the church, placing Christ at the center. Likewise, we are called to make Christ the center of our lives, and our parish community.
Our multi-functional community room recalls the memory of two important church leaders of our time: Pope John Paul I, Albino Luciani -- one of the shortest serving Popes, (33 days), and Pope John Paul II, Karl Wojtyla - one of the longest to serve as leader of the Church, (26 years).
By honoring these two men by one room, we remind ourselves that it is not the quantity of our time of service that is important, but the quality and intensity.
Pope John Paul I won the hearts of all peoples as the “smiling” Pope. In just a short time, he was able to simplify the process of installing a pope, focus on the importance of right order in Church affairs, and captivate the world with his smile.
Pope John Paul II became the “traveling” Pope, visiting 129 countries in 104 trips outside the Vatican. In all his travels, he continually preached the gospel of life, encouraging peoples to solidarity. John Paul II established World Youth Day bringing the young people of the Church and the world together every two years to share their faith, learn from one another and their bishops, and to celebrate the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.
Community was at the heart of both of these men. As we gather to build community in this space, let our gathering be inspired by these two leaders of our Church.
For over twenty-five years, the Church of Saint Ann has was blessed by the presence and service of Catherine Haggerty. Catherine served as sexton of our Church devoting many years working long and hard to make sure the church was always ready for the community to gather. Looking after the votive lights, and lost and found, or greeting visitors, Catherine treated everyone she met with a sense of their importance and readily shared her amazing knowledge of the people and events of this parish community.
If all the work done in this room can be done with the same love and selfless service that Catherine put into her service here, we will be well served by the preparation done in this room.
THE SISTER THEA BOWMAN MUSIC ROOM
Sister Thea Bowman (1937-1990) was an African-American Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration who, through her contagious sense of God’s love and passion for justice, has made a remarkable contribution to music and liturgy in the American Catholic Church. Thea Bowman earned a PhD in literature, taught at every level of Catholic education, and traveled the country encouraging all to lift their voices in song and praise.
After speaking to the U.S. Catholic Bishops in 1989 on the importance of full active and lively participation in Liturgy, she had the group lock arms and join in singing, “We Shall Overcome.”
In 1984, Thea was diagnosed with cancer and continued to travel the country adding to her message of lively Church Liturgy and Music and a strong conviction to live fully until you die. Thea lived a full life. She fought evil, especially prejudice, suspicion, hatred, and things that drive people apart. She fought for God and God’s people until her death in 1990 at the age of 53.
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Our church has a long history of women and men who faced persecution and gave their lives for the gospel they preached. In the Americas, the first missionaries to North America faced martyrdom. French Jesuits, Isaac Jogues, John deBrebuff and companions gave their lives for their faith. In more recent times, Americans themselves have faced death throughout the world, as they remained faithful to their calling to preach and live the gospel message.
This room remembers all those martyrs with special focus on the four United States Church women Ita Ford, Jean Donovan, Maura Clark, and Dorothy Kazel, Father Stanley Rother of the Diocese of Oklahoma City, and Archbishop Oscar Romero as they sided with the poor and suffered martyrdom in Central America between 1980-1981.
Laywoman, Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker movement with Peter Maurin in 1933, is certainly a person who has had a major effect on the Catholic Church in the United States. In choosing a life of voluntary poverty and radical gospel living, Dorothy lived the Beatitudes through her direct service to the poor. She established houses of hospitality across the country and promoted pacifism. In 1963, she was one of the few laypersons to attend Vatican Council II. The Catholic Worker Newspaper, begun in May 1933, continues to serve as a vehicle for the clarification of thought as does weekly meetings at the Catholic worker houses of hospitality throughout this country.
When they came together to publish their Pastoral Letter on Peace, the Bishops of the United States acknowledged Dorothy Days influence on that document and on the United States Catholic Church in our time.
As we honor Dorothy Day by this room, it is our hope that her life will inspire more of us to live out our Catholic faith by promoting the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, working for peace and justice, and reach out to others in need.
This room was dedicated to Dorothy Day as part of the 25 th Anniversary of her death on November 29, 2005.
Father Michael McCorristin was the founding pastor of our Church of Saint Ann as well as a person who had a great influence in the development of our Diocese of Trenton beginning in 1935. As a young priest assigned as chaplain to Morris Hall Home for the Aged, Father McCorristin saw the need for a parish in Lawrenceville to serve the needs of the Catholic population that was growing. Once permission was given to establish a parish, it was Father McCorristin who pushed again to build the Church “where the people are” instead of on the property already owned by the Diocese on the present site of St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, Morris Hall, and Villa Vianney.
After purchasing the plot of land on the corner of Eggerts Crossing Village, which was were most of Lawrenceville Catholics were located, Father McCorristin began the process of digging the basement and laying the foundation for the new church with volunteer labor during the Great Depression. The Church was built and dedicated in 1939. (The church was destroyed by fire in 1982 and the present church built under the direction of Msgr. Thomas Frain in 1985.)
It was Father Michael McCorristin who laid the foundation of our parish community and set the example of “rolling up your sleeves and pitching in to do whatever needed to be done” that characterizes our Parish to this day.
In dedicating this room to Msgr. Michael McCorristin, it is our hope that the spirit of unselfish service to the community will continue to be a trademark of the Church of Saint Ann.
In 1959, the Cardinals of the Catholic Church gathered to elect a successor to Pope Pius XII and to the surprise of the world after a long conclave, they chose a 72 year old outsider, Angelo Roncalli, who chose the name John XXIII.
Good Pope John put a very human face on the papacy, reaching out and embracing the world. It was thought by many that John XXIII would be a “stop gap” Pope who would fill the papacy for a few years until a more dynamic successor could be selected. Instead, John XXIII shocked the world by announcing his plans to call an Ecumenical Council about three monts after being elected Pope. The purpose of the council would be “aggiornomento” – an opening of the Church to meet the challenges of the modern world.
It was Pope John XXIII who, on December 8, 1961, opened the Second Vatican Council. He died on June 3, 1963, and his successor, Pope Paul VI continued the Council which concluded on December 8, 1965.
Pope John XXIII was a senior citizen when he accepted the leadership of the Catholic Church and called a Council that will continue to shape the Church well into the next century. In dedicating this room to Pope John XXIII, we hope to honor the many seniors of our parish and inspire them to continue their life of love and service to our Church. We honor their contributions of the past and look forward to their continued presence and active participation in our mission.
The Art Room, in addition to the school curriculum, provides a space for adults to explore the relationship between art and faith through such programs as "A Sacred Arts Workshop." Students from Saint Ann School use this room to work on a variety of art projects.
This building is dedicated to the hopes, dreams, and vision of Vatican Council II. (1961-1965) (Picture of Plaque near front entrance)
There is not an aspect of our parish life today that has not been profoundly influenced by the hopes, dreams, and vision of Vatican II. In announcing his decision to call a Council, Pope John XXIII stated that he was motivated "solely by concern for the ‘good of souls’ and in order that the new pontificate may come to grips, in a clear and well-defined way, with the spiritual needs of the present time.” That vision was realized as the Bishops of the Church met for four sessions over four years to promulgate sixteen documents that continue to guide the Church.
All Catholics are familiar with the changes that took place in the way we worship. The use of the common language of the people, the priest facing the people, communion in the hand, the multiplicity of lay ministers, the emphasis on Scripture, great variety of music and song are only a few of the things Catholics today take for granted. They were all changes sparked by the Decree on the Liturgy of Vatican II.
We have also worked hard at developing relationships with other Christians and people of faith throughout the world. Chapter Five of the Constitution on the Church entitled “The Universal Call to Holiness ” proclaims, “That all people, regardless of their state in life, are called to holiness.” The Decree has opened the way for all the baptized to see their work in the world as a means to obtain sanctity. The decree on The Church in The Modern World invites the Church to open itself to the developments taking place in the world and to become an agent for change in creating a better world, transformed by the gospel and love of Christ.
Our understanding of the influence of Vatican Council II continues to unfold during our time. It is a privilege to be part of this unfolding. It is our hope that the building will enable members of the Church of Saint Ann to continue to be shaped, informed, and inspired by the work of the Council.