AURORA—A parish festival filled the afternoon before the June 28 evening Mass as St. Peter Parish celebrated 50 years of the dedication of its church in southwest Aurora.
Bishop David Malloy was formally welcomed by pastor, Father Joachim Tyrtania, at the beginning of the Mass, which was celebrated in English and Spanish to reflect the varied heritages of parishioners.
It was the Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and Bishop Malloy noted that connection for “this important structure where we have so often come” for prayer and to receive the sacraments.
The choice of a church name is “not like a nickname,” Bishop Malloy said. “A parish church is dedicated to a saint; (there is) a connection (to the saint) that is not just imagination (and) not just something in our head.”
The name of a church, he said, provides “a particular saint to pray to,” adding that that privilege means parishioners can tell St. Peter, “I have the right to call on you.”
“The saints, and in your case St. Peter, have a particular interest in you,” Bishop Malloy told those gathered. “With St. Peter, you have something more ... Peter was the first pope (so) each time you see the pope, it should be a reminder to you” of your faith.
After acknowledging that some at the Mass may well have seen the parish’s beginnings, the bishop said that “50 years ago, there was, by and large, a whole other group. Their faith, their sacrifice built the church ... Pray for all who have gone before -- those people, the priests who served here, for all of the sisters, for anyone who ought to be here but who is separated ... all are a part (of that prayer). Our faith is alive, and it is real.”
At the end of time, he said, “part of what we should be able to say is, ‘St. Peter was my parish, and I was there.’”
Bishop Malloy also said he was “delighted to see so many young people ... the fact that you are here (in spite of society’s temptations away from faith) speaks very well of your parish, of your families, of what is going on here.”
Following the Mass, he met parishioners in a downstairs hall where photographs and articles about the parish were displayed along two walls.
As in years past, the parish festival included an afternoon of food and fun, plus overnight camping for some parishioners who set up their tent or camper in the back lawn of the church. Outdoor movies and a campfire were scheduled for later in the evening.