OREGON—Exactly 125 years to the day when the cornerstone of St. Mary Parish was laid in Oregon, Bishop David J. Malloy concelebrated Mass at the historic building, telling the congregation they are the link between the past and the future of the Roman Catholic Church.

April 30 marked the day, and many members of the 300 families of St. Mary attended a dinner at the newly renovated parish center, following the Mass.

The bishop also blessed the center’s new offices and religious education facilities.

In his homily, Bishop Malloy said that St. Mary has continuously served the great mystery of the faith and the Catholic families in the area.

“For 125 years, this church has served your family members. The mystery of faith is at the heart of the very reason we are here and the reason we have this church building,” he said.

“God is inviable to our eyes, but He is actually coming into creation. He is coming to overcome our sins and to restore us. All of creation becomes a part of the mystery of God, because it has received God here.

“Increasingly now, our modern world wants to forget that, and forget eternity,” Bishop Malloy said.

He said the young people in St. Mary Parish will carry on the faith.

“They are the ones to carry the torch going forward. We must pass it on,” he said.

The church building has been the focal point of that touching between heaven and earth, between God and each person, the bishop said. He urged everyone to think of the life of faith, which has passed through the building.

St. Mary Parish existed even before the Diocese of Rockford was formed in 1908. The parish was founded in 1889 and the corner stone was laid in 1891.

Bishop Malloy prayed that many people will look back and see this church as the doorway to heaven, having received comfort here during wars, sicknesses and other troubles.

“The church has been entrusted to our care. It is not simply symbolic,” he said. “There is something about the presence of Christ here. His presence here is real and true and has been here for 125 years.”

Local historians have recorded that in 1838, a priest from Chicago stopped in the Oregon area, enroute from Elgin to Galena. He asked at a hotel if there were any Catholics in the area, and learned there was a family named Ryan. The family members had not been able to receive the sacraments or attend Mass for four years.

The priest, whose name is lost to history, stayed four days, baptizing and offering Mass. On his way back from Galena he stopped again for two days.

“What a blessing is the presence of those priests you have had throughout the years,” the bishop said, and he asked the congregation to pray for all priests.

Although St. Mary has been improved and redecorated over the years, including receiving a new crucifix above the altar last year, the basic structure remains solid and is in fact magnificent, the bishop said.

Parishioner Trudy Whalen was baptized here. Her parents came to Oregon and became parishioners in 1956.

“It’s pretty amazing that is it still going, she said. “We still have a good strong parish. Involvement keeps it strong.”

Her husband, Mike Whalen, said that it is an honor to have the bishop come to the anniversary event.

Believing in God, in Jesus, makes the church what it is, he said.

“It’s all about Jesus and God, without Him there is no purpose.”

Some family members of parishioners came to Oregon for the special day, including two sons of Phyllis Conway. The mother of six children became a parishioner 70 years ago after moving here from Dixon. Joe Conway, of Lake Villa, and Doug Conway, of Geneva, came to share the day with their mother, recalling they received the sacraments at St. Mary Catholic Church.

Parishioner Anne Stevens said that the celebration day correlated well with the blessing of the new offices at the parish center.

“We have a lot of families that have been her for many generations. By them staying active, they give a base for activity and a sense of home,” she said.

At the dinner following the Mass, Pastor Joseph Naill said, records of the church prior to 1908 were lost when a major scandal over ownership of the church caused some difficulty for the parish. However this church belongs to Christ, he said, and St. Mary’s continues its mission.

“No one owns the church, but Christ,” the pastor said.

At the dinner, prayer cards with a graphic depiction of the church building by Garrett Barnas were distributed to all those in attendance.

Barnas and his wife Emily, and their baby Noah, attended the event. The couple had gifted Rev. Naill with the original picture of the church on their wedding day.

Since its beginning, St. Mary Catholic Church has had about nine pastors, under the guidance of 12 bishops of the Rockford Diocese, Bishop Malloy said.

“I hope you and your families will continue to make your way to heaven through the doors of this beautiful church,” he said.