ELBURN—On the feast day of St. Gall, Oct. 16, the cornerstone was blessed for St. Gall Parish’s new church, under construction about a mile south of the current church’s location at the northern edge of downtown Elburn.

At 11 a.m., before parishioners and guests traveled down the road for the blessing, Bishop David Malloy celebrated Mass, joined by St. Gall parochial administrator, Father Christopher DiTomo, retired pastor Father Karl Ganss, and Aurora Central Catholic High School Chief Administrative Officer Father F. William Etheredge.

Bishop Malloy spoke about the meaning of parish churches in his homily from the perspective of one who has traveled the diocese and seen the “magnificent” larger churches and the “little jewels” in smaller towns.

He spoke of walking into churches and getting a sense of the personal contributions made throughout  history to make each place possible.

“What is important here,” he said, “is God and His presence here among us” in a place that “prepares us for the only thing that matters: life with Christ.”

The bishop spoke also about the danger of discouragement in spiritual life, saying that when that temptation is allowed in “all of a sudden the world itself doesn’t make sense.”

He pointed to the day’s first reading from Exodus about how Moses struggled to hold up his hands as Joshua and his men fought the armies of Amalek. That moment, he said, foreshadowed problems of the future Church. Moses, he said, was not alone; others helped him hold up his hands so Israel could win the battle.

“As we are shoulder-to-shoulder with others (at Mass),” Bishop Malloy said, “I see others, and I don’t lose heart, I don’t lose courage.”

Young people especially, he added, can benefit from such witness and support, and he called it “so worrysome” that the numbers of youths at Masses has dropped.

Bishop Malloy mentioned youths again at the site of the new church, saying that they, as well as the adults gathered, will be able to say, “I prayed there when (the church was first) blessed.”

This “is the place where heaven touches earth,” he said, “where we gather (and) our faith is reinforced in life.”

Calling such a project both “a sign of unity and a test of unity” for a parish, the bishop praised their coming together in a way that unites, and prayed that unity will be ongoing.

The new church will seat 400 and will include space for overflow seating, eight classrooms, a fellowship space, hospitality kitchen, parish library and parish offices. The building will be accessible to the handicapped and will incorporate relocated and new art glass.

A lunch reception followed the cornerstone blessing at the parish rectory located across Illinois Rte. 47 from the new church site. The current parish buildings are for sale.

Hopes are for a spring opening of the new St. Gall Church.