Our Lady of Lourdes recently had a week-long celebration of the 70th anniversary of its school and parish. On Oct. 2, the parish held a celebratory Mass to commemorate the day of its founding. Later that week, on the 4th, Our Lady of Lourdes School celebrated its annual Fall Festival with a focus on its 70th birthday. On Saturday, Oct. 5, the parish had a Mass, followed by a Eucharistic procession and a picnic celebration.
“The theme for today is thanksgiving to God for the gift of our parish,” said pastor Father Pat Keane during his homily at the celebratory Mass.
Father Pat gave thanks for the benefactors who donated land, the bishops and priests who had the leadership and foresight to let God work his plans for the parish, parishioners and for the vocations that have come from the parish.
“So many vocations have come from this small, neighborhood parish. And we’re now in our third generation of kids whose parents were also educated at Lourdes,” he said.
Father recounted a legend of the origin of the church’s name. One year before the parish was established, Bishop Vincent Waters, who led Raleigh at the time, sent a priest from Raleigh to Lourdes, France to petition Mary to send an order of nuns to serve in the Diocese of Raleigh. That petition was answered and, in honor of that, the bishop named the new parish Our Lady of Lourdes.
Father Pat also recalled how James Joseph and Rosalie W. Fallon donated 20 acres of land to the Diocese of Raleigh in 1938. At the time, Sacred Heart Cathedral and Saint Monica were the only two Catholic churches in Raleigh. The land would eventually be where Our Lady of Lourdes parish and school were erected in 1954. Today, the Fallon Center also serves as the parish’s primary social and faith formation classroom building.
Both the original school building and church remain in use at Our Lady of Lourdes. The church was repurposed into a school cafeteria. The original school building, significantly renovated over the years, today houses classrooms for grades six through eight. A newer school building for grades one through five is adjacent to the original school building. A new church, were the parish worships today, was built in the 1970s. As the school celebrates its 70th year, all classrooms are at capacity, and the parish is making plans to renovate and expand its school yet again.
“This has always been a holy and sacred place,” said Father Pat. “And it’s because of you and the parishioners and benefactors who have come before us. We stand on the shoulders of giants; those who were generous with their time, their talent and their treasure.”
In closing, Father Pat recalled his first experience at Our Lady of Lourdes when he served in the parish as a seminarian when Hurricane Fran struck Raleigh in 1996. He remembered how the parish came together to help the church and the neighborhood. And he asked that everyone remember today our brothers and sisters in western North Carolina who were affected by Hurricane Helene.
“There came a time when we had to drink from that well of mercy from others, and we must also look to the needs of others,” he said.
Photos
