St. Bernardine of Siena celebrates golden jubilee
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 21, 2007
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Gregg McIntosh | The Michigan Catholic
Cardinal Maida greets parishioners during the recessional at St. Bernardine of Siena's 50th anniversary liturgy on Sept. 16. |
Detroit — Cindy Lewis recalls leaving early with her seven siblings for Sunday Mass at St. Bernardine of Siena, to make sure their large family grabbed a pew so they could sit together in the crowded church.
Judy Canfield looks back on life after the Second Vatican Council, and being able to take part in the parish's liturgies for the first time as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.
St. Bernardine of Siena Parish
Location: 31463 Ann Arbor Trail, just west of Merriman Road, in Westland
Phone: (734) 427-5150
Founded: 1957
Families: 370 Current pastor: Fr. Salvino Briffa Founding pastor: Fr. Joseph Kress
Area involvement: Meals on Wheels, ministry to senior citizens, donation drives for the poor. | John Griffin remembers each of the Westland parish's four pastors, and how each one shared the gift of faith with the parish community in a different way.
Many such memories were shared last weekend as St. Bernardine of Siena Parish in Westland celebrated its 50th jubilee, marking the occasion with a dinner on Friday and a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Adam Maida on Sunday.
"As we celebrate this happy day in the life of your parish history, let us give thanks to God for all the good people who have worked together to build up this community of faith," Cardinal Maida said in his homily.
Cardinal Maida concelebrated the Mass with pastor Fr. Salvino Briffa, former St. Bernardine parishioner Fr. Norman Nawrocki, pastor of St. Regis Parish in Bloomfield Hills, and Msgr. Robert Humitz and Fr. Leonard Partensky, both of whom assisted at the parish over the years.
Fr. Briffa describes the community as one that's both genial and generous of their time and talents in contributing to liturgy.
"We have a very good community," Fr. Briffa says. "It's a very friendly community, spiritual, adaptable, and very much in the spirit of Vatican II."
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St. Bernardine of Siena |
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Gregg McIntosh | The Michigan Catholic
Joe and Gloria Miller stand in front of St. Bernardine of Siena Parish, which they helped found 50 years ago. | St. Bernardine was started on Sept. 17, 1957, with Fr. Joseph Kress as its first pastor. The first Masses took place at Hawthorne Valley Country Club — the venue the parish aptly chose last Friday to celebrate its 50th anniversary dinner.
St. Bernardine Grade School opened in 1959, run by the Bernardine sisters. And in 1963, nearly 400 families from the parish branched out to start a new parish — St. Theodore of Canterbury Parish on Wayne Road.
Though St. Bernardine's school closed in 1971, the parish community remained vibrant. The parishioners embraced the parish's identity as being a smaller parish among larger neighboring parishes. The parish now has 370 families.
"It's not a mega church," said Canfield, who's been a parishioner for 35 years and served as parish secretary for 10. "Everybody knows everybody else. It's like living in a small town — everybody's concerned about everybody."
Griffin, a parishioner since 1960, raised his nine children in the parish, where he's been active as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist and altar server. He says St. Bernadine has always been strong in educating people about the Catholic faith. And the parish's four pastors — Fr. Kress, Fr. Richard McGarry, Fr. Sayes and Fr. Briffa — have been instrumental.
"What's made it a very good parish is the pastors we've had," Griffin says. "We've had four pastors, and they were all very good. They all have their little specialty that they've passed on to the parishioners."
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Gregg McIntosh | The Michigan Catholic
At the end of Mass, Cardinal Maida commends Fr. Briffa for his ministry as pastor of St. Bernardine of Siena Parish. |
Though small, St. Bernardine Parish has Mass daily, and a host of parish ministries that touch the community. It has an active religious education program, a youth group, a Meals on Wheels service, a ministry to senior citizens and ongoing donation drives for the poor in the community.
"We try outreach to different sectors of the community around us," says parish council president George Rodriguez, "even those who aren't part of our parish."
Though some parishioners are concerned with the future of the parish, they used last weekend's celebration to show that the Christian spirit is abundant at St. Bernardine.
"It all stems from belief in Christ," says Rodriguez. "Everybody is helpful with each other, and there's a core of people who do a lot of things in the church. That shows their Christianity and belief in Christ, and it builds our community and keeps us close together."
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