Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / 100-year-old parish finds, replaces time capsule in cornerstone
100-year-old parish finds, replaces time capsule in cornerstone
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 30, 2009
|
Photo courtesy of Tony Vivona
John Orlando installs the 2009 time capsule into the church wall after the 1909 capsule was re-installed. |
Detroit - Members of Holy Family Parish, Detroit were rewarded for a risk they took breaking into the parish's cornerstone, finding a piece of the Italian parish's history lodged inside.
Holy Family, founded in 1908 as an ethnically Italian parish in downtown Detroit, opened its cornerstone in August, 100 years after the church was built to accommodate the new parish community. Parishioner and historian Bonnie Leone said parishioners went into the cornerstone on a whim, figuring they'd take the chance something would be in there.
After not finding anything right away, they almost quit, she said. "Then they pulled out a piece of ribbon, so the guys kept going," she said. "We didn't have a clue anything was there."
Among the items found in an old box were religious medals, including one of the pope of the time, Italian Pope Pius X, a scapular of St. John Bosco, part of the documentation that originally established the parish, and several Italian Tribune newspaper clippings commemorating the blessing of the parish, the laying of the cornerstone and a parade of Italian societies from the time of the parish's founding. Also included were a few messages from parishioners and a letter from Bishop John Foley.
|
Photo courtesy of Tony Vivona
John Orlando seals the cornerstone, protecting two time capsules within the walls. |
Last Saturday, the parish celebrated putting the old time capsule back in the cornerstone and added a new box of items for the next group to find whenever it's opened again. They included items from many of the area's Italian societies, many of whom put an image of their patron saint in the box.
They also included a recent Italian Tribune and Michigan Catholic articles about the parish's 100th anniversary last year, as well as 2009 coins and a medal of Pope Benedict XVI.
|
Photo courtesy of Tony Vivona
Parishioners Dino Valle and Bonnie Leone review and add items into the parish’s time capsule from this year. |
Leone, who also added a copy of her Arcadia Publishing book about the parish, "Detroit's Holy Family Church: 100 Years of Sicilian Tradition," said she didn't know if they'd wait another 100 years to open it back up, or maybe only 25 or 50 this time.
"You get to see part of the history," she said. "It's always fun."
Tony Vivona, another parishioner, said although it was a rainy day, the rain held off until they got the time capsule sealed into the wall. The new capsule box is a fireproof safe, so he hopes the contents will stay in good shape.
After a prayer service, the box was filled and blessed, and then bricked up in the outside wall. The parish celebrated with a reception afterward of Italian food. Next month, the parish will install a bronze plaque commemorating 100 years of the cornerstone.
|
