Highlands church celebrates 130 years of sharing the "Good News"
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Lois Rogers|Correspondent
For 130 years, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church has been a beacon of faith to the Catholics in the Highlands area.
For photo gallery on this story, click here.
That being the case, it seemed fitting that the Year of Faith drew to a close in this Bayshore community Nov. 24 – the Feast of Christ the King – with a Mass that also celebrated the milestone anniversary.
Situated on a promontory overlooking the rolling waters of the Raritan Bay and the sea lanes beyond, the open doors of the Gothic-style church which dates to 1932, welcomed upwards of 500 parishioners, who gathered for the anniversary Mass.
Father David Delzell, the longest serving pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, celebrated the Mass. Father William Lago, current pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, and St. Agnes Church, in Atlantic Highlands, concelebrated along with Msgr. Cajetan Salemi, weekend assistant.
The open doors would be referenced throughout the day by Father Lago, Father Delzell and many parishioners including Muriel Smith.
The concept of an open church door was a highlight of Father Lago's homily, during which he read greetings from Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M.
Bishop O'Connell offered congratulations and blessings to the community as they celebrated “130 years of our Catholic Faith. When our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI invited all Catholics to celebrate a Year of Faith, his invitation was entitled 'The Door of Faith' and he began his letter by reminding us, 'The door of faith (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church.”
The bishop commended Our Lady of Perpetual Help for opening wide “the door of faith for the people of the Highlands for 130 years.”
Father Lago spoke of the faithful nature of the community, saying: “This is where people have come to know Jesus and celebrate the Mysteries and profess our faith.”
“For 130 years, people have reflected here on their great patroness, Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” he said, and celebrated the “great fabric of diversity that the parish is.”
The diverse nature of the parish and its focus on outreach to the Bayshore area – often beset by hard economic circumstances and – as in the case of Superstorm Sandy – natural catastrophes, became apparent during the Presentation of the Gifts.
Representatives of parish ministries including the Knights of Columbus, the food pantry and community garden, the St. Jude Thrift Shop, youth groups, Altar-Rosary Society and religious education who all strove mightily to assist those affected by Sandy and still continue to help, brought up the gifts.
In comments after the Mass, Father Delzell – who was pastor for 26 years – pointed to the familial nature of the parish community as the key factor in always being ready to assist those in need.
“We were family – we all had the same idea – it was all for the honor and glory of God and under the special protection of Our Lady of Perpetual Help whom we love. …. I hope Our Lady of Perpetual Help continues the process of bringing more souls to Christ,” he said.
During the luncheon that followed, the notes sounded at the Mass were echoed around tables where generations shared remembrances.
Sister Dianna Higgins, a Franciscan Sister of the Infant Jesus, gave a brief presentation in which she spoke of how her vocation “started here as I encountered Christ, as I encountered the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of the Eucharist.”
“I came to the realization that if I wanted to live life to the fullest, I had to live a fully Christian life and for me, that meant living a life like Jesus lived.”
Meeting the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus who began serving the parish in 1978 was an inspiration, Sister Dianna said.
And Muriel Smith, devoted to the parish for 59 years, spoke of the open doors of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as an image that has stayed with her over the decades.
Smith, a reporter, who is collecting remembrances from fellow parishioners that she hopes publish in a keepsake book, reflected on sacramental milestones that occurred in her family’s life including as her own marriage there in 1955 as well as other family Baptisms, First Holy Communions, Confirmations and funerals.
Harkening back to the excerpt from the bishop's letter, Smith said. “The bishop referred to the Door of Faith and here in the Highlands, the doors of faith is always open. It isn't a building, it is the people. We are all a family and we have been for generations.”
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By Lois Rogers|Correspondent
For 130 years, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church has been a beacon of faith to the Catholics in the Highlands area.
For photo gallery on this story, click here.
That being the case, it seemed fitting that the Year of Faith drew to a close in this Bayshore community Nov. 24 – the Feast of Christ the King – with a Mass that also celebrated the milestone anniversary.
Situated on a promontory overlooking the rolling waters of the Raritan Bay and the sea lanes beyond, the open doors of the Gothic-style church which dates to 1932, welcomed upwards of 500 parishioners, who gathered for the anniversary Mass.
Father David Delzell, the longest serving pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, celebrated the Mass. Father William Lago, current pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, and St. Agnes Church, in Atlantic Highlands, concelebrated along with Msgr. Cajetan Salemi, weekend assistant.
The open doors would be referenced throughout the day by Father Lago, Father Delzell and many parishioners including Muriel Smith.
The concept of an open church door was a highlight of Father Lago's homily, during which he read greetings from Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M.
Bishop O'Connell offered congratulations and blessings to the community as they celebrated “130 years of our Catholic Faith. When our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI invited all Catholics to celebrate a Year of Faith, his invitation was entitled 'The Door of Faith' and he began his letter by reminding us, 'The door of faith (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church.”
The bishop commended Our Lady of Perpetual Help for opening wide “the door of faith for the people of the Highlands for 130 years.”
Father Lago spoke of the faithful nature of the community, saying: “This is where people have come to know Jesus and celebrate the Mysteries and profess our faith.”
“For 130 years, people have reflected here on their great patroness, Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” he said, and celebrated the “great fabric of diversity that the parish is.”
The diverse nature of the parish and its focus on outreach to the Bayshore area – often beset by hard economic circumstances and – as in the case of Superstorm Sandy – natural catastrophes, became apparent during the Presentation of the Gifts.
Representatives of parish ministries including the Knights of Columbus, the food pantry and community garden, the St. Jude Thrift Shop, youth groups, Altar-Rosary Society and religious education who all strove mightily to assist those affected by Sandy and still continue to help, brought up the gifts.
In comments after the Mass, Father Delzell – who was pastor for 26 years – pointed to the familial nature of the parish community as the key factor in always being ready to assist those in need.
“We were family – we all had the same idea – it was all for the honor and glory of God and under the special protection of Our Lady of Perpetual Help whom we love. …. I hope Our Lady of Perpetual Help continues the process of bringing more souls to Christ,” he said.
During the luncheon that followed, the notes sounded at the Mass were echoed around tables where generations shared remembrances.
Sister Dianna Higgins, a Franciscan Sister of the Infant Jesus, gave a brief presentation in which she spoke of how her vocation “started here as I encountered Christ, as I encountered the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of the Eucharist.”
“I came to the realization that if I wanted to live life to the fullest, I had to live a fully Christian life and for me, that meant living a life like Jesus lived.”
Meeting the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Infant Jesus who began serving the parish in 1978 was an inspiration, Sister Dianna said.
And Muriel Smith, devoted to the parish for 59 years, spoke of the open doors of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as an image that has stayed with her over the decades.
Smith, a reporter, who is collecting remembrances from fellow parishioners that she hopes publish in a keepsake book, reflected on sacramental milestones that occurred in her family’s life including as her own marriage there in 1955 as well as other family Baptisms, First Holy Communions, Confirmations and funerals.
Harkening back to the excerpt from the bishop's letter, Smith said. “The bishop referred to the Door of Faith and here in the Highlands, the doors of faith is always open. It isn't a building, it is the people. We are all a family and we have been for generations.”
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