Staff Writer
If St. Pius X Church in Loudonville is marking its 50th anniversary, why were parish children recently marching around in 1916 outfits?
The answer is that they were celebrating the community's beginnings as a mission church, which last from 1916 until 1951 when it became a full-fledged parish.
After starting out with fewer than 40 families, the small chapel near Menands and Osborne Roads blossomed into a full-grown, mature community of faith by 1951. In September of that year, Bishop Edmund F. Gibbons established St. Pius as an independent parish.
Event-filled
As they make plans to celebrate their golden anniversary as a parish this coming weekend, the members of St. Pius have already been marking the occasion in other ways.
"Last weekend, we kicked off our 50th anniversary with a mission chapel event," said Gayle Bouchard, who, along with Diane Forenzo, co-chairs the anniversary committee. "Our school children participated in this event, which included a trolley ride from Loudonville Elementary School on Osborne Road to the original mission chapel."
Students dressed in period clothes and provided information about the growth of the school since its beginnings in 1954. A makeshift altar and photos of important parish events over the past 50 years enlightened visitors about the growth of the tiny mission into a flourishing parish community.
Faithful community
Mrs. Bouchard said that to the committee that designed the anniversary events, it was very important to include everyone from the parish, and that meant students from the school, religious education classes and youth ministry programs.
"We consider St. Pius X a faith-filled community that is all-inclusive," she said. "This anniversary celebration includes everyone."
A special aspect of the celebration was the creation of a commemorative quilt, consisting of drawings made by children in both the grade school and the religious ed program. Each grade level was given a theme relating to parish history. Winners were chosen by a parish committee and computer-scanned onto blocks for the quilt.
"It's a beautiful way to commemorate our 50th anniversary," said Mrs. Bouchard.
Much to come
Events occurring this weekend include:
* A Sept. 21 dinner dance at Michael's Banquet House in Latham;
* a Sept. 22 "Sharing Our Blessings" Kid's Day (K-6th), which includes distribution of items to local shelters that parishioners collected all summer, such as food, clothing and toiletries;
* a Sept. 23 Mass celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, followed by a reception in the parish hall and a family picnic at the Shaker Road Firehouse off Old Niskayuna Road; and
* the reading of an anniversary prayer composed by 7th- and 8th-grade students from the school and religious ed program.
Joy amid sorrow
In view of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Rev. Michael Farano, pastor, told The Evangelist that the parish wanted to celebrate in such as way as to "keep in their consciousness those directly affected."
In order to integrate the two, he said that parishioners added special prayers for the victims and their families to their anniversary prayers at all daily and weekend services.
"We have been praying for a spirit of forgiveness," he said, adding that last Friday, the parish's weekly scheduled Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was integrated with President Bush's call for a national day of prayer.
"It was a wonderful way for our parish to pray for the victims and those involved in the recovery process," he said. "We continue to ask God to be compassionate to those who have in any way been affected by this national tragedy."