GASTONIA – March 3, the feast of St. Katherine Drexel, was a special day of celebration at St. Michael Church – honoring past and present benefactors to the parish.
More than 120 years earlier, the saint had donated $1,500 to the Benedictine monks of nearby Belmont Abbey to build the first parish church in Gastonia. The former heiress turned Catholic nun was famed for giving away her fortune to build schools and churches to serve African American and Native American communities. Fast forward to 2021, and the church receiving another gift: an anonymous donor contributed $17,000 to purchase a Divine Mercy image and create special niches to display it and the parish’s image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
During Mass on March 3, St. Michael’s pastor, Father Lucas Rossi, noted the generous support the parish has received over its long history.
St. Katherine Drexel “was always so generous,” he said. “She opened up the storehouse of her heart and shared the treasure of her life with others.”
Likewise, he continued, “Somebody at our parish, anonymously, has opened the treasure of his heart… to give a place of beauty and dignity for (the image of) Our Lady of Guadalupe… and for our own parish image of the Divine Mercy.”
The Divine Mercy image was blessed and placed in one of the two niches built on each side of the sanctuary, and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the other. Local artist Jacob Wolfe created the oak niches over the course of several months and finished the installation just moments before the Mass on March 3.
“This image is now going to have a permanent home in our church,” Father Rossi said. “All of this celebration and joy and this generosity we are experiencing as a parish family goes back to St. Katherine Drexel and her generosity and her love for Jesus to pour herself out constantly over her whole life, giving in generosity to the people of God, building up the Church especially for the Native American and African American people.”
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Pictured: Father Lucas Rossi and Deacon Tim Mueller spend a moment in prayer before the newly installed image of the Divine Mercy on March 3 at St. Michael Church in Gastonia. (SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald)