140th dedication anniversary celebrated for newly renamed Proto-Cathedral of St. Peter
From the Greek word for “first” or “original”
SCROLL THE ARROWS to see more photos.
CLICK HERE to see a gallery of photos from this event.
Vibrantly hued sunlight, aromatic smoke and ethereal chants filled a thousand gothic arches, each pointing toward heaven.
Such it was 140 years to the day after the dedication and consecration of the newly renamed Proto-Cathedral of St. Peter in Jefferson City.
“Mindful that we are being built up by the Lord as a temple sacred to him, let us never forget who we are,” proclaimed Father Jeremy Secrist, pastor of St. Peter Parish. “Remember where the Lord has led us, and remember who the Lord is continuing to call us to be as his people.”
“Proto” is Greek for “first” or “original.” The new title recognizes that the church previously served as a cathedral for the diocese.
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight signed a resolution on Aug. 10, calling for the name change and instructing the chancellor of the diocese to update the name in official documents.
Completed and dedicated in 1883, St. Peter Proto-Cathedral served as the cathedral from the Jefferson City diocese’s founding in 1956 until the completion of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in 1968.
The anniversary of the dedication of a parish church is celebrated in that parish each year as a solemnity.
Fr. Secrist offered Mass for the solemnity at St. Peter the morning of Saturday, Aug. 12.
Concelebrating the Mass were associate pastors, Father Brad Berhorst and Father Thomas Alber.
Rev. Mr. Christopher Hoffmann, Deacon Ric Telthorst and Deacon David Thompson assisted.
Seminarians served at the altar.
The St. Peter Schola, directed by Nicholas Liese and accompanied by organist Leslie Smith, led the singing.
In his homily, Fr. Secrist addressed an often-asked question: “Why do we as Catholics, if we are the Lord’s people, put so much emphasis on structures, on buildings?”
He referred to the reading from the First Book of Kings, in which King Solomon, standing before God’s altar in the newly built temple, recalls his father’s question: “Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?” (8:27)
“The answer is YES!” said Fr. Secrist. “Because Solomon, at the command of the Lord, has erected this temple in Jerusalem as that place of sacred encounter, wherein the Lord’s people, mindful of their need for God’s mercy, for his pardon, would come before the Lord, and God would make his dwelling among them.”
That, the priest noted, is the extraordinary claim and reality of the Judeo-Christian faith: “that God has sought to make his dwelling among us, and not only just in a particular place, but as we all know and believe, that God made his dwelling in the womb of our Blessed Mother, Mary — that he took on our human flesh and made his dwelling among us!”
That reality is not just spiritual or intellectual.
“It is incarnational, it is sacramental!” said Fr. Secrist.
It is the same bedrock truth that empowered St. Peter to profess to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
“And it is on that profession of faith that our faith has its firm foundation,” the priest said.
Fr. Secrist encouraged everyone, therefore, to look ahead, “mindful that anything we do, any effort or endeavor that we enter into in this life is not merely our own — that it is Christ who is meaning to build us up as his living stones, into a temple that is worthy of his dwelling.”
God’s dwelling
The third church for what was once the Capital City’s only parish was built in 1882, when Monsignor Otto Hoog was pastor, with substantial help from the Bender and Dulle families.
Msgr. Hoog offered the first Mass in the Church on Feb. 2, 1883.
Coadjutor Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan of St. Louis, who later became archbishop of Philadelphia, solemnly dedicated the church on Aug. 12, 1883.
Fr. Secrist called to mind the thousands of people over the past 14 decades who have been reborn in the Baptism in that same church, who have been fortified with the Sacrament of Confirmation there, united in the Sacrament of Marriage, and been restored, healed and forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Anointing.
He spoke of “the hundreds of thousands of times the Most Holy Eucharist has been offered here as the primary means by which the Lord Jesus continues to feed, nourish, sustain and fortify us, his people.”
He further noted that many priests were ordained in the sanctuary during the dozen years of the church’s service as a cathedral.
“The Sacraments of the Church,” he emphasized, “are the Lord’s answer to the question of King Solomon: ‘Is it possible that God can dwell on earth?’”
“And our faith-filled answer to that question must always be, ‘Absolutely!’” he said.
Lasting significance
Candles mounted to the outside walls, signifying that the walls had been consecrated with Sacred Chrism, flickered through the anniversary Mass.
The priests prayed the Eucharistic Prayer at the early-20th-century high altar, facing the same direction as the people.
In the Aug. 10 resolution, Bishop McKnight noted that Fr. Secrist and the parishioners “have been most dedicated to keeping this house of God both beautiful and worthy of its sacred nature while holding true to its significance to the downtown community.”
It all belongs to God, Fr. Secrist noted.
“As the Psalmist said, ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, in vain do the builders labor,’” he said. “The same is true in our lives of faith. The same is true in any parish, and the same is true for this Parish of St. Peter.”
“Bells and smells”
Over a celebratory brunch in the parish’s Msgr. Hoog Hall, Deacon Telthorst presented to Fr. Secrist a copy of the resolution introduced by state Rep. David Griffith in the Missouri House of Representatives, commemorating the 140th anniversary of the church dedication.
Guest speaker Patrick Murphy of St. Louis, author of Places to Pray: Holy Sites in Catholic Missouri (http://catholicmissourianonline.com/stories/author-leads-readers-to-holy-sites-throughout-missouri,4513), reflected on the sense of beauty Catholics are fond of bringing to their churches.
“Look around at the detail and the beauty and the craftsmanship that went into churches like this one,” he stated. “When that kind of thing is powered by faith, you can come up with some really beautiful things.”
A grandson of immigrants from Ireland, Mr. Murphy talked about the tremendous effort generations of Catholic immigrants have put forth in building things that reflect God’s glory and create a sense of belonging.
“They set out to let everybody know, ‘We’re capable of building things around beautiful ideas,” he said. “And also, along with that, ‘We’re here, baby! And we’re not goin’ anywhere!’”
The author spoke of how centuries-old techniques of art, stonework, carpentry and stained-glass design evolved and grew out of a need to be drawn into a prayerful state of mind and heart.
“We laughingly talk about ‘bells and smells,’” he said. “But there really is something to that — where it appeals to us as living, human beings, occupying and going places where you feel holiness, where you feel spiritual.”
He marveled at the abundance of Catholic culture and architecture within driving distance of the Capital City.
“I tell people all the time, ‘Go to Jefferson City, stay in Jefferson City, and plan around this book an itinerary, and see six or seven different churches,’” he said.
