Celebrating 125

DUNKIRK — Having a Catholic Church structure in the city dates back to 1896.

The Catholic community in Dunkirk reaches back even further.

This weekend, the current parishioners will commemorate both.

St. Mary Catholic Church has activities scheduled Saturday to celebrate 125 years since the church was constructed.

“I think it’s exciting,” said parishioner Loretta Wilson, whose family has been attending St. Mary for five generations. “I feel like we’re blessed because there are so many churches in Dunkirk that have closed or maybe had 10 people or less, and we’re still open.”

Saturday’s celebration will begin with a time for prayer followed by the regular 5 p.m. Mass. It will include some reflections on the history of the church and what it has meant to its parishioners and the community. Former priests and parishioners have been invited to attend.

Fr. Kevin Hurley plans to share thoughts from some of the priests who have preceded him at the parish.

He said it feels a bit unfair that he gets to celebrate the anniversary Mass after having spent only about a year at the parish, but that he’s thankful to be able to add to the long tradition.

“Hopefully the work that we’re doing now will build up for the future as well so we can hand on what we’ve received and pass it on to the next crew, so to speak,” said Hurley. “It’s a special thing.”

The origins of the church date back more than 150 years to when Lawrence Hayes, an immigrant from Tipperary, Ireland, moved to Dunkirk with his family. He established the city’s first Catholic community, and the first Mass in the boundary of the current parish — it covers the Dunkirk, Redkey and Albany areas — was held in the home of his son John Hayes in 1870.

St. Patrick of Redkey and St. Mary of Dunkirk became missions of the Portland parish in the late 1880s, with Masses continuing to be celebrated in the homes of parishioners.

As the parish continued to grow, the Todd Opera House was used for Sunday services while a fundraising effort was launched to build a church. That effort came to fruition in 1896 when a gothic-style church was constructed on land donated by Samuel Rook.

“I wish my father (Jim Grady) was here because he would really enjoy it,” said Sara (Grady) Kolodka, a third great-granddaughter of Lawrence Hayes and fourth great-granddaughter of Rook. “I know it would mean a lot to him.”

The original structure — it cost $6,000 — was 40 feet by 60 feet, constructed out of red brick and featuring two steeples. (The church was wired for electricity in 1904 and a three-quarter-ton bell was added in 1960.) It was consecrated by Bishop Joseph Rademacher of the Fort Wayne Diocese. Dunkirk’s first resident priest, Fr. W. S. Hogan, followed four years later.

The original church at 346 S. Broad St. stood until 1973, when it was replaced by the current building because of structural issues.

The stained glass windows, organ, stations of the cross and statues were transferred to the new church.

That building continues to serve the parish — it now numbers about 60 families — and the basement will play host to festivities following Mass on Saturday. There will be a meal featuring fried chicken and pulled pork, which for a chance will not be prepared by parishioners.

“If you are preparing the meal, then somebody has to miss Mass,” explained Wilson. “And nobody wanted to miss Mass.”

(She added that though the church was once on a list for potential closure, no such plans are currently in the works.)

Kolodka has put together a video about the history of the church that will play during the meal. It includes photos of the old church as well as photos of priests who have served there over the church’s 125-year history.

The event will mostly be about parishioners taking the opportunity to spend time with each other and share what their church has mean to them.

“We talked about having entertainment, but people just want to talk,” Wilson said.

While many current parishioners, like Wilson and Kolodka, have deep roots with the church — Connie Hartnagel noted that she’s been attending since her family moved to Dunkirk in 1950 — others are relatively new to the St. Marys Community. For Hurley and Ted Kolodka, who joined one of the families with the longest church lineage when he married Sara Grady, its the community aspect that stands out.

“I’m a relative newcomer,” said Kolodka. “It’s a sense of community, because everybody knows everybody. We’ve been to bigger churches … it’s like you don’t know anybody. But here, everybody is a community. And if there’s a problem, people will pitch in and help out.”

“For me, what makes this a very special place, is our people here,” said Hurley, who also serves Holy Family in Gas City and St. John the Evangelist in Hartford City. “They try to get involved in our community. … They try to contribute. … I like that aspect. The whole point of what we do here isn’t just to focus on what we do here and that’s it. This has to go and connect to something greater than ourselves.”

In addition to the celebration itself, the parish also has some items to commemorate the anniversary.

Christmas ornaments (a limited edition of 50) and window decals are available for parishioners to purchase.

But ultimately, Saturday’s celebration is not about the building, the meal or the memorabilia, but about the parishioners, present and past, and what St. Mary has meant to them.

“This is really about you and our community and all those who have come before us,” said Hurley at the close of Mass on Saturday. “So please take advantage of this great opportunity to gather this coming weekend.”