Our Church Dedication Anniversary: Celebrating Four Years of the Spiritual Home for Payne County

Each March brings an air of anticipation for Catholics in Payne County as we prepare for the anniversary of the dedication of St. Francis Xavier, our beautiful church. This year is no different as we remember that beautiful Sunday four years ago that our spiritual home was dedicated.

“It was a magical day,” Fr. O’Brien says. “Bishop Konderla was here along with Bishop Slattery, as well as a dozen priests including many former Stillwater pastors and OSU grads. The Mass began with the bishop knocking on the door of the church and then I, as pastor, let him in! Then he handed the architectural plans and literal keys to the building.”

During the course of that dedication Mass on March 11, 2018, Bishop Konderla blessed the church with holy water, dedicated the altar with sacred chrism as well as the walls, the Eucharist was celebrated for the first time, and at the end of the Mass, Bishop Konderla installed Fr. O’Brien as the Pastor. These significant actions during the dedication Mass remind us of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion.

The church was packed for this celebration, during which 13 priests and deacons assisted. In fact, there were so many people who wanted to be there that day, over 200 attendees witnessed the celebration via real-time video in the new parish hall, and two more Masses were offered so that as many people as possible could come to Mass on the dedication day. Attendees also enjoyed tours of the new church conducted by the newly formed Ambassador Ministry.

As we joyfully look forward to Friday, March 11, Fr. O’Brien invites all in the community to celebrate our fourth anniversary.

“Every year on March 11, we go all out,” Fr. O’Brien says. “We have a big Mass and a dinner afterward. We use the readings for the anniversary of a dedication of a church. One different thing to mark the occasion is we light the candles on the walls of the church because they can only be lit on the anniversary of the dedication.”

As Fr. O’Brien and Fr. Robert Duck anticipate March 11, they want to emphasize the importance of this celebration for our parish community.

“This is the spiritual home of Catholics in this part of Payne County,” Fr. O’Brien says. “Like a married couple would celebrate an anniversary or a priest would celebrate an anniversary, a parish ought to celebrate their dedication day. Even though it’s during Lent, it’s a Solemnity!”

Please join us on Friday, March 11, as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of the dedication of St. Francis Xavier. The Mass (bilingual) will begin at 5:30 p.m. All in our community are invited to celebrate this day with us.