January 1984 Print

A Minor Miracle

Text by Phyllis Graham
Photos by Keith Forrest and Frank Martin

A picture story account of Archbishop Lefebvre's visit to New York and of the weekend activities of November 5 and 6, 1983, which opened a new chapel of the Society of St. Pius X, in Farmingville, New York—St. Michael Archangel Roman Catholic Chapel. It constitutes the first time traditional Catholics have been able to attend Sunday Mass in their own church building, although the Society has been established in the area for over ten years!

Final touches to the sanctuary mark the end of six weeks of frenetic preparations. With some help from the seminarians, a handful of the laity toiled every day, pushing harder as November 5th drew near; occasionally there were short tempers and cross words as Satan did his work (contrite confessions, as St. Michael did his!), but the ultimate goal of a suitable house for the Holy Sacrifice kept the project going. Archbishop Lefebvre called the swift transformation "a minor miracle." It was! Started with little help and no money, God's hand in it was recognizable from the first: an unimpeded purchase with easy terms, good will from local residents, donations from businessmen, co-operation from municipal authorities, encouragements from unexpected quarters and, at this writing, a congregation increased from 50 to 130 in a month's time!

Father Franz Schmidberger, new Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, blesses the new church, sprinkling holy water on all sides of the building. A church bell was donated and is rung to call the faithful to Mass on Sundays. A teenage boy told a parishioner, "Hey! I can hear that bell from where we are—it sounds SO NICE!"

Simple lines of the unpretentious masonry structure, set peacefully apart amidst groves of woods, give St. Michael's an air of serenity despite busy traffic along Horseblock Road and two major highways which intersect nearby. Large glass-block windows flood the interior, magnifying the sunlight from east and west while affording total privacy. Inside, the walls, floor and ceiling are unremarkable, but the beautiful sanctuary is arresting: flanked by two larger-than-lifesize images of Joseph and Mary, the high altar sits on a footpace well above the floor, suffused in the carpet and drape's brilliant red which fairly throbs with the heartbeat of the Divine Presence. Father Williamson, North-East Superior, calls it "a prayerful church."

Kneeling before the as yet unoccupied tabernacle, Fr. Schmidberger petitions God to bless the new chapel. Seen as a privileged gift from God, St. Michael's came about through several intrumentalities: the perseverance of a woman who strove thirty years to bring a Catholic Church to Farmingville, the refusal of a Mass Co-ordinator to stay in a rented hall, the forceful recommendation of an otherwise mild-mannered lawyer, the tranquil trust in Divine Providence of a much-burdened priest.

"... mea culpa, mea culpa ..." Bowed in the humbling self-accusation of the Confiteor, oblivious to the photographer, a man strikes his breast. Some present were from other Society chapels of the North-East, others were local residents and Long Islanders.

 

Members of the congregation followed the Mass and listened to the sermons with rapt attention. The entire weekend proceeded smoothly, the protagonists all working harmoniously. Despite the 400 or so men, women, and children present, there were moments during the sacred ceremonies when "you could have heard a pin drop."

One could pick out those who had not been to a traditional Latin Mass for years. Some were noticed to weep openly as the nearly-forgotten pageantry of the traditional services unfolded. The local bishop had sent a derogatory statement regarding the new chapel to all neighboring churches prior to the opening date—it served to publicize the event, bringing disenchanted Catholics from four diocesan parishes. Most of them were interested in catechism classes for their children!

 

        

Postured for solemn invocation, with Fr. Williamson and Fr. Schmidberger attending alongside, Archbishop Lefebvre calls down the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord. The Catechism of Trent admonishes: "he who contumeliously and not from necessity, but voluntarily neglects to receive this Sacrament, cannot possibly become a perfect Christian." Catholics drove hundreds of miles from neighboring states to have the Archbishop confirm their children.

      

Sixty-four boys and girls received Confirmation and thereby the grace to defend their Faith against the "attacks of the world, the flesh and the devil." There had been no time for rehearsal, but all went smoothly at the hands of the seminarians of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary. After the Confirmations and a Low Mass, there was a short intermission for refreshments. Sandwiches, hot dogs, donuts and coffee were made available in the chapel's hospitality room, where people mingled easily, taking photographs and conversing with the Archbishop, the priests and the seminarians.

Speaking in French, Archbishop Lefebvre delivers a State-of-the-Society message, which Fr. Williamson rapidly translates into English. The Archbishop reported the situation in Rome to be still "very grave, "adding that "it is not one single bishop like myself who can set the whole situation straight in the Catholic Church. "Answering recent charges, he confirmed, "We have made no compromise with Rome ... I have now been going for six or seven years to Rome ... simply asking for the return to Tradition." He urged the faithful of the North-East to attend Mass in the chapels of the Society so that they may keep their "absolutely indispensable" bond with Rome to remain Catholic.

After all-night exposition of the Blessed Sacrament the Ordination Ceremony begins on Sunday morning. Standing before the Bishop, eight young men hear him say the awesome words: "Consider attentively, again and again, to what a burden you, of your own accord, this day aspire ... if you receive this Order, you will no longer be at liberty to recede from your resolution ..."

All eight prostrate on the sanctuary floor, ready to take the early steps in Major Orders, while the choir and congregation take up the Bishop's chanting of the Litany of Saints.

Reverently accompanied by Fr. Pierre Delaplace, a professor at the Seminary, Holy Communion is distributed by the beloved Archbishop who has served God for over fifty years—as a missionary, seminary professor, Apostolic Delegate, Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, largest of all missionary congregations—a far cry from lay men and women ministers!

Contrasting vividly with the crimson of the sanctuary, the golden brocade vestments serve to dramatize the ethereal beauty of the Holy Sacrifice. Clouds of incense filled the spacious sanctuary and waves of Gregorian Chant by the Seminary choir punctuated the solemn proceedings. Archbishop Lefebvre offered the Pontifical High Mass for servicemen who had recently been killed in Beirut and Grenada, naming in particular a young Farmingville 3rd Corpsman whose uniformed body that day lay in a local funeral home.

Fr. Schmidberger's sermon at the Mass of Ordination likens the building of a church to the ladder of Jacob, by which man's petitions are brought up to God and God's favors brought down to man. He stressed the importance of the subdiaconate, adding that even if one were not to go on to the priesthood, the ordination to the subdiaconate was in itself of immense value for the individual. Father Williamson, fluent in five languages, stands by to help the German-speaking priest with an occasional English word.

      

After the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, parishioners on either side genuflect respectfully as Archbishop Lefebvre slowly files down the middle aisle, blessing the people. Immediately behind him is Fr. Hector L. Bolduc, South-West Superior, joining his voice energetically to that of the congregation in the hymn, "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name." Next to him is Fr. P.M. Hannifin, who had travelled from Kentucky to attend the functions. Fr. Hannifin commented afterwards that the sacred ceremonies had been "out of this world, "and that they had taken him back thirty years. "I haven't experienced anything so beautiful in decades!" he said. And (below), the mild weather allowed for picture taking. The fully vested, new-ordained clerics smile broadly as they pose around the beaming Archbishop. Four were ordained deacons: Daniel Ahern of Halifax, Novia Scotia; John Hogan of Fenton, Michigan; Denis McMahon of Wappingers Falls, New York; and Thomas Mroczka of Delano, Pennsylvania. The four sub-deacons were: Gregory Foley of Walnut Creek, California; Loren Gerspacher of Langley, British Columbia; George Lemay of Woonsocket, Rhode Island; John Rizzo of South Weymouth, Massachusetts.

At St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Ridgefield, Connecticut, a dinner reception was held for the newly-ordained with their families and special guests late Sunday afternoon. The full-course meal of cream of asparagus soup, chicken cordon bleu with various accompaniments, plus a French pastry for dessert, was planned and prepared by the Seminary's regular cook, Mrs. Emely Johnston, and served impeccably by the seminarians.