WALTON, KY
8-10-2011
On Saturday, July 16, the newly-constructed church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Walton, KY (Cincinnati, OH) was consecrated by Bishop Bernard Fellay. This profound supernatural act dedicated (set apart) this building for divine worship making it a temple of God and thereby one of the most sacred places on earth.
The consecration of a church differs significantly from a solemn blessing (also called a dedication—as the building is dedicated to sacred use), even though both rites are performed by a bishop. To be consecrated, a church must be built of permanent materials such as stone or solid concrete, be free of any property debt, and possess an immovable altar of stone. In consecrating the church and its altar, various special rites are also performed, which are not done when simply blessing a church which we briefly explain below.
Starting on Friday, July 15, various preparatory rites were done the night before, including:
the blessing of the special holy water used for the consecration of a church and altars, called "Gregorian Water" (a mixture of water with blessed salt, ashes, wine)
blessing of the items that will be used in the church and at the altars such as the crucifixes, candlesticks and altar linens
blessing of the incense that will be burned on the altars during their consecration
preparation of the relics that will be entombed into the altars' sepulchers; at this time the relics were placed into small metal boxes along with three grains of incense and a parchment of testimony—the boxes were then tied shut with a ribbon and fastened with sealing wax [click here for details from a previous ceremony]
After duly preparing the relics, they were solemnly carried in procession to an outdoor altar where an all-night vigil of veneration was held.
During the vigil, the altar servers of the parish's chapter of the Archconfraternity of St. Stephen took turns watching and praying through the night, befittingly concluded with the singing of Matins by the attending clergy.
In addition to Bishop Fellay and the pastor, Fr. Adam Purdy, the clergy present at this profoundly supernatural event were Frs. Arnaud Rostand (District Superior), Joseph Dreher (District Secretary), Thomas Asher (seminary Vice-Rector), Christopher Danel (from Atlanta, GA), Dominique Bourmaud (from Kansas City, MO), Joseph Horvath and Patrick Mackin (both stationed at the Walton, KY priory).
Some of these clerics also had liturgical roles during the ceremonies:
Fr. Rostand cleansed the anointings on the walls and altars after their consecration, then acted as the assistant priest for the subsequent Pontifical Mass
Frs. Asher and Dreher were the deacons who carried the relics in procession, then acted as the assistant deacons at the throne during the Mass
Fr. Danel was the deacon and Fr. Mackin was the subdeacon for the ceremonies and Mass
Fr. Bourmaud was the deacon who guarded the front doors (from inside the church) before the church's exterior was completely blessed
Fr. Purdy was the master of ceremonies
Also in attendance were about 250 faithful, some from far away states such as Missouri.
The ceremonies began outside in the morning at 8 o'clock. When the bishop was vested in cope and stole, a procession was made to the outdoor altar. After an initial prayer all went to the front porch of the church and faced its entrance; there the bishop proceeded to bless with Gregorian water the church's exterior walls.
The bishop then knocked on the front doors of the church with his crozier and asked the deacon guard to open the doors: "Lift up the gates, ye princes, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in." To which the deacon asked: "Who is this King of Glory?" and the bishop replied "The Lord of Armies, He is the King of Glory." The doors were opened by the diaconate guard, but before entering the church, the bishop traced a cross upon the threshold saying "Behold the sign of the Cross: let all phantasms flee from it".
Then the bishop, ministers and faithful entered the church and knelt while the Litany of Saints was chanted in preparation for blessing the interior. The walls were then sprinkled with Gregorian water followed by the floor in the shape of a cross. Afterwards the altars were cleansed by sprinkling them and signing with Gregorian water the five crosses engraved in each mensa (table).
Next the dedication (dedicatio) and possession (possessio) of the church took place, with the bishop tracing the Latin and Greek alphabets in the center of the nave in the shape of St. Andrew's cross (a large X).
After the bishop sung a preface that dedicated the church under the patronage of Our Lady of the Assumption, the second part of the ceremony took place with the deposition of the relics.
All recessed to the outdoor altar, where two deacons in red dalmatics (in honor of the martyrs they were bearing, as there must be at least one for each altar) solemnly bore the relics into the church. After the bishop blessed the altars' sepulchers with Gregorian water and anointed them with chrism—he deposited the saints into the altars, sealing the sepulchers with a blessed stone cover and cement.
The bishop continued the consecration of the church by anointing the walls, then the portal of the main doors and finally the altars with chrism. The consecration of the altars were dramatically concluded by burning incense into the five engraved crosses on each of the mensas.
The consecration ceremonies lasted over two hours, then the high altar was prepared for a Solemn Pontifical Mass.
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The night before the consecration of the church, the relics to be inserted into the altars are borne in procession to an outdoor altar for an all-night vigil of veneration
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The credence prepared for making the special Gregorian water and consecrating the altars. Also seen are the relics in their teccas and the small metal boxes that they will be enclosed within
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Bishop Fellay while making the Gregorian water; Fr. Purdy, holds the book
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The ceremony on Saturday morning begins at the front porch of the church...
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...then the exterior walls are blessed with Gregorian water
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A long view of the church and other building that makes up the parish plant
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Having entered the church, all kneel while the Litany of the Saints is chanted before the interior is blessed
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An up-close view of the beautiful marble bas relief (depicting Our Lady's Assumption) and statues on the altar reredos
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A partial view of the attending faithful
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A large St. Andrew's X-shaped cross of ashes was placed on the nave's floor, into which the bishop traced the characters of the Latin and Greek alphabet, symbolizing the eternity of Christ as Α and Ω
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Anointing one of the
12 consecration crosses
with holy oil |
Placing the lighted candle
for the consecration cross |
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