Blessed Sacrament Parish celebrates 100 years with major celebration and three bishops
By DIANE SCHLINDWEIN
Managing Editor
One hundred years ago, the people who would become founding members of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield stood in their own field of dreams, gathering together to ask God for a bright future. It was on Sept. 14, 1924, that they participated in the first “field” Mass in that scrubby, often muddy six-acre oat field that sat on Laurel between Walnut and Glenwood Streets.
Thousands of people were reportedly in attendance and came from all over the city. Those who lived in the immediate area were most likely imagining what it would be like to have a new parish school that would welcome their children — and eventually a magnificent church that would be one of the city’s most beautiful places of worship. It took a few years, but those dreams came true.
Bishop James A. Griffin and then-Father Michael A. Tarrent celebrated that first “parish” Mass. Right away, Father Tarrent began taking up his own census — personally meeting with the 250 families and 300 children in the area. Father Tarrent took care of his people — and the people of the parish took care of their pastor. A group of men, dubbed “Friends of Father Tarrent” pooled their resources and bought him the house at 1629 Holmes Ave. The women of the parish got together to furnish the house, making it as comfortable as they could. Msgr. Tarrent lived in that home until his death in 1957.
A strong Catholic education was on Father Tarrent’s mind as he made plans for his parish. Building the school should take precedence, while the people did, obviously, need a place to worship. So, Father Tarrent ordered a temporary sectional building that was erected on the south corner of Holmes and Laurel.
Parishioners remembered attending Mass in what they called “the little brown church” or “the little cardboard church” while the school was being built and then welcomed its first students at the beginning of the school year in 1925. They were taught by the Ursulines. The cost of building the school was $100,000, which today would equal $1.8 million.
When the last payment of the school debt was paid, now-Msgr. Tarrent (he received the honor in 1927) announced plans for the new church. Fundraising began on Oct. 28, 1928. A team of 72 men began calling on their neighbors to raise another $350,000, about $6.6 million today. Every donor received a souvenir rendering of the future church, with an inscription reading: “I have done my share.”
The ground-breaking for the church took place on March 13, 1929. A few months later the stock market crashed, and the country experienced the Great Depression. Although the scale of the church had to be altered, because fewer funds were available, the still- magnificent Gothic church was constructed on that ground where the first field Mass had been held just a few years before. The Memorial Church of the Blessed Sacrament was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1930.
In a 1981 edition of Time and Eternity (now Catholic Times), the late Father Hugh Cassidy, long-time pastor of Blessed Sacrament, noted, “We must remember that this (building) was done at the time of the Great Depression, with people out of work, and without food or the necessities of life.”
Over the years, the school was added onto to accommodate the growing number of students. In 1963, the inside of the church was re-painted. The sanctuary was renovated in 1974 for the parish’s 50th anniversary.
In 2005, the church underwent a seven-month long restoration project — begun under the direction of then-Msgr. (now Bishop) Kevin Vann and then assumed by then-Father (now Msgr.) David Hoefler — to celebrate the 75years that had passed since the church was built. That included painting the entire interior of the church, adding a new Italian marble altar, adding restrooms, replacing flooring, updating the heating system, refinishing pews, cleaning the stained-glass windows and statuary, moving and adding onto the baptismal font, and making the altar and church more accessible to people with disabilities. It was said that there was not a single inch of the inside of the entire church that hadn’t been cleaned or restored. On a rainy, chilly Nov. 27, 2005, the church was reopened with audible gasps of awe as parishioners returned to their beloved place of worship.
Just this year, Blessed Sacrament parishioners (under the direction of now-pastor emeritus Father Jeff Grant) answered the call to do further updates in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the parish. The slate and copper on the original roof were replaced, some of the limestone was replaced or re-tuckpointed, the stained-glass windows were restored, the front of the church was cleaned, the doors were refinished, and the outside lighting was updated. “In other words, we have given the church a facelift,” said Father Grant.
In a recent bulletin, Father Michael Friedel, who joined Blessed Sacrament as pastor in August, wrote, “Those first families of Blessed Sacrament must have been so proud to offer what was, quite literally, their livelihood to the parish which still stands today as a testament to their faith in Jesus, in the Church, and in the Eucharist. Since those days thousands have dedicated their livelihoods in a myriad of ways to maintain our parish for the past century, not in merely financial ways, but through they many and varied offerings of time, talent, and treasure.”
Centennial Celebration Mass marks great beginnings
On Sept. 14, 2024, Blessed Sacrament Parish kicked off its Centennial Celebration with a Saturday Vigil Mass celebrated by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, with two other bishops who had a history with Blessed Sacrament concelebrating — Bishop Kevin W. Vann, Bishop of Orange (in California) and Bishop Carl Kemme, Bishop of Wichita (in Kansas). Concelebrating priests included pastor Father Michael Friedel, pastor emeritus Father Jeff Grant, parochial vicar Father Callistus Osiaga, as well as other priests who have served at Blessed Sacrament: Msgr. David Hoefler, Father Richard Chiola, and Father Paul Lesupati, who was seminarian while at the parish. Moreover, Father Augustine Puchner, O.Praem., of the Corpus Christi Priory, Father Brian Alford, and Father David Moreno of the Diocese of Orange concelebrated. Father Dominic Rankin was the master of ceremonies. Deacon Tom Burns and Deacon David Erdmann served as deacons.
In his homily, Bishop Vann remembered his childhood growing up at Blessed Sacrament, as well as the three times that he served in the parish: in 1983, while he was still doing his graduate studies, from 1985 to 1990 as parochial vicar, and from 2001 to 2005 as pastor. He said a centennial celebration is more than a celebration of brick and mortar, but a celebration of the countless souls who have passed through the doors, finding their way to Christ.
After Mass, the bishops and priests greeted hundreds of worshippers, and then the people moved to the parish parking lot for a Garden Party celebration. There will be other events during the centennial year, including the Pastor’s Appreciation Party, a Centennial Christmas, as well as some art, historical, and cultural events.
Three former Blessed Sacrament priests speak out
Dozens of men have served as priests at Blessed Sacrament Parish since the early days of Msgr. Michael A. Tarrent. Here’s what three of those men had to say about their memories of the 100-year-old parish.
Long before Bishop Kevin Vann was Bishop of Orange, before he was a priest who served at that parish several times, and while he was still a boy, Blessed Sacrament was important to him. “My parents were married in this church,” he said. “Les, Dennis, and I received the sacraments in this sacred place. This is where my faith was nourished, where my vocation took root.”
Bishop Carl Kemme, Bishop of Orange, was in the beginning of his priesthood when he came to Blessed Sacrament. “My two years (1990-1992) at Blessed Sacrament Parish as a parochial vicar were very enjoyable. Working with Father (Hugh) Cassidy and Father Chester (Fabisiak, SJ) was a great blessing,” he said. “I have many fond memories of them and the good people of the parish, who played a great part in my formation as a young priest, then as a pastor and vicar general, and now as a bishop. I thank Blessed Sacrament for being a big part of my journey. May God bless the parish during its 100th anniversary celebration, and beyond.”
Finally, Msgr. David Hoefler, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, noted: “I found it a great blessing and privilege to be assigned to Blessed Sacrament, and especially to be able to continue there as pastor. Being my first assignment as a priest, it has always been my ‘first love’ in the priesthood. The people of the parish are always in my daily prayers, and I relish the memories of being there. I also owe the parish a debt of gratitude for all it has done for me. I am eternally grateful.”
