It took two years and plenty of communal effort, but on June 30, St. Mary Parish in Norwich’s Greeneville neighborhood completed the restoration of its bell tower. The church is old, built in 1922, but the parish is much older, established in 1845. Although the tower restoration saved St. Mary’s from demolition and disappearance as a parish, it does not mean the parish can now rest. There is more work to be done: repair of the front façade, the preservation of its remarkable stained-glass windows, improved access for all, and a better heating system. However, the restored tower sets the tone for the parish’s future mission. The people of St. Mary’s must do what the tower does. Like the tower, the people must:
1. …be a visible sign to everyone in Greenville, a steady presence that is never “we are better than you”, and is always “we are at your service ”.
2. …be old and new at the same time. A new St. Mary’s is coming about, and it has the same mission as the old one. Originally the parish was at the service of the storm-tossed, huddled masses from Ireland, Italy, and Poland. Today’s refugees are from Haiti and the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, Peru and Ecuador. As then, so now, they come fleeing poverty and oppression.
3. …be a watchtower. Catholic canon law describes the mission of a parish as the pastoral care of every soul in its territory. The parish is not a private club. It is there to look out for every soul. The Master tells us to look at the people. He says in effect: “They belong to you because every one of them is me. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me”.
The people of St. Mary’s received lot's of help to complete this $2,000,000 restoration project, including grants from the CT Fund for Historic Preservation and an $800,000 budget allotment from the State of CT. Former parishioners, friends of St. Mary’s, and parishioners from neighboring parishes gave generous help. Remarkably, St. Mary’s parishioners themselves, probably the least financially advantaged group in the diocese, raised approximately $600,000 through pledging and fundraising. The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul kindly lent St. Mary’s $200,000 to complete the project. St. Mary’s parishioners are determined to repay this debt and to push on to the completion of their remarkable project. Something noteworthy is happening in the process, something more important than stones, wood or glass. St. Mary’s is becoming a new, richly varied, wonderfully eager, parish community housed in a church built by immigrants of past generations, rebuilt by immigrants of this generation, and encouraged by true friends who want our diocese to have parishes such as her.