St. Joseph's Passionist Monastery
History
Celebrations—Further Growth (continued)
When singling out certain celebrations, something must be said about the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the School Sisters of Notre Dame to teach in the parish. A solemn High Mass was offered on Sunday, November 3, 1940, to celebrate this event. Sister Corona, one of the three original Sisters who came in 1890, was present for the occasion.
As was remarked on that day, Sister Corona's presence was significant because that same dedicated spirit manifested by the original Sisters at St. Joseph's is still evident. The preacher on the occasion pointed out that the vitality of the monastery parish was due, in great measure, to the tremendous influence of the Sisters, which influence is seldom recognized or praised adequately.
Another great milestone in the history of the foundation, the Diamond Jubilee, was celebrated in November, 1943, with appropriate solemnity and festivities. The commemoration opened on Sunday, November 7th, with a Solemn Pontifical High Mass celebrated by Archbishop Curley. The Very Reverend Ignatius Smith, O.P., Dean of The Catholic University School of Philosophy and a renowned Dominican orator, delivered the sermon wherein he stated:
"For the past seventy-five years the Passionist Fathers and their loyal people in this Archdiocese have poured godliness into the arteries of this free and independent State of Maryland. For the past seventy-five years you of this parish have been a citadel of genuine civilization in which God has been supreme, in which real wisdom has been paramount, in which brotherly love and service have been sacred, in which hope has been sound and in which liberty has been genuine and safe. Godly men of the Passion have created a godly people in a crusade for civilization."
In the evening, Auxiliary Bishop John M. McNamara was the celebrant at Solemn Compline. Masses were offered on the next two mornings for the living and deceased benefactors of the parish, for the deceased Religious and laity, for those in the armed forces and for the living members of the parish.
The new church had opened with a temporary wooden Main Altar. There were no side altars or stained-glass windows, and the walls were painted a plain white. For the next twenty years the church was decorated piece by piece until it contained two side altars, six side chapels, shrines, statues and beautiful stained-glass windows. During this time the debt on the huge structure was reduced from $400,000 to $185,000.
A fund was then started in 1951 by the pastor, Father Adrian Poletti, to provide for the painting and final decorations of the church. The response was so overwhelming that a contract was soon let for the work to be completed by Easter Sunday of the next year.
The timing was perfect, for the newly decorated church was ready for the celebration of a major event in the history of the Order, the centenary of the establishment of the Passionists in the United States. This great occasion was commemorated on the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross, April 28, 1952. Archbishop Francis P. Keough was the celebrant of a Solemn Pontifical High Mass, and Bishop McNamara, now Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, preached the sermon. The Fathers hosted a banquet for the clergy and Religious of the Archdiocese followed in the evening by a Solemn Service of Rededication and Consecration of the Passionist Congregation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence J. Shehan presided and imparted a Papal Blessing.
However, the church was still incomplete, since the major element, the Main Altar, was not yet installed. Accordingly, a $50,000 Altar Fund drive was initiated. When the drive reached the half-way mark, the new altar, railing and pulpit, all of which had been made in Carrara, Italy, began the trip to Baltimore. The component parts were transported in seventy-seven cartons, and were assembled by stone masons and parish volunteers. The altar itself represented four months work of thirty men. Bishop McNamara presided at the consecration of the Main Altar on February 13, 1954, thus finally completing a truly magnificent house of worship.
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