AMHERST — St. Brigid’s Catholic Church is marking the centennial of the opening of its church building Saturday, with a Mass being celebrated by Bishop William Byrne, followed by a reception that evening.
Coming exactly 100 years after the church was dedicated as St. Bridget’s by then Bishop Thomas M. O’Leary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Saturday’s events are part of a weeklong celebration that is continuing with a Eucharistic Adoration Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the 122 North Pleasant St. church.
Saturday’s mass is at 4:30 p.m. at the church, with the reception afterward at the Monsignor Lane Pastoral Center, 43 North Prospect St.
District 3 Councilor George Ryan told his colleagues at a recent Town Council meeting that, as part of the church’s centenary committee, he encourages them and the community to come out for the event.
“If you’ve never seen the inside of the church, it’s an opportunity to see it, and I think it’s a quite beautiful building, and it is 100 years old,” Ryan said.
In addition, the Town Council has issued a proclamation to mark the occasion, urging people to celebrate St. Brigid’s milestone, and noting the changing demographics of the faith community.
“While in 1925, the St. Brigid’s community was largely composed of Irish and other European immigrants, today it includes a vibrant Hispanic community and hosts every month an African Mass and potluck celebrating the African diaspora.”
The church’s administrator is the Rev. Valentine Nworah, a native of Nigeria who also oversees the Newman Center at the University of Massachusetts.
Coverage of the original dedication in 1925 called the church “beautiful and impressive” as a free adaptation of Italian Renaissance architecture.
The first Catholic to arrive in Amherst, John Slater, came in 1840. Born in Ireland in 1803, the first Mass was celebrated in his home, with priests only able to visit town three or four
times a year.
As the community grew, the first Catholic church, also on North Pleasant Street, was dedicated June 25, 1871 and remained the seat of worship until the new church opened on Sept. 27, 1925.
Also on Friday, from 6 to 8 p.m., will be the first centenary concert by the Singing Priests of the Diocese of Springfield, also at the Lane Center, with the second centenary concert to dedicate the church’s new organ Sunday at 4 p.m.