Spotlight: Our Lady of Grace church dedication (video)

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church Construction and Design Committee Chairman Ken Lepper came by our InMaricopa studio to discuss the upcoming dedication of the parish’s new building and the process that went into making the dream of the new church a reality.

For nearly a decade, Our Lady of Grace has been raising funds to build a church that could house their continually growing congregation. However, after the economic downturn in 2008, the project’s future was at a standstill.

“About seven or eight years ago, a number of people at the parish came up with this vision,” Lepper said. “This was when [the housing market] was going boom, and then of course everything went bust. Our ability to raise funding to build this development we had in mind was put on hold.”

After purchasing 38 acres in the middle of Maricopa, the parish was finally able to break ground in March 2015. Over the past year, the new building has been constructed at 18700 S. St. Gabriel Way near Adams Way and White and Parker Road.

See the construction of the church

The new church is only part of Our Lady of Grace’s plan for the property, though.

“We have 38 acres out there, which providentially came into our possession at a very reasonable price due to the bust,” Lepper said. “The central part of [the acreage] will be the church, and the church property. Around it we will build, over the next eight to ten years, a ‘walkable modern neighborhood’ to mix retail and residential.”

The church’s dedication will take place during a special mass on Saturday, Feb. 13, at noon. Regular masses will begin the following day.