Neither the blazing sun, blowing dirt nor heavy winds deterred an estimated 875 Maricopans from joining Bishop Gerald Kicanas on Sunday in celebrating the first Mass on the site that will eventually house a new church and school for Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church.
Bishop Kicanas also blessed the ground, a 34-acre parcel just east of the Glennwilde Groves community, and encouraged continued support for the $2.5 million capital campaign underway to fund the church’s construction.
It was an emotional day for many in the standing-room-only crowd. “It brought tears to my eyes when I saw how many people were here,” said Pat Cásarez, chairman of the capital campaign. “(The Bishop) is backing us 200 percent. We brought the people, now we need the steeple, and he saw it first-hand.” Cásarez hopes to break ground in a few months assuming “people will open their hearts and their pocketbooks.”
“We thought it could not be filled up,” Jose Tirador said as he gazed at the 500 chairs he helped set up in the middle of the dirt lot. “Hopefully this will lead more parishioners to join the capital campaign.”
Our Lady of Grace’s pastor, Fr. Marcos Velasquez, referred to the event as “a great turnout and a great blessing.” The Bishop echoed that sentiment, saying “It was a fabulous celebration.”
Kicanas summed up the celebration when, after his silk skullcap blew off, he quipped “the Holy Spirit is blowing strong.”
Click below to view two video packages from the event.
Videos by Jack Jackson (top) and Scott Bartle; Aerial photo by Bob Newsom
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