Our Lady’s Church at Medley’s Neck Celebrates 250 Years
Tuesday, August 18, 2014
WASHINGTON – Our Lady’s Church in Medley’s Neck celebrates its 250th anniversary this year. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington celebrated Mass for the parish on Sunday, August 16. During the Mass, the cardinal also installed Fr. John Nguyen as the parish’s pastor.
In his homily, Cardinal Wuerl reminded the parishioners gathered that 250 years was a rare anniversary, and that it was significant because it connects us to the origins of Catholicism in Maryland. He referenced the Ark and the Dove landing at Saint Clements Island where the first Catholic Mass in the English-speaking colonies was celebrated in 1634. The celebration today, the cardinal continued, reminds us that we are part of the Universal Catholic Church throughout the whole world. We celebrate our part of the spiritual gift that is the Church, our family, as we make our way through life, eventually to Heaven. Our spiritual history as a faith family, the cardinal said, begins with the coming of Jesus and we accept Jesus, his Gospel, his teaching and follow him in the hope of someday joining him forever in the glory of his heavenly Father.
The cardinal referenced Pope Benedict XVI’s 2005 encyclical, God is Love (Deus caritas est) where the
description of the ancient Church found in the Acts of the Apostles was used to describe Church life today where we pray, hear the teaching of the Apostles, build community and to join in the breaking of the bread, the Eucharist, said the Cardinal.
The Cardinal reminded those present that what they were seeing in their parish was something that could be seen throughout the archdiocese and the whole Universal Church. “We are God’s people. We come together to be formed by God’s Word. We come together to be nourished by the sacraments most particularly the Eucharist. And we come together so that out of God’s love for us and our love for God and one another we can care for the needs of one another.”
In offering this praise for the accomplishments of the parish, Cardinal Wuerl concluded his homily by urging the parish community to celebrate the present moment and to ask for blessings for the future full of faith.
Our Lady’s Church at Medley’s Neck was established in 1765; today the parish is home to about 400 families. For history of the parish, please visit https://www.ourladyschurch.org/.
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The Archdiocese of Washington is home to over 620,000 Catholics, 139 parishes and 95 Catholic schools, located in Washington, D.C., and five Maryland counties: Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s.