St. Malachy in Madrid celebrates renovation of Hansen Hall

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
April 5, 2007

MADRID - Bishop R. Walker Nickless was on hand March 31 for the blessing and rededication of the parish hall at St. Malachy Parish in Madrid.

"After much work and prayer by so many members of St. Malachy's Parish family, we gather now to bless and rededicate Hansen Hall and Catechetical Center. It will continue to be a center for parish activities and a place where you may come to know one another and give witness to faith in Christ," said the bishop.

About 200 parishioners attended the blessing in the parish hall following 4 p.m. Mass, which celebrated Palm Sunday.

Father Brian Danner, pastor, read Scripture from words of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians.

Bishop Nickless prayed, "We ask you now to bless us and all who will use this parish hall and catechetical center. May all who come here know the presence of Christ, experience the joy of his friendship, and grow in his love."

Both the bishop and pastor pointed out that by coincidence when the building was originally dedicated back in the year it was built - 1961 - it was blessed by Bishop Joseph Mueller on Palm Sunday. Called Hansen Hall, the building had been named after Father Carl Hansen, who was pastor when the facility was built. Initially it served as both the church and parish hall.

Bishop Nickless was also the principal celebrant at the liturgy held prior to the dedication service and Father Danner concelebrated. The bishop was the homilist.

During his sermon he mentioned that in the meditation offered in the booklet Living Faith for that day, a first grade teacher told her students that if they attended Mass on Palm Sunday they would receive a Palm branch. In the story, one little girl raised her hand and asked if they were free.

"All of us like to get things that are free and as Catholics - as part of the liturgy and part of our prayer - there are times when we do get things that are free," said Bishop Nickless.

He mentioned the smudged ashes on their foreheads that they received on Ash Wednesday and the palm branches that they received that day at Mass.

"We may get them free, but ashes and palms are really symbols that show us how much it costs to be a Christian. The ashes we received at the beginning of Lent and for the beginning our Lenten preparation for Easter have the significance of telling us about penance, prayer and concern about the poor and the needy," noted the bishop.

He told them that the day had two names: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. The palms serve as a joyful reminder of what Christ did for his people. The passion, as told in the Gospel, is a reminder of the price of salvation.

After Mass, the bishop led a procession to the parish hall. Parishioners enjoyed a meal following the blessing of the building.

Later in the evening, Father Danner offered some comments.

The priest extended gratitude to God, all of the parishioners for their support of the project, and to the many people who were involved in the planning and execution of both the capital campaign and the renovation project. Among those he thanked were the co-chairs of the campaign: Barry and Judi Wills and Ryan and Tami Santi.

Father Danner said, "Pledging over $150,000 was something I knew you could do, but to exceed the goal by $15,000 and to take in over $91,000 in less than six months is no ordinary feat. I stand before you this evening as a very proud pastor."

He said this was one of the biggest parish projects in more than 20 years.

The parish's DRE and youth minister offered some comments and a PowerPoint presentation was shown via the hall's new multi-media projector and screen.

"The Italian contractors who built the building were brothers, the Milani Brothers. They are deceased now, but I worked there part-time carrying block when they were building the building," noted John Wade, a parishioner at St. Malachy since 1960.

He is impressed with the renovation and likes the fact that it looks more like the original design with the domed ceiling and beams as opposed to a dropped ceiling.

With the dropped ceiling, it covered windows that brought in natural light. So in addition to brightness added by fresh paint, the windows add a great deal to the atmosphere.

Parishioner Elsie Kinney, agreed that the new ceiling was a huge improvement.

"It's back to its original shape and that's what I like," she said.

Elsie and her husband Francis, hope that the building will be used for various events in the community as it is the biggest meeting place in Madrid outside of the school gymnasium. They have been members of the parish since 1948.

Along with the new ceiling, windows and multi-media equipment, the hall sports new cupboards, acoustical insulation, new lights, doors, paint and more. Renovation of first-floor classrooms was also part of the project.