By Sr. Natalie Sayde Salameh
Over the weekend of September 29 – October 1, the sisters had the great
privilege of participating in the Our Lady of Purgatory (OLOP) Church parish
centennial celebrations.
On Friday, September 29, Divine Liturgy was offered for the sisters at
the Mother of Light Convent by Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Eparchy of St.
Maron, Brooklyn, and Bishop Michel Aoun of the Eparchy of Jbeil, Lebanon, and
Fr. Fadi Rouhana, Administrator of OLOP. This was the first time in Maronite
Servant history that we hosted two bishops at the Convent. On Friday evening,
we attended “100 years of sights and sounds” hosted by the OLOP parish at the
historic New Bedford Whaling Museum. This multimedia presentation gave us a
beautiful snapshot of the history of the parish, including its trials, joys,
sorrows, and vocational fruits. In addition, all parishioners over the age of
75 were honored. This was followed by a social hour in the Observation Deck.
On Saturday, September 30, the sisters were blessed yet again with
Divine Liturgy at the Convent offered by the two bishops, Chorbishop Kaddo of
St. Anthony of the Desert, Fall River and Frs. Fadi and Herbert Nicholls, our chaplain.
We had in attendance other parishioners of OLOP. This was followed by breakfast
in our sunroom. At 12.30PM, the sisters were invited to attend lunch with the
bishops, Maronite and Latin Rite priests of the Diocese of Fall River, and a
number of parishioners at the OLOP Rectory. Following lunch, Bishop Gregory and
Sr. Therese Maria engaged the children of the parish with games, dance, and
song, and a Q & A. At 5PM, the sisters attended a special hour of adoration
at the parish with Exposition and Benediction, with the bishops and priests in
attendance, to ask God’s continued blessings on the parish for another 100
years. The evening concluded with the Grand Hafle Banquet of celebration at the
Venus de Milo Restaurant in Somerset.
On Sunday, October 1st, the Church was beaming and well attended as Bishop Gregory Mansour celebrated the Pontifical Liturgy of
Thanksgiving. Chorbishop Michael Thomas, Vicar General of the Eparchy, who was
born and raised in the OLOP parish, gave a beautiful homily on why the Church
was (and is) called Our Lady of Purgatory. The only Church in the world,
outside of France, to hold this name. Simply put, the Church was so called
because of our deep reverence for the Mother of God and our belief in her
intercessory power for the dead. Divine Liturgy was followed by a parish-wide
brunch at the Century House in Acushnet, where all were able to celebrate the
establishment of the Maronite faith in New Bedford for the last 100 years. May
God grant the parish another 100 years!