When Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church at Mafolie, St. Thomas, celebrates its 25 years as a parish, it will honor five of its members for their contributions to the church and the community. They’ll receive their honors at a dinner to be held Oct. 6 at Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Beach Resort.
Paul and Clely Berry head the list.
“They’re very active in the church,” office manager Keya Chongasing said.
According to Chongasing, Richard Berry and John McDonald were selected because they’re both people who, when someone needs something, they’re always there.
“And John McDonald was on the finance committee,” Chongasing said.
Former Police Chief Rodney Querrard was picked because of his contributions to the community.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help has its roots in the French community that lives on the island’s north side, but today people come from all over the island to worship.
“It’s a diverse congregation,” Chongasing said.
While Our Lady of Perpetual Help is celebrating its 25 years as a parish, a church history shows it dates to 1924 when plans began to build a chapel on land donated by Joseph Sibilly. They wanted a chapel because the closest Catholic church was in Charlotte Amalie.
“It was a trek by foot or donkey,” Chongasing said.
The chapel was finished in 1926, and the chapel carried the name of an old chapel on Kongens Gade that was demolished because of its poor condition.
On April 25, 1926, the church was dedicated by the Rev. Joseph Murphy, the Rev. Joseph Quinland and the Rev. John Driscoll. Murphy delivered the homily at the first mass and the Rev. Jean Guillo delivered the homily in French because the majority of those at the mass had migrated from the French island of St. Barthelemy.
The first marriage took place on May 16, 1926, when Joseph N. LaPlace and Marie Natalie Berry wed.
An agreement between the local government and the Redemptorist priests who served the chapel led to the use of the church as a school. Arturo Watlington was the teacher. That arrangement ended when the local government built a school in the area.
Improvements continued to be made over the years. A stone wall around the church was added in 1965, the sanctuary walls were decorated with flowers in 1966 and a clubhouse added. A new pipe organ arrived in 1974, and over time, the schedule of masses grew with priests making the trip from other locations for them.
In 1987, the year the chapel became a parish with its own pastor, Our Lady of Perpetual Help received a complete facelift.
On Oct. 4, 1987, the Rev. George Franklin of St. Croix was installed as the first pastor. He was followed by the Rev. Simon Obeng of Ghana.
In 1995, Hurricane Marilyn wreaked havoc on the church. The stained glass windows blew out, and the tiles, the carpeting and pew legs were destroyed. The parish office was destroyed and the cemetery wall collapsed. At the same time, the pastor, the Rev. Ed Roden Lucero, was recalled to his parish in Texas. This left Our Lady of Perpetual Help without a pastor at a critical time.
In 1996, the Rev. Cecil Corneille was named administrator and later pastor. He was on hand, and with the help of parishioners, repairs were done.
Today, the Rev. Eduardo Ortiz-Santiago leads the flock as the church administrator.
Tickets to the dinner are available at the church office. Call 774-0885.
