Church renovations bring together elements of three former parishes

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

BLACKSTONE – Catholics who struggled through a merger found special reason to rejoice, when Bishop McManus blessed sanctuary renovations at their church – renovations which bring together elements of all three former parishes.  

On Sunday, the bishop blessed new shrines and paintings at Divine Mercy Parish, which was formed in 2022 from the merger of St. Paul and St. Theresa parishes in Blackstone and St. Augustine Parish in Millville. Father John L. Larochelle was appointed pastor.  

The new parish uses St. Paul’s campus, and has incorporated elements of the other churches, including a statue of St. Thérèse of Lisieux from St. TTo the side of the altar is a statue from St. Theresa Parish in Blackstone that merged with St. Paul Parish in Blackstone and St. Augustine Parish in Millville to form Divine Mercy Parish. Above is St. Thérèse with a mural of her parents, Sts. Zelie and Louis Martin

heresa’s and a statue of St. Augustine from St. Augustine’s. Behind those statues, on either side of the altar, are murals of people influential in the saints’ lives – St. Thérèse’s parents, Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, and St. Monica (St. Augustine’s mother) and St. Ambrose.  A new cross with a corpus from St. Paul’s hangs above the altar, and paintings of the Apostle Paul are to be painted on side walls.  

Behind and above the altar are paintings of God the Father and the Holy Spirit surrounded by angels, and Jesus as King of Divine Mercy, flanked by St. Faustina Kowalska and St. John Paul II. St. Faustina received Divine Mercy messages from Jesus. St. John Paul canonized her and established Divine Mercy Sunday for the whole Church.

Father Larochelle preached about the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, as a time of rejoicing.

“We gaze upon this beautiful artwork,” images that can instill hope, peace and joy, he said, reflecting on meanings of the three candles lit on the Advent wreath. “When we see the beauty, it leads us to the good, and then … to what is true.”  

Bishop McManus mentioned the upcoming universal and Worcester diocesan jubilee years and his surprise that Divine Mercy Parish’s renovations were completed – and paid for – so quickly.  Father Larochelle told The Catholic Free Press that the project, which started this year, cost about $350,000, half funded by parish savings, half by a capital campaign.

“I’m just so happy, not just that the artwork is finished, but this really marks the coming together as three parishes,” he said. “Now we’re moving forward together as one, as Divine Mercy. I have seen a change in … worship at Mass – more devout, more purposeful … I really To the other side of the altar is a statue from St. Augustine Parish in Millville that merged with St. Paul Parish and St. Augustine Theresa Parishes in Blackstone to form Divine Mercy Parish. Above is St. Augustine with a mural of his mother – 
St. Monica – and St. Ambrose.
think this is all the work of the Holy Spirit … helping people to move towards relationship with Christ. The artwork helps with that.”

Toni Harvey, pastoral associate, who was religious education coordinator at St. Theresa’s, said her favorite artwork is the Holy Trinity and angels.

“They’re right there, so I’m having conversations with them while I’m in the pews,” she explained. Parishioners have shed tears because “it’s so moving.”

She raved about how the parishes have come together.

Incorporating statues from St. Theresa’s and St. Augustine’s “brought everybody together,” she said. “We all aren’t hanging on to the past, but we’re so glad with what we could bring with us. … It has actually helped build the new community. We’re not divided. … It brings us joy to know what we came from and what we turned into.” Parishioners “care about each other, not just on Sundays,” she said. “Christ is alive. We’re answering his call.”

She said the artists are making drawings for the murals of St. Paul and are to start painting them after the holidays.  

Father Larochelle spoke of his vision to include the three patrons and Divine Mercy devotions, which all three parishes were using. He said he worked with Rolf Rohn, of Rohn & Associates Design, in Montague, and the other artists, to design the artwork.  

Mr. Rohn said his sister Renate Rohn was the main artist.

John Folley, owner of Folliday LLC and a member of Annunciation Parish in Gardner, who often worships with The Sisters of St. Benedict Center, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Still River, said he did background painting with the other background painter, Geoffrey Kostecki, owner of Master Liturgical Design.  

“It was a dream come true,” Mr. Folley said. “I’ve always wanted to work for the Church.” He said he tried to show love for God’s creation in his painting.  

Adam Cormier, project manager and a member of Mary, Queen of the Rosary Parish in Spencer, said he repurposed pews from St. Joseph Church in Leicester for the woodwork and suggested pear trees for the St. Augustine mural, to coincide with stories of the saint’s conversion.

Robert Levitre, a life-long St. Paul’s parishioner and a retired stone mason, said he did stonework and repairing of the walls for the St. Paul murals, cleaned the marble St. Augustine and angels statues, hoisted the organ up to the choir loft, and hung the crucifix above the altar. (As a child, he had seen a crucifix fall from there, without injuring anyone!) He said he donated his time and most materials he used; he comes from a family that gave much to the church.

“I hope I’ve got more to do – it’s a way of me giving back,” he said.

“There’s nothing like this I know of elsewhere,” Father Larochelle said; the original art “tells the story of who we are and where we’ve come from.”

“I think it’s an appropriate thing that we memorialize our former parishes and how they contributed to the new parish,” commented Deacon Michael J. Hafferty, who is stationed at Divine Mercy and formerly served St. Augustine’s and Good Shepherd Parish in Linwood, which was united with St. Mary Parish in Uxbridge.

Carol Perron, who served in multiple capacities at St. Augustine’s, said the merge was very hard and that she and her husband, Ronald Perron, helped empty out St. Augustine’s and St. Theresa’s churches. They rejoice in Divine Mercy’s renovations. Mrs. Perron said, “Now we have a place to call our own.”