"What Makes a Consecrated Church So Special?"
Consecration is the greatest honor which can be given to a church building. A consecrated church is dedicated to the service and worship of God by special prayers, rites and ceremonies. Once this solemn and holy act is completed, the church remains forever sacred. This consecration may not be changed unless the church is destroyed by natural disaster or the walls are altered to make the church larger or smaller. Only a bishop can perform this lengthy ceremony. Smaller churches are usualy blessed, but cathedrals and special churches are consecrated. The Council of Trent (1545-1563)decreed that Mass should not be celebrated in a church until is was consecrated or blessed. The bishop, by this solemn anointing of the buildiing with holy chrism, raises the church to a higher order where prayers are more readily heard and favors are more graciously granted by God.
Our church has been consecrated twice. The first ceremony was held July 27, 1851 by the Most Reverend Archbishop Peter Kenrick. The original buildiing on this site was destroyed by a tornado. Few records can be located about this dedication. Twenty-three months later, the church, as we know it now, was completed. Archbishop Kenrick began the rigorous ritual again on the 11th day of June, 1853. It's doubtful that any of us have ever witnessed such a lengthy, demanding religious ceremony.
First of all, the building had to meet specific standards, The church must e free of debt. That requirement alone would eliminate most churches today. The high altar must be built into the foundation of the church to protect the sacred relics. On the walls inside the church, twelve crosses must be painter orattached. These crosses may not be made of wood or any fragile material. If you'll look at the walls of Old St. Vincent's, you'll see the golden crosses fixed under the Stations of the Cross. Our valued old building received this honor almost one hundred and fifty-five years ago.
The next step was the preparation before the ceremony. Priests, clergy and the faithful were required to fast and abstain from meat the day before. Archbishop Kerick had blessed the cornerstone and the High Altar in the 1851 ritual. On the eveing before, he removed the relics of the holy Apostles, Peter, Paul, Andrew, and St. Vincent, Confessor and Founder of the Congregation of the Missions. For this Vigil, the relics were exposed for the veneration of the Faithful and the Clergy. At least two candles were kept burning before these relics all during the night and Matins and Lauds were sung or recited. Many priests and clerics participated in the Vigil and the ceremony. A large number of Cape Girardeau inhabitants were present and people came from all over the region to witness the "once in a lifetime" process of Consecration. The Rev. James Rolando celebrated the Mass for the Vigil assisted by many other prients. The Archbishop wasn't expected to do this because the next day would be so tiriing.
The next day, June 12, 1853, the dedication began. It probably looked like a Papal procession. The candles in the church under the twleve crosses were lighted and the bishop and the clergy went to retrieve the relics. The church was left in charge of a deacon. While the bshop was being vested, the Seven Penitential Psalms were recited and everyone went to the front of the church. The bishop blessed the water and went around the outside of Old St. Vincent's Church three times. The first time he sprinkled the upper part of the walls, the second time he sprinkled the lower part and the third time on a level with his face. After each circle around the building, he knocked on the church door, and requested permission for the King of Glory to enter. The deacon within the church would ask three times, "Who is this King of Glory?" The bishop would respond with the appropriate prayers.
Then, the bishop and his attendants entered the church, leaviing the clergy and the people outside. Chanters sang various Litanies, and when the canticle "Benedictus" was being chanted, the bishop traced with the point of his crosier, in the ashes spread on the floor, first the Greek alphabet and then the Latin. This process was done in a very special way. The two alpabets represent the Jews and the gentiles respectively. The Greek alphabet was written first because the Jewish people wer the first called to the Christian faith. The custom of consecration goes back to Moses who consecrated his entire Jewish flock as the people of God.
The bishop then blessed the water, a mixture of water, salt, ashes, and wine. The ingredients of this water represent the legal purifications and sacrifices of the Jewish people, with the wine taking the place of blood. This prescription goes all the way back to St. Gregory I to be used for consecration. The bishop then went to the main door of the church and with the point of his crosier traced a cross on the upper and lower part of the door inside. Then with the Gregorian water, he traced five crosses on the altar and sprinkled the support and table of the altar as he passed round it seven times while the chanters sang or recited the Psalms "Miserere".
The walls of the interior of the church were sprinkled three times; first the lower part, then on a level with the face, and lastly the upper part. After that the beshop sprinkled the floor of the church in the form of a cross as he went to all sections of the building. When he returned to the middle aisle, he sprinkled, in one swing, the floor before him, behind him and to his left and right.
The bishop, clergy and laity then went to the place in which the relics were placed and in solemn procession carried them to their permanent resting place in the church. Before entering, the relics were carried around the outside of the building while everyone repeated, "Lord, have mercy on us". When they returned to the church door, the bishop addressed the people. One of the clergy read the two decrees of the Council of Trent from the Pontifical. The bishop anointed with holy chrism the pillars on each side of the door three times. Then the clergy and laity entered the church and the consecration of the altar took place.
Finally the twelve crosses on the interior walls were anointed with holy water and incensed by the bishop. The altar cloths, vases and ornaments of the church and altarr were blessed. Then Mass was celebrated. we don't know if Bishop Kenrick said the Mass or not. Probably, he was too tired and another priest was alowed the honor of the first Mass in the newly consecrated church.
This elaborate ceremony took place 155 years ago. Think of the changes that have taken place in that length of time. We've seen multiple changes in communication, transportation, and our style of living. Our beautiful, consecrated, old church quietly reminds us that God does not change. He is still here for all of us throughout the ages. Let's thank Him for his goodness and for this magnificent, old, consecrated structure where we hope we can continue to worship Him for years to come.
