St. John the Baptist de la Salle - 60 Years!

Bishop Gonzalez celebrates the Mass

November 6, 2011 - Sixty years never looked so fresh. St. John the Baptist de la Salle Parish in Chillum, MD, celebrated its sixtieth anniversary this month.

In honor of the special occasion, His Excellency Bishop Francisco González, auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. came to celebrate the 11:00 Mass for the parish's parishioners. The Institute of the Incarnate Word received St. John the Baptist de la Salle in 1999, and Fr. Jose Signorelli, IVE, current pastor of St. John the Baptist de la Salle, has run the parish since his appointment last year, and seeing it ever improve.

Bishop Gonzalez Blesses the Statue of St. Joseph

In the past year, he has helped the parish install and dedicate new classrooms for CCD and teaching purposes, a project begun by the former pastor - and now secretary to His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick - Fr. David Vidal, IVE. He has overseen the removal and overhaul of the parish's heating systems, a momentous summer project, and has initiated an ambitious plan to renovate the parish nave and sanctuary, with refinished pews, new German-gothic stained-glass windows, and Italian-marble altar all in the works.

Bishop Gonzalez with one of the Parishoners

Fr. Signorelli unveiled the first piece of this upcoming transformation at the conclusion of the 11:00 Mass. Here, His Excellency, Bishop Gonzalez, blessed a handsome, new statue of St. Joseph the Worker. A vividly detailed work of art, one of the parishioners commented "I thought he was going to come alive!"

The Statue of St. Joseph

At the conclusion of the Mass, a special potluck luncheon took place in the hall for all the participants of the 11:00 Mass. We give thanks to the Lord for the many graces He has poured out upon this parish, and ask Him, in the spirit of St. Paul, to "continue His good work until it is finally finished..." (Phil. 1:6).

St. John the Baptist de la Salle, pray for us!

If you are interested in contributing to the work of renovating the Church of St. John the Baptist de la Salle parish, please feel free to contact the parish secretary at (301) 559-3636 or send through the mail to:

St. John the Baptist de la Salle Parish, 5706 Sargent Rd. Chillum, MD 20782