History

63 Years of Catholic Parish Life...
On January 27, 1946 Msgr. Raymond Rutkowski celebrated the first Mass in the parish of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  That began 63 years of Catholic parish life here in Maplewood.  The parish of the Presentation had been established by Archbishop John Gregory Murray only six days earlier, on January 21, 1946.  This January 21, 2007 marks our 61st anniversary.  At the beginning there were only 76 families. Now there are 1800 households. The Church of the Presentation worshiped in Gladstone School until Christmas of 1947, then, in what has come to be known as Kenney Hall for nearly 20 years, and for 40 years in the present beautiful church building.  Here in this church community, "the people of Presentation" have been worshiping God nearly every single day for 63 years now.

The Feast of the Presentation of Mary is celebrated on November 21st.  This past November, we celebrated this feast as a parish for the 63rd time.  It is our patronal feast, the title under which we are dedicated to the service of God.  The presentation of Mary in the Jerusalem Temple by her parents is not found in Scripture. It is recounted in an apocryphal work called the Infancy Gospel of James.  It's an early Christian writing, perhaps as early as the second century, but one never considered to be inspired, never accepted into the Bible. According to the author, Mary's parents, Anna and Joachim, were childless. Anna promised that if she were given a child, that child would belong to the Lord.  She did conceive and did give birth to a child and named her Mary. When she was three years of age, they brought her to the temple, there to be raised in God's house. The author writes: And Mary was in the temple nurtured like a dove and received food from the hand of an angel. The story is a legend and without foundation in history. Young children were never offered at the temple. They did not live there, they weren't raised or educated there.

But the reason for the story, its point, is clear: even from her childhood Mary fully belonged to God.  She was dedicated, devoted to God's service, to God's plan for our salvation.  She is involved in the paschal mystery as no other human being has been. She is the one by whose free consent, motivated by divine grace, God the Word became a human being.  Her closeness both to Jesus and to us has led the church throughout the centuries to see in her the guarantee of the humanity of the Word of God. The church also sees in Mary the first faithful disciple of Jesus, redeemed herself by faith in one who had become flesh through her. We see in her the remarkable working of grace, the same remarkable working of grace we should see in ourselves.

Any anniversary of the parish's annual or more significant one's is an opportunity for us to rededicate ourselves to the purpose for which this parish was established: the worship of God.  That rededication may be described in terms of renewal of our stewardship. The founders of this parish, our parents and grandparents, sacrificed much to give us many gifts. One such gift is this parish campus and beautiful church. As good stewards, we are careful to keep it in repair.  Another, more important gift is the gift of faith. The founders of this parish were people profoundly affected by World War II.  They were soldiers returning from battle or people struggling for those long years on the home front.  Presentation's first family of faith was serious in its commitment to the Catholic faith. Our parents and grandparents were conscientious in practicing what they believed. By their own example of faithfulness they passed that faith to their children.  We in turn have the duty, as faithful stewards, to continue our conscientious practice, both inside and outside our church building and to pass that faith to the next generation.  We are given the mission of preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We need to start closer to home with the children of this generation.

Mary is the image of this new family. She has become what this family and each of its members hope to become: always ready, always open to receive the Word of God, always open to do God's will, ready to take our place in the divine plan of salvation. On any and every anniversary of this parish, we offer our prayers that God grant us many more decades of hearing the divine word and putting it into practice, as did Mary.

Installed Pastors' past and present:
1946-1977  Monsignor Raymond Rutkowski
(Monsignor retired in 1977, died August 29, 1986)
1977-1985  Father William J. Kenney
1985-1988 Father Thomas H. Seig
1988-1992 Father Laurence R. Johnson
1993-2002 Father Charles V. Lachowitzer
2002-2007 Father Phillip J. Rask
2007-present Father Mark Huberty