Our Lady of Peace celebrates 100 years with visit from Pérez, Eucharistic procession through Ridley
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » In celebration of Our Lady of Peace Parish’s 100th Anniversary, Archbishop Nelson Pérez will celebrate Mass, 11:30 a.m. Sunday, June 19, the exact date when the parish was founded 100 years ago.
June 19 is also the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of The Lord, commonly known as the Feast of Corpus Christi. Since Eucharistic processions are traditional on the Feast of Corpus Christi, Rev. Joseph Devlin, pastor of OLP, is planning a procession, led by the archbishop with the Blessed Sacrament, leaving from Our Lady of Peace Church, 208 Milmont Ave. in the Milmont Park section of Ridley Township and processing to Notre Dame deLourdes, 950 Michigan Ave., in the Swarthmorewood section of Ridley Township, immediately following the 11:30 a.m. Mass that day. Following Pérez and Devlin, a procession of parishioners and other guests will walk on foot and ride by bike to the destination, with cars driving at the end of the processing line.
With the assistance of police, the cars will process to the parking lot via Milmont Avenue to the Michigan Avenue driveway of Notre Dame’s property.
Once parishioners have parked their cars, they’ll assemble near Nelson Hall in the Notre Dame School yard/parking lot.
When the archbishop arrives at Notre Dame in a pick-up truck, with the Blessed Sacrament, exposed in the monstrance, everyone will line up, two by two, processing behind the archbishop, who will be carrying the Blessed Sacrament from the parking lot into the front doors of Notre Dame Church. Kathryn McDermott will lead the procession in song. Once inside Notre Dame de Lourdes Church, participants will conclude the Corpus Christi procession with Benediction. Afterwards,
everyone is invited to a reception with Pérez in Nelson Hall.
“It’s supposed to be a beautiful, sunny day on Sunday, so we’re hoping for a large turnout,” Devlin stated. “We hope our parishioners, former parishioners, friends and neighbors, will come out to celebrate with us on this very special day!”
Our Lady of Peace was originally a mission of St. Madeline’s Church in Ridley Park. A large frame house at the corner of Milmont and Belmont avenues was donated for use as a Mission Chapel on the first floor. The structure was dedicated on April 15, 1917. The upper floors were
equipped as meeting rooms for religious education and social clubs. The population of the area grew steadily so that there were enough Catholics to form a separate parish. On June 19, 1922, Our Lady of Peace was founded with Father Aloysius Rees as the pastor.
For the first seven years, the little chapel continued to serve parishioners until a new building was built for Our Lady of Peace in 1929. This structure housed the first church and school rooms on the second floor. Today, this original parish building is still in use for meetings and parish shows and as a gymnasium.
Our Lady of Peace Parish and
School continued to grow and expand, eventually building a beautiful new church in 1956 and school building in 1960, under the leadership of Rev. I. Walter Nall, pastor. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill faithfully served the parish school until its closure in June, 2009.
On July 1, 2014, Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish, Swarthmore, was merged with Our Lady of Peace Parish. Today, both have blended to become one parish community with two sites, the Our Lady of Peace site and the Notre Dame site. The Notre Dame site is where the parish school is located.
“While the merger and transition has not always been easy, we continue to move forward, working toward unity,” Devlin stated. “My hope is Archbishop Perez’s visit to both sites for the parish’s centenary on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, focused on the Eucharist at the celebration of the Mass and Eucharistic procession that will follow, will be a blessed and graced moment fostering greater unity for the one parish that has two proud histories.”
The parishioners began planning the year-long centennial celebration of Our Lady of Peace back in 2021. Planning committee members include Devlin, Deacon John Ellis, Sr., and Deacon Jim Basilio, with parishioners Jackie Basquill, Rosie Moran, John Ellis Jr., Barbara Walker, Diane McFadden and Anna D’Ambrosio.
“I’m very excited for Sunday,” expressed committee member Moran. “I wanted to be a part of the planning because I would do anything to help my church.”
Moran, whose grandparents were the very first couple to be married in OLP Church, received all of her sacraments there, including being married there herself. She is a 1970 graduate of Our Lady of Peace School. Committee members credited Moran with cooking and preparing most of the food for Sunday’s reception.
The 100-year anniversary celebration officially began in January, opening with a Mass celebrated by Perez at Our Lady of Peace Church. In addition to the Mass, Procession of the Eucharist, and Reception with Perez on June 19, the committee has plans for a parish picnic on Sept. 11 at Father Nall Field, a Golden Girls Mystery Theatre event in Nelson Hall in November, and a closing of the centennial celebration on December 31, with a special Vigil Mass, followed by a New Year’s Eve party.
For more information on Our Lady of Peace Parish, visit olpparish.org or call 610-532-8081.