By Kloee Sander
BELLWOOD (SNR) – Churches are special places.
Christ becomes present in an intimate way through the Mass. He speaks to parishioners in the silence of Eucharistic adoration. He fosters friendships through the community.
God does not need a fancy building to work in parishioners’ hearts, but there is something special about a church that manifests God’s beauty and elevates the soul to Him.
Parishioners at Presentation Parish in Bellwood think so too. Presentation is a country parish in Butler County with 58 families.
A group of parishioners had dreamed of renovating their small country church for some time, but a Facebook advertisement selling three high altars made that dream a reality.
Christina Podolak, a parishioner at Presentation said it was “divine intervention.”
Podolak was one of the first parishioners who saw the advertisement on a Kansas Catholic goods store, Finders Keepers’ Facebook page. She said the parishioners joked about the high altars being just what the small church needed and placing a bid. Before telling their pastor, Father Michael Ventre, about the altars, parishioners called Finders Keepers for the exact dimensions of the altars, and brought their tape measurers into the church to make sure they would fit.
Podolak said, “Just like you update your bathroom and kitchen in your own home, there are those restoration things you need to do for our own church. It’s beautifying the church, but it is also a practical standpoint of keeping it in working order.”
Father Ventre said he had been dreaming about renovating the church since he was assigned as pastor there. Presentation Parish’s 100th anniversary is approaching in 2024, and he said he assumed they would paint, and get new carpet for the church to celebrate, but he wished they could do something more.
When his parishioners showed him the advertisement, he was excited. He had some funding in place and sent in a bid. He did not think the bid was high enough—but three and a half weeks later, the altars were in Bellwood. His was the only bid on the altar.
In May 2021, Father Ventre called a parish meeting and met with the parish’s finance council. He had an open forum for design ideas and enlisted help from the diocese. Father Ventre contacted Father Jamie Hottovy and Char Kriz, who help parishes restore and update their churches. Kriz came to Bellwood, talked to parishioners, prayed for inspiration and learned Presentation’s history.
Father Ventre said their goal is to “preserve what they have but look towards the future.”
Presentation’s history was important when designing the new church. The Bellwood area has deep Czech roots, but Presentation was founded by Luxembourg immigrants who were deeply devoted to Our Lady of Consolation or “Comfort of the Afflicted.”
The title dates to the second century and was included in the included in the Marian “Litany of Loreto” formally approved by Pope Sixtus V in 1587. In the 1600s, Jesuits called upon Our Lady of Consolation to protect the city of Luxembourg, leading to the title “Our Lady of Luxembourg.”
Podolak said the immigrants’ devotion to Mary was so great that it impacted the name of their parish. Presentation’s name is a reference to Mary’s presentation in the temple by her parents, Saints Anne and Joachim.
Father Ventre said, “She has always been in the Church. She’s been in the center, and she’s been a devotion to the people.”
Father Ventre understood the Blessed Virgin Mary’s importance to this parish as soon as he was assigned. He later moved the church’s historical statue of Our Lady of Consolation back to the center of the church where it sat originally. He said some parishioners were “in tears” the first Sunday it was back in the center.
Presentation’s historic devotion to Mary will be reflected in the church’s design. Now, the statue will have a permanent place designed for it. The plans have Mary in the center above the Eucharist with statues of Anne and Joachim beside her.
Kriz used the parish’s history, stained glass windows and features to create a new color scheme and design. Presentation Church has two million dollars’ worth of pressed tin on the walls and ceilings. It was just hidden under old white paint. When the renovations are finished, Presentation’s tin will be embellished with gold and copper paint.
There will be new pews and flooring. Fresh paint will adorn every surface. Three freshly painted altars will be proudly sitting in the front.
Labor Day was their last Mass in the church as it once was. And Presentation Parish’s renovations will be completed in time for their feast day, the Presentation of Mary, Nov. 21.
“It’s just all coming together,” Father Ventre said. “We’d like to call that ‘God.’”
Bishop James Conley will visit the parish to bless and dedicate the new high altars in December.
