10/27/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/19To8UWw6d/?mibextid=wwXIfr
It’s neat to be part of this story
There was a remarkable surprise when we opened the original marble altar that has been in our church since 1956. Let me explain...
The original altar, with the tabernacle on it, has always stood against the back (north) wall of our sanctuary. Before the Second Vatican Council (1962– 65), Masses were celebrated with the priest standing at the altar ad orientem, meaning “facing liturgical east.” Traditionally, churches wer built with the altar at the east end, toward the rising sun, reminding us of the Resurrection of Our Lord. Sometimes people describe this as “the priest standing with his back to the people,” but it’s more accurate to say that the priest and people faced the same direction in worshiping God.
Following Vatican II, the common practice became for the priest to stand versus populum, or “facing the people” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 299). This emphasizes that the altar is both an altar of sacrifice and a table for the Eucharistic meal, where the priest acts in persona Christi, “in the person of Christ,” as at the Last Supper. Either orientation expresses something important about our
worship, but here at OLL we follow the well-established norm since Vatican II. After the Council, a simple wooden altar was built at OLL to allow the priest to face the people.
Our church renovation has given us an opportunity to reconsider which altar we should use. The original marble altar is ornate and substantial, as it should be. Therefore, I asked Archbishop Alexander Sample for permission to move it away from the wall so that it can once again serve as our one-and-only main altar. (Incidentally, the side altar on the right will remain, while the one on the left will be moved to our new Adoration Chapel, making room for the wheelchair
ramp.)
Now about the surprise...
As contractors were dismantling the original altar, they discovered a rusted old tin box concealed inside. When I opened it, I found a little notebook in which the pastor at the time, Fr. James E. Crowe (1949–1965), had written:
🌟Read the rest on the cover of our bulletin article on our website or check back tomorrow for Part Two and the rest of the story to be shared 🌟
