History
The Parish of the Resurrection was established in 1969 by Bishop Mardaga (1968–1984). Rev. Francis J. Herron was the founding pastor.
The new parish was established in the area between St. John the Beloved Parish and St. John the Baptist/Holy Angels. At that time, geographic boundaries dictated who belonged to a particular parish, so parishioners in these two parishes were permitted to choose between staying in their present parish or joining the new Parish of the Resurrection.
Many people chose to join the new parish because of Father Herron’s vision (based on documents of the Second Vatican Council) that challenged parents to take responsibility for the religious education of their children as their “primary inalienable duty and right.”
There was no parish school initially and the community embraced the model of a “Pilgrim People” on their journey to salvation. For the first two years, liturgies were held in the auditorium of a local school, Shue School, which was affectionately dubbed “St. Shue”. For the next 10 years, liturgies were held at St. Mark’s High School auditorium. An important feature of St. Mark’s was its large atrium where members of the parish would set up a donut counter each Sunday. This feature enabled the parishioners to visit with one another after services and to welcome new members to the community.
In 1984 the growth of the parish and the increasing need for a permanent worship space, as well as space for staff offices and meeting rooms, led to the building of a multi-purpose center. The parish center was expanded in 1996 in order to meet the needs of growing membership and also to include a small chapel for daily worship.
The Preamble of the Parish constitution states that “the people of Resurrection parish have a commitment to the concept of community.” This commitment informs and influence the liturgies, religious education programs, outreach, and concern for the larger community though social justice work.
The Parish celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009.
Read more about this topic: Resurrection Catholic Parish (Wilmington)
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