What is the significance of the consecration or dedication of a church, and why did it take place now?

The Consecration of a Church
The liturgy for the consecration of a church is one of the most richly developed rites in the Catholic Church.  Although the dedication of a church was unknown to primitive Christianity, since there were no specifically constructed buildings for worship, the Old Testament provides accounts of celebrations that recall the present-day rite of consecration, a rite whereby a particular place or edifice is set aside for a special and sacred purpose.

Christians believe that God is everywhere and that the divine presence fills all spaces; nevertheless, this belief does not exclude the idea of reserving a special location in which humans may enter into communion with their Creator and worship him.  We find an example of this in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 28, in the account of Jacob’s dream at Bethel.  Upon awakening from his sleep, Jacob exclaimed, "Truly, the Lord is in this spot, although I did not know it."  Then, in wonder, he cried out, "How awesome is this shrine!  This is nothing else but an abode of God, and this is the gateway to heaven!"  The next morning he took the stone that he used as a pillow and "set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it."

Another example is found in the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 8, where there is a description of the ceremonies surrounding the ordination of Aaron and his sons by Moses.  In the midst of the ordination rite, Moses, "taking the anointing oil, anointed and consecrated the Dwelling with all that was in it.  Then he sprinkled some of this oil seven times on the altar and anointed the altar, with all its appurtenances, and the laver, with its base, thus consecrating them."

Also, the Old Testament, in 1 Kings 8 and in 2 Chronicles 5-7, provides the classic example of the dedication of a sacred edifice, namely, the elaborate ceremonies that surrounded the consecration of the Temple in Jerusalem after its construction by King Solomon: the transport of the ark of the covenant, the blaring of trumpets and the chanting of the Levites, the sacrifice of sheep and oxen, the prayer and blessing of Solomon before the altar of the Lord.

Finally, the First Book of Maccabees, Chapter 4, gives a description of how Judas Maccabeus, after regaining Jerusalem from the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes IV in 165 B.C., purified and rededicated the Temple.  The sanctuary was cleansed, a new altar constructed, new vessels and furnishings were installed, the lamps on the lampstand were lit, and sacrifice was offered on the new altar of holocausts.  This rededication of the Temple has been commemorated down through the centuries among the Jewish people and is known as the feast of Hanukkah.

The Old Testament precedent of consecrating a place for the worship of God was too obvious for the Christians to overlook in the early centuries of the church.  The first authentic accounts of the dedication of places of worship are furnished by the church historians Eusebius and Sozomen, who speak of the consecration of the cathedral of Tyre and of the Emperor Constantine’s church in Jerusalem.  From the journal of Egeria, a female Christian pilgrim to the Holy Land who wrote about the year 400 A.D., we have a full description of the dedicatory festival of a church in Jerusalem.

In the early Christian centuries, the dedication ceremony was very simple.  From a letter of Pope Vigilius to Bishop Profuturus of Braga (538), we learn that the consecration of any church in which relics are not placed consisted simply in the celebration of Masses.  Where relics figured in the rite of dedication, a notable feature of the ceremony was the conveying and depositing of the relics under the altar.  This feature developed out of the custom of celebrating Mass over the tombs of martyrs.

At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the Roman dedicatory rites were fused with the more solemn and symbolic Gallican rites (rituals that originated in the Eastern church and evolved among the Christians who occupied territories that constitute present-day France).  Along with the placement of relics in the altar, these rites featured the anointings of the altar and walls of the church and multiple acts of incensing.  These dedicatory rites remained in use until the revisions of the liturgy subsequent to the Second Vatican Council.

The Consecration of Saint Jean Baptiste
Beneath the dome of the church stands the altar of sacrifice on which the Eucharist is celebrated.  It is here, too, that exposition of the Blessed Sacrament occurs daily for the contemplation of the faithful.  The altar was dedicated by Bishop William J. McCormack on February 1, 1998.  For this reason, the 2007 rite focused on the church itself, on its consecration, anointing, and lighting.

At the conclusion of the rite, the altar candles were lighted as well as eight brass candle-holders, each bearing a cross, which had been affixed permanently to the walls of the church as signs of its consecration.  These are lighted on major feasts during the church year.

Each candle symbolizes a beatitude, as specified in the Gospel of Matthew (5:3-10).  Disciples may experience poverty, hunger, sorrow, as well as persecution and hatred for adhering to Jesus Christ.  However, if these are accepted in openness to the will of God and fidelity to Christ, disciples not only will have such griefs eventually removed, but even now will enjoy the loving favor of God.  Meekness, compassion, purity of heart, and reconciliation each have an explicit reward that is synonymous with the "kingdom of God," i.e., eternal life in God.  Thus, the eight candles placed about the church interior represent the Beatitudes as the charter of authentic Christian life in the church, a foretaste of life in God’s eternal kingdom.

While our church building had been blessed, it was never consecrated, in part, because there was a large debt on it when it opened in 1913.  The moving ritual of consecration, coming at the end of our 125th anniversary, our Jubilation Year, underscored the truth that a religious edifice is sanctified both by the Spirit of God and by the holiness and goodness of the members of the body of Christ who make it their home.  We form the temple of God from the living stones of our lives.

In the words of the rite, may this church be "an ever holy place!"