Published: August 12, 2008 09:41 pm         

Monroe Catholic church to host special Mass Friday

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in the village of Sweet Springs, Monroe County, will once again be the scene of the special Mass of the Feast of the Assumption this Friday.

Father Harry Winters of Buffalo, N.Y., the last resident priest to serve Monroe County, is scheduled to officiate at the 6 p.m. Mass.

He is also formerly pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Pearisburg, Va.

Studied by architecture students for its unique use of the uppermost row of bricks, the church has historic ties to the Catholic community in Wytheville, Va., as well as Christiansburg, Va., and because of the political prominence of Floyd and Lewis families, the church has hosted cardinals, archbishops and bishops from various southern states in its long and varied history.

On Aug. 15, the church will be open at 4 p.m. for those who wish to tour the inside and the grounds prior to the Mass at 6 p.m.

Music for the Mass will be provided by the Hymns and Hers, a Catholic choir of Greenbrier and Monroe county residents, and they will be accompanied by Dr. Joan Moore of Frankford, who provides musical direction for the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, White Sulphur Springs, of which St. John’s is now a mission chapel.

Hosted and organized by Alleghany Highlands Council 8689, Knights of Columbus, and the parishes of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Ronceverte, and St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, the traditional ice cream social will follow the Mass on the church grounds.

A limited number of history booklets concerning the St. John’s church and the two cemeteries will be available that evening.

This is the only scheduled service in the church this calendar year.

For further information, telephone the Knights at 304-645-1373 or the St. Charles Borromeo church office at 304-536-1816.