Catholic Central High School sets chapel dedication
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STEUBENVILLE -- The students, faculty, and staff of Catholic Central High School and Bishop John King Mussio Junior High School will hold the dedication of their new chapel with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Jeffrey Monforton of the Diocese of Steubenville.
The new chapel space, dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, will be blessed by Monforton at 6 p.m. Thursday.
For more than 30 years, the school's chapel was a small space on the first floor of the building. When the high school campus ministry began holding evenings of Eucharistic adoration with praise and worship music, the space soon became too small to hold all of the students who attended.
After using one of the classrooms for the events, part of the library was used as a chapel to make more room during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This led to a campaign to build a larger, permanent chapel in that part of the school.
Donors contributed more than $100,000 and made it possible for the new chapel to be separated from the library, redecorated, and made into a space for religious use.
Volunteers obtained pews from a small church in Iowa and stained-glass windows from a closed church in the Diocese of Steubenville were installed. Some of the sanctuary furniture, including the altar, came from the former St. John Bosco parish in Sardis.
The Rev. Michael Gossett, pastoral administrator of the schools, said that dedicating the new chapel is a dream come true.
"We haven't had a real, dedicated chapel for several years," Gossett said, "It feels so good to have a beautiful space that is set aside for God that our students can use for prayer and worship."
Along with student-led adoration and praise every other week, the chapel will be used for weekly Masses and for religion class visits from the high school and junior high. The school chaplain, the Rev. Josh Erickson, hears confessions in the chapel twice a week.
Officials said all are welcome to participate in the Mass and dedication. A small reception will follow. To RSVP, send an e-mail to ateramana@steubenvillecatholiccentral.org