MERRILLVILLE – After 57 years of worship, parishioners past and present gathered at St. Stephen, Martyr to celebrate and participate in the parish’s final Mass with Bishop Robert J. McClory on Feb. 15.
“Today has a certain poignancy … a sense of going away from this place. But as in today’s Gospel (when Jesus fed 4,000 followers with just a few loaves of bread), there is a sense of nourishment, although that nourishment will be continuing away from here.
“They ate and were satisfied,” added Bishop McClory.
Likewise, the church that has stood for 55 years and “is a sacred place, more than a meeting hall, a place to do sacred and holy things,” said the bishop. “This place will not be used for that anymore, so there should be a certain sadness … and if there is a pain we feel, it is because this was a place of joy.”
The bishop told the congregation that “there are no right or wrong feelings to have … take them to the Lord. For some, your feelings will be palpable because the memories are so beautiful. The only feeling that I won’t allow is for you to see this parish as a failure; all the things that happened here are valid. It’s important to acknowledge that the Lord always wants to nourish us.”
Bishop McClory reminded his flock: “We don’t have to ask for the Bread of Life ever; it is a gift from the Lord and he will continue to give us that gift.”
St. Stephen, Martyr was established in 1968 when the Diocese of Gary’s first bishop, Andrew G. Grutka, asked Father Lawrence Heeg to organize the fifth parish in Merrillville. The faith community in the northwest corner of the city envisioned a church built by themselves, and ground was broken on May 18, 1969. With an apartment for the pastor and parish offices within, it was dedicated by Bishop Grutka on Aug. 15, 1970.
Subsequent pastors included Father Timothy Doody, Father Bernard Shank, Father Gerald Schweitzer, Father John Winterlin, who added a parish hall and rectory and enlarged the parish offices. Father David Nowak came next in 1996, leaving in 2002, when Father Dennis Teles became administrator for a year until Father Michael Maginot took over the parish along with serving the diocese’s Marriage Tribunal. He served as administrator until St. Stephen, Martyr was combined with the remaining Merrillville churches, Our Lady of Consolation and Holy Martyrs Parish, in 2023 under the leadership of Father Ted Mauch.
Father Maginot was appointed a senior priest last December.
“I was 15 years old when this church opened, and I carried the cross for Bishop Grutka at the dedication Mass,” recalled Deacon Rob Litavecz, who assisted at the final Mass. “I loved today’s scripture readings – one talked about getting kicked out of our garden and the other about feeding 4,000 people leftovers, and we fed more than that many here over the years.
Father Mauch announced at the closing Mass that all of the stained glass windows and sacred items from St. Stephen, Martyr church “Will be cared for, will come with us and will be used in other churches; they will not be left here.”
“We will do our best to walk with you as we celebrate the Eucharist together at Holy Martyrs, Our Lady of Consolation or other churches,” he added.
“I feel sad, because I buried my son and my husband from this church, and as a small parish, we were close,” said Diana Sukta, 76. “But I live in Crown Point now, and I’d say 60% of the parishioners are not in Merrillville anymore. I am glad that we can attend Our Lady of Consolation together.”
Attending St. Stephen, Martyr together since 1969, Armand and Lillian Lopez, 94 and 93, respectively, shared one last Mass in the church that he helped build. “I have mixed emotions,” Armand Lopez admitted. “I look at all the years we spent here, serving in the men’s club for 45 years – as president, secretary and treasurer. I helped with many carnivals, and we had a fundraiser called Lucky Dollars that awarded seven prizes a month. We visited people in the hospital and had lots of time together to enjoy.”
“The fire of the Holy Spirit that burned so brightly in this church, so beautifully, is already being shared in beautiful ways,” said the bishop, who made a reference to the bonfires the parish was known for at outdoor events.
Speaking of the dismissal that ends every Catholic Mass, Bishop McClory previewed the options available to Deacon Litavecz, whose message it was to pronounce.
“Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” proclaimed Deacon Litavecz.
Caption: Bishop Robert J. McClory accepts the offertory gifts at St. Stephen, Martyr's closing Mass on Feb. 15 from two specially chosen parishioners, Isabel Ramirez (left), age 100, who attended the parish's first Mass 57 years ago, and Ann Janda, the first baby baptized in the new church building 55 years ago. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)