By Paula Day

Paint was still damp on the handrails leading up the steps to the new St. Catherine of Siena Church as parishioners gathered for its dedication. A capacity crowd filled the 1,000 plus seats for the September 16 ceremony in Kennesaw.

Monsignor John F. McDonough, diocesan administrator, was the principal celebrant for the dedication Mass. He was assisted by Father Leo Herbert, pastor; Father Peter Ludden, archdiocesan chancellor; and Father Luzerne Schnupp, former parochial vicar in the parish.

Monsignor McDonough reminded St. Catherine parishioners in his homily that the new "building is really a house of God -- a house of prayer" and they were "gathered together to sing a new song."

"To sing is a sign of love," he added. "The work we see completed here is a physical sign of love. Your lives should reveal the humanity of God's grace."

Monsignor McDonough voiced a prayer of thanksgiving "for the goodwill and stamina to build this house of God. We thank you all for your work which has created a beautiful, a lovely house of God, where your prayers will go up to God."

Before the Mass, a concert under the direction of Deryl DaSantos featured organ, guitar and violin solos and selections by the Southwind Brass Quintet.

In a traditional ceremony before Mass began, persons representing the builders presented building plans to Monsignor McDonough, building committee members presented keys and women from the ladies guild offered a stole to represent that group's contributions.

At the penitential rite, Monsignor McDonough processed through the church, sprinkling both the congregation and the building with holy water. A prayer of dedication and anointing of the altar followed the profession of faith. Father Herbert then anointed each of the interior walls and Father Schnupp lighted candles throughout the church.

In remarks at the end of Mass, Father Herbert commented, "This is the first time Monsignor has done this job and we'll give him an A plus, to which the congregation responded with applause. Father Herbert acknowledged the presence of the many priests of the archdiocese saying, "There's no shortage of priests here. The only short priest here is myself." He then expressed his gratitude to the parish as a whole for its "total involvement" and to Robert Mero and Patrick O'Connor for their efforts as chairman and co-chairman of the building committee.

The six-year-old parish community has been worshiping in a renovated 85-year-old structure purchased from the United Methodist congregation in Kennesaw. Deirdre Norton, a parishioner, is glad that "now the whole parish can get together, where before there was standing room only." She found the new building "very airy looking -- so large and spacious. It's very modern without being abrasive -- very warm looking -- and the windows -- all that light! We can see nature outside and think of what God gave us."

Floor to ceiling clear glass windows dominate the side walls of the church and natural light also pours in from a cupola above the main altar and from the round, clear windows above the main altar and to the right of the sanctuary. The suspended, hemlock ceiling reflects the indirect fluorescent lighting onto the natural oak pews and mauve-colored upholstery and carpet, giving the church's interior a warm, pink glow.

Bob Mero observed that the building committee "didn't know what they (the parishioners) wanted. We just kept listening and hoped to build a building they'd be comfortable in.

From all indications everybody's happy." Pat O'Connor added, "The thing that gets me, it's not what any one individual wanted but has things many different people wanted." Architect Richard Diedrich felt "the church came out very well." A major challenge was to build "one of the biggest churches in the archdiocese yet keep the scale of a parish church."

To achieve this, pews are arranged in a fan shape that sweeps perpendicularly from one side of the altar to the other and brings the farthest pew approximately 70 feet from the altar. A gentle, 18-inch slope permits an uncluttered view of the altar from all parts of the church.

Virgil Spence, a Marietta and Kennesaw area resident for 39 years, observed, "When I first came to the area we went to Mass in a church that would hold only 60 people. Across the street was the First Baptist Church, the largest church in the county. I said, ‘One of these days we'll have a church as big.’ Now we have half a dozen as large. At that time, Cobb was a small provincial county. Now it's large enough for everyone to get along and we can protect religious freedom."

Spence, who is a lector at St. Catherine's, added, "I'm also very proud that we have a synagogue in Cobb County -- the place where Leo Frank was lynched. It bodes well for the safety of all religions.

Spence was referring to the 1915 lynching in Marietta of Frank, convicted of the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan. He was pardoned posthumously in March, 1986, and the lynching is widely believed to have been motivated by anti-Semitism.

Sherry Anderson, a newcomer who moved to the area from Kentucky in March, is impressed by the enthusiasm of the parishioners. "They are a neat group of people even with a little bitty church. It's the people who make up the Church. The contagion has built over the summer and I've picked up on the enthusiasm."

A special visitor to the dedication was Susan Herbert, the pastor's 84-year-old mother, who made the trip from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. "My family wanted me to come," she said. "I kept trying to say 'I'm too old,' but they insisted."

Mrs. Herbert said she was glad they did.