BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--St. Catherine of Siena Church in Kennesaw held an evening Mass and ground-breaking ceremony July 11 for the construction of a family life center to accommodate the pastoral needs of this rapidly growing Cobb County congregation.

With 90 families when founded in 1981, the parish currently has 3,000 families and is adding an average of 35 monthly due to the heavy population growth in Cobb County. Construction is expected to begin in August and to be completed in the summer of 1999 on the $3.7 million facility at 1618 Ben King Road.

At the Mass Archbishop John F. Donoghue encouraged parishioners to act charitably and with love toward those to be served in the new building, imitating the Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke who aided the invalid.

“Sometimes the poverty exists right here among us in a spiritual or even a purely physical sense. Here at St. Catherine’s we are growing -- our children are growing -- we need new shelter and new space to house and to form this vibrant life that God has brought into being out here in Kennesaw. And so, as good followers of Christ, we don the Samaritan’s garb -- we give our knowledge, our spiritual support and, yes, the silver in our pockets so that the people, and especially the young people, may be taken care of, may know that we care for them -- may have a place to bring their joys and their sorrows, that their sorrow may be comforted and their joys expressed and shared.”

The archbishop said that “what we can lack and what we often do lack is that same love which Christ had for us -- which the good Samaritan had for the poor, robbed and beaten man -- that same love which is compassion, or, as some would say, our faith in action. Today, let us use the occasion of this ground-breaking to break open a passage in any wall which we have built around our hearts -- to bring down any barrier which stands in the way of our supporting and furthering the good causes of this parish and the life of the universal Church.”

The new one-story facility is 28,500 square feet and is being built by general contractor Lusk & Associates, Inc., and designed by the architectural firm of Leo A. Daly Co. It will house various ministries and include 26 classrooms, a nursery, office annex, cry room, music room, kitchen, bookstore, meeting room, library and storage space.

The parish has over 30 ministries which are currently held in Herbert Hall. Following new construction, the youth group, which lacks meeting space, will occupy the current office space in Herbert Hall.

The project is being implemented by the building committee led by Deacon Patrick O’Connor which began meeting in 1993 and the finance committee led by parish business administrator Norm Vigue which began meeting in 1995. Through participation in the “Building the Church of Tomorrow” Capital Campaign the parish raised $1.5 million to partially finance the center.

At the ground-breaking ceremony following Mass, relocated to the narthex due to rain, Archbishop Donoghue said a blessing for the facility. Father James Harrison, the pastor, and approximately 800 supporters attended the ceremony.

Deacon O’Connor said in Herbert Hall, “with the tremendous growth of the parish, we were running out of space for the religious education of our children and adults as well as space for all the organizations.”

“Last year, we had 1,300 registered in religious education ages four years old through high school. And this coming year we expect approximately 1,400. It has been by the grace of God and the dedication of numerous individuals that we have made it this far.”

“We praise and thank God that the building will be available for the 1999/2000 school year,” he said.

Rita Bek, director of religious education, Katherine McNally, a youth member of the pastoral council, Caitlin Cardona, 12, the youngest project contributor, and founding parishioner Carl Schrout shoveled potted dirt from the future building site. Youth choir members planted seeds at the ground-breaking.