Parishioners worship in St. Mary sanctuary for the first time since home explosion

St. Mary Church celebrated weekend Masses in its sanctuary for the first time since an explosion Oct. 9 rocked the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue in Woodstock.

According to the church’s Facebook page, weekend Masses took place at Marian Central Catholic High School the weekend after the home explosion, but returned to the parish property at the St. Mary School gym last weekend.

Signs of the explosion, across the street from the church, still were visible in the sanctuary; two stained glass windows on one side were boarded up, as well as a third stained glass window prominently featured above the church’s new tabernacle.

The Rev. Burt Absalon, pastor at St. Mary, said during the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass that the broken windows were being repaired.

“We hope to have them back before Christmas,” Absalon told parishioners.

Absalon said the church recently had gotten two new lecterns, a new baptismal font and a new tabernacle. He added that the Rev. David Malloy, the bishop of the Diocese of Rockford, was supposed to visit and bless the new items the weekend of Oct. 21, but Absalon cancelled Malloy’s visit after the explosion. A date for Malloy to visit has not been set.

Absalon said after Mass that St. Mary School reopened Oct. 16, the Monday after the home explosion.

“First of all, I would like to welcome you back to our sacred space,” Absalon said at the beginning of his homily.

Parishioners were glad to be back in the familiar space of the sanctuary.

“It was kind of nice getting back to where we belong,” parishioner Don Hay said.

“You still had the essence of the service, but the environment is definitely warmer when you’re in your home church,” parishioner Pat Ritzman said. She added that she helps out at daily Mass, so Sunday wasn’t her first time back in the sanctuary since the home explosion.

A post on the church’s Facebook page, sent out Oct. 24, announced the sanctuary would be open for daily Mass beginning Oct. 25.

“It was great to be back,” parishioner Francis Bartlett said.

After a brief update on the stained glass windows to start his homily, Absalon didn’t discuss the explosion or being back in the sanctuary the rest of the Mass.

“Welcome back,” Absalon said at the end of his update.