| In 1948 the Most
Reverend George L. Leech, Bishop of Harrisburg, created the
Parish of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque from the overflowing
Catholic community of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish. The
Parish of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was formally established
on March 1, 1948. Bishop
Leech asked Father Francis A Kirchner, who was then the
assistant as Saint Patrick Cathedral, to become the Pastor of
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque Parish. Father Kirchner celebrated
the first Mass on March 7, 1948 in the Studebaker Automobile
Show Room owned by parishioner Paul Camplese. In his first
Pastoral Letter in the first Church Bulletin, Father Kirchner
noted that "in spite of the dreary and rainy day, 202 people
attended the 8:00 AM Mass and 261 were at the 10:00 AM Mass."
Throughout 1948 and 1949 the parish
raised funds for a new church. On October 29, 1949, Bishop
Leech celebrated the first Mass in our current church on Herr
Street. |
