Exhibition traveling around Diocese

The official Sesquicentennial Exhibition, fresh from its successful Albany run, is now going on the road. It's first stop is St. Mary's Church in Oneonta.

The exhibition, which was located at the "old" Chancery in Albany in May and June, attracted nearly 1,500 visitors, including school groups, adult organizations, nursing home residents and individual Catholics interested in their heritage.

Many people wondered if the display would travel around the Diocese so that others would have the chance to experience, through words and pictures, the history of the Diocese during its 150th anniversary year.

The answer is yes; the 12 panels from the original exhibition are scheduled to make stops throughout the Diocese between now and the end of 1997. (The three-dimensional objects in the original display, such as chalices and episcopal chairs, will not be traveling due to space and security concerns.)

Designed by Tom Nelson of the Albany Institute of History and Art, with Joseph and Constance Mondel as curators, the Sesquicentennial Exhibition drew rave reviews from visitors to its Albany site. Alongside their names in the visitors' guest book, people wrote comments like "most interesting" and "a super display of treasures; well done!" Another penned: "Could this exhibit be circulated among the parishes for display?"

St. Mary's Church in Oneonta provided the answer to that question; it is hosting the display for Catholics in the southern tier of the Diocese.

Rev. Paul Roman, pastor, said that he offered his parish as a site for the exhibition because "many of our people just wouldn't travel down to Albany, and we're the major parish, numberwise, between the Albany area and Binghamton." The exhibition joins a display of parish memorabilia previously erected in the church, he added, "to build up interest in the sesquicentennial."

(The Sesquicentennial Exhibition is available for viewing at St. Mary's Church in Oneonta from now through Aug. 3, Mon.-Sat., 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Future sites for the Sesquicentennial Exhibition will be announced in The Evangelist as they occur. Parishes, hospitals, schools, nursing homes and other institutions interested in hosting the display are asked to call The Evangelist, 518-453-6688, to arrange dates.)

(07-17-97) [[In-content Ad]]