Parish marks 75 years

Parishioners of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Bolton Landing gathered Sept. 26 to celebrate their 75th anniversary at a liturgy celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard.

Blessed Sacrament was officially established as a mission in 1890; its first church building was consecrated in 1895. By 1929, there were enough parishioners and regular summer vacationers to warrant establishing a year-round parish.

Built on a ledge of rock near the great lake that the Iroquois called Andia-ta-rochte, Blessed Sacrament parish shares its name with the original name given to nearby Lake George. St. Isaac Jogues, the French missionary, called it Lac du Sainte Sacrement (Lake of the Blessed Sacrament) in 1646.

Each year, the faith community of Blessed Sacrament recreates the first liturgies celebrated there by the missionary priests in the wilderness who used their canoe as an altar.

The parish honors not only St. Isaac but also other early North American Catholics: Rene Goupil, John LeLande and Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks.

Rev. Peter Young has been pastor since 1976.

(9/30/04)