Parish marks jubilee

The golden anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Schenectady was marked Nov. 20 at a liturgy celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard.

That Mass took place exactly 50 years after the parish was dedicated. On Nov. 20, 1955, 150 people attended two Masses in the newly established church, which was named in honor of the 1917 apparitions of the Blessed Mother to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal.

The church was built to accommodate Catholics moving into the Niskayuna/Schenectady area to work at General Electric. By 1958, parish registration had doubled. The first pastor was Rev. Thomas J. Barrett.

In 1998, the church was completely renovated. Parishioners added a reservation chapel, using filigree oak from the original church and installing an immersion baptismal pool. The renovation allowed for additional worship space for the 780 registered families.

"Our Lady of Fatima parish has a history of being a friendly, open community," noted Rev. Alan Jupin, pastor for the past 17 years. "Our liturgies and prayer life are vital to this parish. They are the main support for all we do. We are a 'servant church,' which has dedicated itself to community action and service. This is true in all of our ministries, including our faith formation programs and our social justice ministries."

One of those ministries includes a sister-parish relationship with Mision San Augustin in Cuana, Mexico. Last summer, after celebrating their anniversary with a carnival, ice-cream social and fundraising t-shirt sale, parishioners donated the proceeds to San Augustin.

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