Whitehall parish renamed

When Notre Dame des Victoires and Our Lady of Angels merged nearly two years ago, they decided to temporarily call themselves the Catholic Community of Whitehall. But Rev. William A. Gorman, pastor, has announced that the parish now has a new name: Our Lady of Hope.

Notre Dame des Victoires was established in 1820; the church building is currently used for Masses and community activities. Our Lady of Angels parish was formed in 1868; its church has been closed since January.

Last May, following diocesan procedure for renaming a parish, Father Gorman and the pastoral advisory board met to decide upon an official name for the newly formed community. They wanted to hold onto the identity of each parish as much as possible, while easing the transition of blending two separate groups into one faith community.

Several possibilities surfaced; but due to the fact that both parishes had been dedicated to Mary, the board wanted to continue that dedication in the new parish name.

It eventually came down to two choices: Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Hope. Parishioners at all Masses were asked to vote for their preference.

"By a good majority," the pastor said, "the name Our Lady of Hope was chosen."

Father Gorman indicated that the new name has been generally well received. However, he adds that understandably, the community continues to experience the pain of transition.

Last month, a pulpit letter was read to the newly designated parish from Bishop Howard J. Hubbard. In it, he accepted the new name and congratulated parishioners on their efforts. He then declared that the two parishes were officially merged into one faith community, Our Lady of Hope.

(10-19-00) [[In-content Ad]]