BEACH LAKE – Animated with great joy in their hearts, the parishioners who worship at the four churches comprising Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Honesdale will celebrate the 100th anniversary of their treasured Church of Saint Bernard in Beach Lake on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.
The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will preside over the concelebrated Centennial Mass of Thanksgiving at 10:30 a.m.
Following the liturgical celebration, a gathering of fellowship will continue the joyful commemoration at Lukan’s Family Resort in Hawley, beginning at 1 p.m.
“All parishioners from all our churches are welcome and encouraged to join in the celebration,” Father William J.P. Langan, pastor of Saint John the Evangelist Parish, said.
He further remarked that as priest and pastor of the four churches of the Honesdale Catholic community for the past 15 years, it has been an honor to provide spiritual guardianship for Saint Bernard Church, and he is most grateful to God for its 100th anniversary.
Blessed with a rich history, the Beach Lake church lays claim to a storied past. Its roots stretch back to the early 1900s when the Catholic place of worship was conceived due to hundreds attending a Mass in the hall of the nearby Beechnut Casino in northern Wayne County.
Saint Bernard Church would also survive two structural fires, one at the hands of alleged arsonists.
According to Connie Hathaway, who prepared the history of Saint Bernard’s for the centennial celebration, Beach Lake had always been a favorite resort destination for New York and New Jersey vacationers.
“With Catholic visitors increasing tremendously, it became necessary to perform Sunday Mass around the resort,” Hathaway explained. “On Sunday, August 5, 1923, the first Mass was celebrated at the casino hall. The attendance of more than 200 people proved the need of a permanent structure.”
The organization of a Building Committee led to construction and the first Eucharistic liturgy was offered in Saint Bernard’s Chapel on Aug. 20, 1924. Bishop Michael J. Hoban, second Bishop of Scranton, dedicated the new house of worship as a mission charge of Saint Mary Magdalen Church in Honesdale.
Bishop Hoban instructed the new church to be named in honor of Saint Bernard – not only to be placed under the spiritual patronage of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the 12th-century French abbot and mystic, but also in homage to Father Bernard Borr, who was appointed by the Scranton prelate as the church’s founding pastor.
Hathaway related that the original chapel was destroyed by fire in 1945, and Saint Bernard Church as it is known today was rebuilt by then-pastor Father James Holleran.
“In September 1956, an arson fire consumed the front of Saint Bernard’s, and the steeple had to be removed,” she said.
Eventually, according to the historian, the altar of Saint Bernard Church was reconstructed in 1979, and the church was expanded to accommodate the growing number of parishioners attending Mass.
“To the honor and glory of God, the foyer of the church was erected in the Jubilee Year 2000, under the pastoral guidance of Father Michael Marchetti,” Hathaway noted.
After serving as a mission church for Saint Mary Magdalen Parish until 1941, Saint Bernard’s was established as a mission of Saint Philomena Parish, Hawley.
The church would serve as a worship site for Saint Joseph Parish in White Mills from 1968 until 2009, when Saint Bernard Church was placed permanently under the pastoral umbrella of Saint John the Evangelist in Honesdale.
“Surely there have been many transformations in society and the Church these past one hundred years,” Father Langan commented. “Throughout, Jesus Christ is the firm foundation, ever present in our midst. In the heart of Beach Lake, Christ is truly present in the Church of Saint Bernard.”