Building spirit and beyond: St. Bernard, North Kingstown

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NORTH KINGSTOWN – Bishop Thomas J. Tobin presided over a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new St. Bernard’s Church and parish center on Sunday. He also celebrated Mass at the current church prior to the ceremony. About 200 people attended the ceremony, most of whom were parishioners. School buses shuttled people between the two sites.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall on the new church which will seat 550 people, an increase from the roughly 300 people currently accommodated at St. Bernard. The parish is home to approximately 1,500 families.

In addition to more room for parishioners to attend Mass, the new church and parish center will meet a need for meeting space for parish groups.

The new construction also addresses a safety issue at the current church. Busy Route one runs directly through the campus of St. Bernard, separating the church from the parish center and is a hazard for parishioners trying to travel between the two. The location of the new church and parish center will eliminate this issue.

The land for the new church is down the street from the current site, it was bequeathed to the parish in 2001 by the Davis family who had their family farm on the site.

Committees at St. Bernard have been considering the church’s future since the summer of 2000. The architecture firm Durkee, Brown, Vivieros and Werenfels, has assisted with the planning. A house that currently sits on the property will serve as the rectory and parish office.

Construction of the church is scheduled to be completed and ready for occupancy in October 2008.

The pastor of St. Bernard, Father Reardon said that the new space will be “more adequate for our needs.”

The groundbreaking had seven participants: Bishop Tobin, Father Reardon, John Gibbons and Elizabeth O’Keefe, both trustees of the parish, Elizabeth McGrath the chair of the finance council, Tom Orsi the chair of the steering committee and Michael Vivieros, one of the project’s architects.

Money from a capital campaign, the sale of the current facilities and an inter-parish loan will finance the project.

This is the first new church built by the Diocese since the Holy Apostles Church was built in Cranston in 1994. More recently, the St. Veronica chapel in Narragansett was reopened for year round use in 2000 and the St. Dominic chapel at Providence College was consecrated in 2001.

St. Bernard

Rev. Dennis Reardon

415 Tower Hill Road

Wickford RI

New location: 1 Ten Rod Road

(401) 295-0387

Approximately 1,500 families

Masses:

Saturday 5 p.m.

Sunday 7, 8:30, 10 & 11:30 a.m.

Weekday (except Thurs) 8 a.m.

www.sbcwickford.org