The Origins of Our Parish Name The History Behind “St. John Before the Latin Gate”
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everal years ago, former pastor Fr. Michael Pratt made a discovery about our parish — one that continues to provoke wonder and a desire for sanctity in the souls of our parishioners. “The first few pastors we had at our parish were from Belgium,” Deacon Joe Richard says. “They all called our church St. John the Evangelist Parish, and it just remained that way until Fr. Pratt came. Soon after he became our pastor, he went into the historical diocesan archives to research our parish name. He found out that — it was actually named St. John Before the Latin Gate when it was dedicated in 1906 by the archbishop.” About six years ago, Fr. Pratt helped bring this discovery to life when he led a pilgrimage to Rome and visited the original St. John Before the Latin
Gate Parish. “Fr. Pratt served Mass along with the pastor there, who gave him a granite rock from the Latin Gate,” Deacon Richard says. “This rock is now on display in our parish gathering area along with pictures of the original church. It is a very nice display which shows who we really are as a parish, and helps our parishioners learn the foundational story.” Taking this information to heart, our parish made some refreshing changes. “When he first came back, he had all this amazing information,” Deacon Richard says. “Therefore, Fr. Pratt changed the words above the entrance doors of our church from St. John the Evangelist Parish to St. John Before the Latin Gate Parish. I’m so glad he did this!” continued on back cover
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