Parishioners gathered at St. Michael ‘s Church in Baden, Maryland on Oct. 16 to celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and the church’s 100-year Jubilee Mass and a luncheon.

Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory celebrated the Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Mark Cusick, pastor of St. Michael's, and by Father Alain Colliou, the pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Parish in Waldorf, Maryland. Because St. Michael, the church's namesake, was an angel, the cardinal opened his homily by asking the congregation whether they had ever seen or spoken to an angel.

“In faith, we rejoice today, however, not in brick and mortar, but in the persistence of the confidence of this Catholic community. St. Michael’s is much more than a building, as you obviously know. It is a living family of believers,” Cardinal Gregory said.

The cardinal went on to speak about how important the parish’s community is, and how it contains “so many dimensions…that point to the future” including its youth programs and religious education. Cardinal Gregory spoke highly of the parish’s pastor, Father Cusick.

“You have a young pastor and one about whom I continue to hear many encouraging words and compliments. Father Mark is another sign of the vitality of this parish,” Cardinal Gregory said. 

Having been ordained in 2013, Father Cusick has been a priest for nine years and has been at St. Michael’s for one year.

 “I love being here, love the community, I love that it’s historic, and we have this opportunity to get to know the roots of our parish a little bit better and also just to bring in more participation,” Father Cusick said.

Following Communion, Cardinal Gregory blessed the church's newly refurbished St. Martin de Porres statue. Previously, the figure was in use until the 1980s, when it was relegated to the basement.

“The statue went underground, nobody knew what happened to it, and it just became in disrepair and somebody said we’d like to take it out again and see if we can redo it,” Father Cusick said. “We had somebody come, an artist came, to take it and redo it.”

St. Martin de Porres was born in Peru in 1579 and was a member of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of social justice, racial tolerance, and persons of mixed race. It was crucial that the statue was blessed, according to Father Cusick.

“[It was important to have the statue blessed because] it was restored and brought back into the church, so we wanted to honor that heritage of African-American faith and the Catholic faith, and just to have it representing more of our people,” Father Cusick said. 

Virginia Jones grew up attending  Mass at St. Michael's and now volunteers in the choir. She was married at St. Michael's four years ago, after what she called a "drought" of marriages the church experienced for roughly five years. Her parents married there almost 50 years ago.

According to Jones, the community is at the core of the church’s longevity.

“Strong tradition and community, it’s a lot of older families here that have been here generations, and I think that really helps when it comes to binding people together,” Jones said. “And the faith, of course.” 

Jones believes the parishioners' familiarity is also influenced by the church's location, which is in a rural section of Maryland.

“We’re a more country and laid-back parish, it’s, again, very friendly. So many of these families have been here [for generations]. I went to school with them, my mom went to school with their parents, and it brings a sense of community that I think is harder to find in other transient areas,” Jones said. 

Members of the Knights of St. John were in attendance as well, from commanderies 309, 373, and 370. 

William Young, the vice president of commandery 309, said he enjoyed Cardinal Gregory’s homily.

“The homily was very impressive, [Cardinal Gregory] was right on focus to talking about the celebration of St. Michael’s Church and also about St. Michael the Archangel, how that connects together with both, that was impressive, and I’m sure that it was enjoyed by and impressed all of the congregation,” Young said. 

Other events to celebrate the church’s 100th jubilee included a fried chicken picnic dinner, which Father Cusick said served about 130 people in the parish hall, as well as a T-shirt that was sold to commemorate the milestone.