By Maureen Smith
CLINTON – Hundreds of people packed the sanctuary to celebrate Holy Savior’s 50th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 25. Bishop Joseph Kopacz was the main celebrant with Bishop Emeritus Joseph Latino, Father Thomas McGing, current pastor and Father Noel Prendergast, former pastor.
After the Mass, those gathered attended a catered luncheon. Families were invited to participate in arts and crafts and visit a traveling petting zoo in the education building.
Founding families sat in the front pews for Mass and shared their memories afterwards. Ivy Callegan remembers when she moved to Clinton, “I cried for weeks because there was no Catholic church nearby.” The original sanctuary was made from three conjoined trailers. “They saw trailers, but I thought it looked like a cathedral,” she said.
Ann Mackie, another founding member, remembers when the construction crew that delivered the trailers   could not get them into position because of all the mud on the site.  “Joe Stewart had to bring a Caterpillar down because the tongue broke on the trailer trying to move it in the mud. The caterpillar was connected to a truck, the truck was connected to the trailer and they just went around and around,” she laughed.
The parish has grown from those 23 founding families to a vibrant community. Their secret? “Faithful people who were capable of easily associating with Protestants and everyone else in the area,” said Mackie.