A new home for St. John Neumann

The new building for the St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church in the Foothills will be officially dedicated at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Father John F. Friel, pastor of the church, will welcome Bishop Gerald F. Kincanas, of the Diocese of Tucson, to celebrate the dedication Mass.

The community of St. John Neumann began in 1976 by 12 families with a vision. They met as a mission chapel at St. Francis of Assisi Parish for a decade.

In 1985, five acres of land was purchased on Mesa Drive, just south of 38th Street in the Foothills. Building the hall and the membership was accomplished through a variety of fundraisers including bake sales, rummage sales, "Las Vegas Nights" and bazaars.

The St. John Neumann followers succeeded, and the parish hall will continue to be part of the church community after 20 years in the building.

Father Friel has been at the helm of the church since 2003.

He is not a stranger to Yuma, and has an interesting background.

"I feel fortunate to be in the church named after the patron saint who was an immigrant from Bohemia. He came to this country in 1836 and was ordained. He joined the Redemptorists in Pittsburgh, Penn., in 1840, and years later was consecrated as bishop of Philadelphia.

"I am from Philadelphia, and am familiar with St. John's life as a traveling priest in rural areas. He pastored and established missions in Williamsville, Cheektowaga, Tonawanda and Niagara Falls. I worked and followed this route, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Niagara University and taught at high schools there, in New York and Philadelphia," Father Friel said.

"During his lifetime, as a priest, he built 50 churches, about 100 schools and established the pattern for parochial schools in America. He was canonized in 1977. The statue of the patron saint has been moved from the parish hall to the new church grounds," the priest said.

Father Friel was commissioned an ensign in the Theological School Program in 1970 and was a Navy Chaplain at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma.

During his Navy career, he was awarded the Legion of Merit three times and the Meritorious Service medal twice. He also has several other honors from service both in the Atlantic fleet, Japan, in the Annapolis Naval Academy and as senor chaplain for Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and other stations.

After retiring from the Navy in March 1999, Father Friel was appointed president of Yuma Catholic High School.

Bishop Kicanas appointed him pastor of St. John Neumann in 2003.

The new church has a baldachino - a large altar with tall pillars - that was originally installed in St. Jean Baptiste, a French Catholic Church in Lowell, Mass., Father Friel said.

"The alabaster lights are also from the same church."

"The 14 Stations of the Cross were donated from the Immaculate Conception Lithuanian Catholic Church in Cambridge, Mass."

The dedication Mass is open to the public.

---
Pam M. Smith can be reached at psmith@yumasun.com or 539-6856.