MOUNT PLEASANT — More than 300 parishioners at St. Benedict Church celebrated their patron saint at Mass Oct. 1.
Most of the people wore white to remember their baptismal calling and to commemorate St. Benedict. Once a year, the faith community honors St. Benedict during Mass and gives thanks and praise to God for its patron, according to a press release sent to The Miscellany Oct. 2.
The manner in which St. Benedict lived and taught is the model for building community within the parish, the statement said.
St. Benedict was born at Nursia, near Rome, during the fifth century. He became the founder of the world-famous monastery of Monte Cassino, just south of Rome, which still flourishes today.
This gentle saint, the founder of Western monasticism, provided a home and community structure for ordinary people and created a basic model of Christian life that calls for balance in daily living including prayer, work, rest and recreation.
“The Benedictine monastery was built on the principle of love,” Father Paul Brenninkmeijer, pastor and administrator, said during his homily. “Love at all cost in order to serve God and be Christ for each other.”
The special Liturgy was followed by a community picnic at the Park West Amenity Center.
St. Benedict Church was founded in 1999. The parish has more than 280 registered families and two weekend Masses. The Saturday Mass is at 5 p.m. at All Saints Lutheran Church, located at 2107 S.C. Hwy 17 N. in Mount Pleasant. The Sunday Liturgy is at 9:30 a.m. at Pinckney/Cario School in Park West.
The parish has acquired a 54-acre site on Darrell Creek Trail for development as a campus. The property will accommodate a church that seats 1,500, a multipurpose narthex and an elementary school with facilities for an estimated 500 children.
A building steering committee has been formed and progress is underway as the parish works toward its long-term master plan.
For more information, visit www.stbenedictparish.org