St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Utica celebrated its 125th anniversary on June 24. Pictured is the church's current building, erected in 1915.

Jeff Hajny

    Quite a bit has happened in the last 125 years. The world has been through two wars. Nations have risen and fallen. The world's culture has changed. Mankind has found cures for many diseases along with inventing new technology to make life easier.
     On June 24, the St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Utica celebrated its 125th anniversary.
     The first church was built in 1882. Two years later, St. Patrick's established a cemetery outside of town.
     In 1915, a new building was built. The third building that was constructed was built on its present day location.
     The June 24 service featured a speech by Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz. Bruskewitz talked about the church along with giving a talk on the solemnity of John the Baptist.
     "Even though 125 years seems like a long time, it is only a blink of an eye for our Lord, and in the history of the church, it is a very small, almost infinitesimal amount of time," Bruskewitz said.
     The service, which was organized by Quasquicentennial Committee members Jane Slawnyk, Lorraine Buller, Becky Sandman and Mari Schrick, was followed by a catered dinner.
     Members of the congregation were excited about the turnout of the service.
     "This was great. There were about 60 or 70 families at the service today," Ann Kosek, church musician and parishioner said. "It's wonderful to be a part of a church that's been around for so long and we've been growing a lot."