Campus Catholic Church | Photo by Grace Ramsdell | Edited by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
Earlier this month, the St. Barbara Community began to worship at the John Basco Chapel on Wright State University (WSU) grounds. Although this arrangement is temporary, members of both communities are welcome to partake in any of the upcoming services planned.
St. Barbara Community
The St. Barbara Community is a part of the Byzantine Catholic Community, a group of 24 churches that all serve under the leadership of Pope Francis, the bishop of Rome. The St. Barbara Community consists of about 70 members from the Dayton-Cincinnati area.
“It is an ancient custom to help each other mutually. In our case it meant that the Roman Catholic Parish of Holy Rosary, Dayton, offered us to use the church of St. Stephen on Troy Rd. Since the facility was recently sold, we were in need to find a new place,” St. Barbara Community Pastor Fr. Robert Jager said.
John Basco Chapel
When Jager and the St. Barbara Community were in search of a comfortable and affordable place to worship, they came across the John Basco Chapel. Shortly thereafter, Jager and Fr. Tim Fahey– a pastor at John Basco Chapel– came to an agreement that involved sharing the worship space temporarily.
“St. Barbara Byzantine Catholic Community is a pretty small community that doesn’t have their own place yet,” Fahey said. “Since Saturday afternoons are generally one of the less busy times of the week for us, we agreed to give it a shot. It is a temporary arrangement, for a few years at most, or until they are able to secure their own church. It’s worth a little inconvenience for both of us to be able to celebrate and share our heritage as Christians.”
While the John Basco Chapel’s worship schedule remains the same for the weeks to come, the following are when the St. Barbara Community plans to gather through the remaining weeks of the Lenten season:
- Thursday, March 18 at 6 p.m. Canon of St. Andrew
- Saturday, March 20 at 4 p.m. Akatistos and Divine Liturgy
- Thursday, March 25 at 6 p.m. Feast of Annunciation
- Saturday, March 27 at 4 p.m. Vigil of Palm Sunday with blessing the palms
- Holy Monday, March 29 at 6 p.m. Presanctified Gifts with Anointing the Sick
- Holy Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. Vespers with Burial Service
- Holy Saturday, April 3 at 6 p.m. Easter Vigil with Blessing of Pascha
“I’m glad that even with covid people are still able to gather and worship,” Catholic student Cal Kahoun said. “Although I am not currently worshipping on campus, I am glad that those who choose to have the opportunity to do so”.
Both Jager and Fahey have stated that members of the WSU community (Catholic or not) are welcome to attend services of either church.
