Bishop Felipe J. Estévez of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine will officially bless a new parish center for St. John Paul II Mission on Thursday, June 23, at 127 Stonemason Way, Jacksonville (located near Valley Ridge Blvd., west of the Kelly Pointe subdivision in Nocatee).
The ceremony will begin with Mass at 7 p.m. followed by a blessing ceremony for the 12,000 square foot parish center. The new center will serve as a worship space with auditorium-style seating for 450 until the mission can afford to build a church. The new building will serve a multitude of purposes including special events with a fully equipped commercial kitchen, administrative offices, conference rooms, a stage and chapel.
The faith community of St. John Paul II broke ground August 8, 2015 on the $5.5 million project. The project includes $3.5 million for the building, and another $1.5 million for road work, fees and furnishings. The Davis family generously donated the 35-acre property site to the Diocese of St. Augustine.
St. John Paul II is a mission of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Ponte Vedra Beach under the leadership of Msgr. Keith Brennan, pastor. A mission is a congregation too small or too new to be established as a separate parish. Mission churches are usually administered to by a priest or priests of a nearby parish designated by the bishop.
Bishop Estévez appointed Father Edward Shaner to serve at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish as a parochial vicar in March 2014. Father Shaner oversees the mission at Nocatee.
“This is an exciting time for Catholics living in the Nocatee community,” said Msgr. Brennan. “Due to the rapid growth of this area, I fully expect St. John Paul II will become a parish that can support a resident priest in the near future,” he added.
Msgr. Daniel Logan, retired pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, celebrated the first Mass of the mission community on July 9, 2012 at St. Francis in the Field Episcopal Church on Palm Valley Road. Since then, space has been leased from St. Francis for the mission to celebrate Mass on Saturdays at 5 p.m.
St. John Paul II has grown from 136 registered families in 2012 to more than 232 families or 591 individuals today. Father Shaner announced the new Mass schedule will become effective Friday, June 24. The address of the mission is 127 Stonemason Way, Jacksonville, FL 32081. It is located in the Nocatee planned community.
There will be daily Mass (Monday-Friday) at 8:30 a.m., Saturday Mass is at 5:00 p.m. with confession at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday Mass will be celebrated at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
The public and media are invited to attend the inaugural Mass and blessing ceremony. A reception will follow.
For more information, call the Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish office at (904) 285-2698. The mission phone number and email address will be published soon.