Dallas Church Holds 1st Mass In New Building

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Members of St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Dallas celebrated a major accomplishment on Sunday. In 2007, the historic church building burned in a fire, forcing the congregation to hold mass in a gym for the past four years.

But those days are over, as parishoners opened a brand new church building. St. Cecelia Catholic Church has literally risen from the ashes, raising the spirits of those who love the church so dearly.

"It's breathtaking," said parishoner Steven Lira, with tears of joy in his eyes. But when the five-alarm fire originally destroyed his beloved church, his tears were with great sadness. "All my children have been baptized here. It was heartbreaking when it burned down."

St. Cecelia Catholic Church is an anchor in the Oak Cliff community since it was first built in 1993. The historic building was struck by lightning on August 17, 2007. The fire caused the blaze which brought the church building to the ground.

Reverend Edmundo Paredes has been a pastor for 30 years. His mother's funeral was on the same day as the fire, and was the last service held in the building before it was burned to ashes. "The emotions, the hard feelings, the fatigue," he remembered. "When I got the news, I was flabbergasted."

Now, a bigger and better sanctuary has been built, and a special re-dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, allowing church members to celebrate a tragedy that turned out to be a great opportunity.

"There was a great desire and spirit to reconstruct this church," explained Bishop Kevin J. Farrell of the Diocese of Dallas. Songs of praise filled the church as worshippers gave thanks – not only for the new building, but for the assurance that St. Cecelia will be able to continue to serve the community.

"Hopefully people will come together – the whole community – and watch us progress, so we can do more in the community," said parishoner Bianca Garcia.

The new building seats just over 1,000 people and has a price tag of $8 million. Members have paid off $6 million of that price and are still holding fundraisers to pay off the rest.