HENRIETTA – The faithful of St. Marianne Cope parish don’t even have to go inside the Church of the Guardian Angels to feel that great changes have taken place there.

A new canopy entrance with a drop-off area is quickly noticeable upon arriving at Guardian Angels, located at 2061 E. Henrietta Road. In addition, the number of disabled parking spaces has been doubled.

A narthex or a largely renovated gathering space awaits you inside the building. This area was bustling with activity on the late afternoon of October 21, thanks to a busy guided tour that gave parishioners their first chance to see the renovations up close.

“They keep coming in and going in. I am amazed and delighted, ”said Mercy Sister Sheila Stevenson, pastoral administrator of St. Marianne Cope Parish, as she stood by the crowded entrance.

A few days later, on the weekend of October 23-24, Masses returned to the Guardian Angels for the first time since Easter Sunday as the initial phase of the renovation drew to a close. All the liturgies of St. Marianne Cope in the previous months had been held at the other place of worship in the parish, St. Joseph’s Church in Rush.

Among the characteristics of the renovation project are:

• a completely redesigned narthex, with a non-slip porcelain floor;

• a reception desk in the narthex which will be run by volunteers;

• a new large carved wooden statue of Saint Marianne Cope, the patron saint of the parish, on the other side of the narthex;

• offices for parish administrators, staff and volunteers of the former school of guardian angels;

• a spacious meeting room;

• improved sanitation facilities;

• a kitchenette; and

• an improved security system.

In addition to the updated physical characteristics, a new weekend Mass schedule has been implemented for St. Marianne Cope Parish. Liturgies now take place on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. at the Guardian Angels, Sundays at 8:00 a.m. at Saint-Joseph and at 10:30 a.m. at the Guardian Angels.

Sister Stevenson congratulated everyone involved in planning and completing the project, which she said cost $ 1.2 million. It marks the first part of a renovation which will also include a second phase focused on the worship space of the church. Sister Stevenson explained that the goal of this last phase is to make the church look more traditional, since the Guardian Angel facility was originally built as a gymnasium for the old school. She added that the start of the second phase will depend on the progress of fundraising efforts.

St. Marianne Cope Parish was established in 2012 and included the Guardian Angels, St. Joseph and the former Church of the Good Shepherd in Henrietta. Good Shepherd was sold in 2019 to the Rush-Henrietta Central School District mainly due to declining mass attendance, declining parish income, and decreasing number of priests available – trends affecting all parts of the Diocese of Rochester. Under an agreement with the school district, St. Marianne Cope Parish continued to use offices on the Good Shepherd campus until it moved to its new offices at Guardian Angels effective November 15.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Good Shepherd was used for the renovation of Guardian Angels. Sister Stevenson said that all renovation efforts are aimed at focusing on the one parish community which is now St. Marianne Cope; she noted that the October 21 visit was an encouraging sign of parishioners coming together. At the same time, she said, the parish intends to continue honoring the history of the three churches that originally made up the parish community of St. Marianne Cope. For example, she pointed out a wall facing the reception area, on which individual drawings of the Guardian Angel, Saint Joseph and the Good Shepherd churches surround a painting of Saint Marianne Cope.

The parish is named after the famous nun (1838-1918) who grew up in Utica and was a renowned hospital administrator in Syracuse. In 1883, Sister Marianne Cope moved to Hawaii, where she spent the rest of her life caring for people with leprosy. The Franciscan Sister was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and canonized by him in 2012.