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September 16, 2013
On Sunday, Sept. 8, sisters, priests, associates and other friends participated in a New Motherhouse Construction Blessing at Incarnate Word Convent located at 2930 South Alameda in Corpus Christi. Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey was main celebrant and homilist at the Mass.
Concelebrants with the bishop were Msgr. Thomas Feeney, Msgr. Seamus McGowan, Msgr. Richard Shirley and Msgr. Roger Smith. The blessing ceremony, enhanced by candlelight when a storm caused the lights to go out, took place at the conclusion of the Mass.
Bishop Mulvey add soil from the Holy Land, and he and Sister Kuntscher, IWBS Superior General, at left, mixed all the soil in the central container. Msgr. Thomas Feeney is at right.
From early times, the breaking of the ground symbolized the consecration of a specific place to God's use. Offerings and sacrifices, asking God to protect and sanctify the site, were part of the ceremony. Prayers were asked for divine protection for the structure or the function of the building.
Another aspect of the ceremony was the embedding of an offering within the structure, such as a cornerstone or a separate container in the form of a "time capsule" holding historical documents or other items. These rituals are an extension of the age-old offerings made to ensure a "firm foundation."
The breaking of the ground is the fundamental beginning, "the cornerstone rite" on which all else is built.
Architects, construction contractors and representatives were recognized and blessed.
For the cornerstone and groundbreaking ceremony, the ground was brought into the Chapel for the blessing. To symbolize consecration to Jesus, the Incarnate Word, of the past, present, and future, soil from the sites of previous and present convents in Brownsville and Corpus Christi was added to a larger container of soil from the new construction site at 5201 Lipes Boulevard.
A stone with the congregation's emblem and a statue of St. Joseph the carpenter flanked the container for the soil mixture. Leadership team members held receptacles of soil from the various sites and sisters and guests came forward to place soil from one of the receptacles into the center container, giving all the opportunity to dig the shovel into the soil.
To conclude the ceremony, Bishop Mulvey added soil from the Holy Land, and he and Sister Kuntscher, IWBS Superior General mixed all the soil in the central container, which was then blessed by Bishop Mulvey.
The birthday of the Virgin Mary, Sept. 8, was chosen for the ceremony date to acknowledge Mary and Joseph as special patrons in providing this new home for Jesus, the Incarnate Word.