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At Our Lady of Solace-St. Dominic parish in the Bronx they are serious about faith formation. So serious that they dedicated an entire renovated building specifically to that purpose Dec. 22.
The new Faith Formation Center, operating since the fall, is located in the former parish convent, which was thoroughly renovated to its new purpose, with classrooms, meeting spaces, offices and a chapel that is open to the community from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The building at 1710 Unionport Rd. sits opposite and just up the street from St. Dominic’s Church. The former convent has been re-fitted to conform to all appropriate building codes for an education facility, including security-controlled entry doors, room signs in Braille, and a lift and restroom facilities accessible for wheelchairs. Financing for the project was through a loan from the archdiocese’s Real Estate Office.
Speaking of the center’s mission, Father Robert Badillo, M.Id., pastor of Our Lady of Solace-St. Dominic, explained, “We are in a day and age where we need to be more proactive in the formation of our Catholic people.
“And by formation we mean integral formation,” he added. “We are spiritual persons indwelled by the most Blessed Trinity. So this is the cornerstone of our Faith Formation Center. This revelation of the indwelling presence of God is where we concentrate.”
There are some 168 students enrolled in religious education in grades 1 through 8 and high school in the parish and some 60 adults in RCIA programs, both in English and Spanish, and in parental formation programs.
And Father Badillo assures they are rigorous programs. Prayer and the Eucharist are central components and the goal is to create “apostles” and “confessors” who are prepared and able to “defend” the faith.
“Our program is not a program to teach the sacraments alone,” he stressed. “We form them as apostles to go and teach all peoples and to share the Gospel as sons and daughters of God. From first grade to adulthood it is a program of ongoing formation. Our mission is to foster, encourage and enhance each parishioner’s filial relationship with our Heavenly Father and to lead them on a journey toward holiness as children of God. ”
To that end parents are invited to do more than drop off their children for religious education. There is a faith formation program for them too.
The pastor says the new center is the symbol of the importance the parish is placing on this priority ministry.
“This speaks to people volumes of how important we take their religious formation,” he said proudly while showing a visitor around the sparkling facility, the scent of newly laid carpets still in the air.
“We’ve attempted to create not only a space, but an esthetically appealing space with statues and portraits to create a religious atmosphere. The parishioners feel this is for us and they look forward to coming to the center. They have kind of an ownership of this building. This is the ultimate goal, that we have vibrant Catholics participating, growing and this building is sort of the visible manifestation of that goal. ”
