Florida 2023 : Visiting Saint Helen's Catholic School

 It is hard for me to express how precious Saint Helens Catholic Church and school is to me. I spent 8 years of my life here and probably the most important part of my Catholic upbringing. There is a beautiful window in the back of the church this is the view from the inside and the next picture is from the outside. This is where all of our school photos were taken. 

 On the outside I noticed a plaque in honor of the founding pastor Father Murnane. I remember him well! He was the priest who used to wear vestments made of Mickey Mouse sheets to get the smallest children interested. He used to say mass in our classrooms sometimes, and was known for his 20 minute masses during the weekday.  The other priest at the time was Monseigneur Powers.  He was special because he served as a chaplain in World War 2.

 This was a new statue of who I believe is the blessed mother that wasn't there when I attended.

 Here is the inside of the church from the back. I remember this view well at very important events such as confirmation and graduation. It was also the view we saw on the first Friday of every month when the entire class would file in to confession.

 The crucifix here is not the one that I remember they changed the place of the original risen Christ.   The square shaped stain glass to  The left and right of the crucifix is the original from the 60s.

 But the original risen Christ that I remember that used to be on the class is in the back of the church now. All of the statues used to be plain wood, and now they are painted. The stained glass here is the original when I first started going here in first grade.

 When I first started attending saint helens, these were pea green 1970s transom windows. By the time I was in fourth or fifth grade, donors donated in order to have these beautiful stained glass windows put in. I was by one of these windows during each grade of my 8 grades of great school. So I know them well, in that we would go to mass every single Friday and I would go with my family every single Sunday.

 This is where I made my first confession and would go to confession every first Friday of the month. Traditionally, the light would go on when you knelt on the kneeler. Always felt lots of anxiety that turned into a lot of peace.

 This was where I sat in the choir for many years. You can see some of the stations at the cross near the top, but they are different from the wood stations that were originally there.

 The altar is a bit different, but the tabernacle is the same. Anything with the mottled brass metal was from the 70s when I attended.

 The red light showing the eucharist present was the same one from when I attended.

 The cross that the altar boys carried in was also the same.

 Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist to the right of the altar was also something to look at during mass.

... As was the holy family on the right. These used to be plain wood and now are painted. I had never noticed that Mary was stepping on a snake. And you can see that her head is ready for the Crown of may crowning.

 These holy water reservoirs near the doors are the same from when I attended, I must have dipped my hand in these thousands of times.

 And the bell the altar boys rang during the consecration was also the same.

 And for a final picture, which is a weird 12 take, is a wall that used to be the 2 bathrooms outside the door of the church. You can see the outlines if you look closely. I had to run to these bathrooms when I got sick during my eighth grade graduation.