Church #48 - St. Eugene, Glocester

Hopefully the locals don't mind that I'm saying "Glocester" instead of "Chepachet," but I'm following the Diocese' web site. This church is in the rather charming village of Chepachet (part of Glocester) in the western part of Rhode Island, which is close to Connecticut and a lot more rural than the parts along I-95 and the coast. I wasn't aware that there were rural parts of Rhode Island when I moved here, but seeing these places is part of why I'm enjoying this pilgrimage so much.

I enjoyed this parish community a lot. I have no idea how big the weekend attendance is, but the church has lots of special events and activities. Most of the people at the morning Mass seemed to know each other well; they sat in a big group in the front left part of the sanctuary, and there was far more talking going on before Mass than there usually is. It was like a little family. The priest was extremely animated, especially during the consecration, and one of the parishioners raved about him and his involvement in the community afterward. At the end of Mass they said the St. Michael the Archangel prayer, as well as a long prayer for vocations to the priesthood. The altar server for Mass was a seminarian who's staying here for the summer.

The sanctuary has a very simple rectangular layout. It feels like the pews go back a very long way, and that the church could seat a ton of people if necessary. There's a little kneeler pad in front of the altar, which suggests that adoration takes place at least occasionally.

The name of the parish is a bit of a mystery. Pope Eugene I from the 7th century is a saint, but his biography is pretty thin, and he was only pope for a few years (I hope he isn't offended). There's a few other St. Eugenes too that I can't really find much info about. There's a more famous St. Eugene, but he wasn't canonized until 1995. This Eugene was an 18th Century clergyman from France who grew up during the French Revolution. He served Pope Pius VII during his captivity by Napoleon. This inspired him to spend his life working with the poor, and he founded a missionary order called the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate for this purpose. He's the patron Saint of dysfunctional families, which I would definitely make lots of jokes about if this were my home parish.