SAVE THE DATE — The Solemn Mass with the Dedication of an Altar

THE ALTAR

The altar from Saint Martin of Tours Chapel at Saint Charles Barromeo Seminary in Overbrook, Pennsylvania, was erected in response to the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council. The altar was
designed and executed of sienna and carrara marble by Belfi Brothers and Company of Philadelphia. It was dedicated on the Feast of Saint Patrick, March 17, 1970.

Prior to the seminary’s relocation to Lower Gwynedd, the final Mass at the altar in Overbrook took place on the Feast of Saint Martin of Tours, on November 11, 2023. Good Shepherd Parish then acquired the altar as part of its Church Renewal and Asset Restoration Project.

The altar has historical significance in that several popes either celebrated Mass at the altar or spoke and presided at various
gatherings in Saint Martin Chapel, notably Pope Saint John Paul II (1979), Pope Benedict XVI (1991), and Pope Francis (2015). Given the altar’s extraordinary connection to his predecessors, a request was made to Pope Leo XIV to bless the altar stone. This was graciously granted and Pope Leo XIV blessed the stone at the Vatican on February 4, 2026.