Times Staff Report

ST. JOHN | St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church will dedicate its new worship space at 5 p.m. Friday.

More than 100 priests and deacons and nearly 2,000 invited guests are expected to attend the ceremonies for the towering structure at 10701 Olcott Ave.

Bishop Dale J. Melczek will preside over the ceremonies, along with retired Bishop Carl F. Meingling, of Lansing, Mich.; the Rev. Sammie L. Maletta, pastor of the parish; the Rev. Joseph Kelchak, senior priest of the parish.

Originally home to 115 families, the parish has expanded to more than 1,400 households, crowding the current church on the corner of 93rd Avenue and U.S. 41. The six Masses each weekend at the church often are standing room only.

As noted by the papacy during Vatican II, the purpose of a church building is to foster active participation in the liturgy. Completely landlocked, it became apparent that a new, larger structure was needed for the growing population to be present and participate.

Preliminary plans to build a new church were initiated in 1999, parishioners began pledging the necessary funds in 2005, and ground breaking took place in the summer of 2006.

The church is the fifth building for the St. John the Evangelist community.

The dedication of the new church will include the blessing and anointing of all the various parts of the building.

Because the symbol of the Catholic faith is the altar, the actual dedication ceremony is about dedicating the altar, which will be consecrated through the sacrificial ritual of the Holy Eucharist. The physical seating will encircle the altar as the center of the church itself.

Masses will be offered in the new church beginning Saturday. Masses are at 5 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sunday.