Bishop Blesses New Chapel

On Tuesday, March 2nd, Bishop Peter Christensen celebrated a blessing Mass in the new Christ the King chapel at St. John Bosco Academy. The Mass signaled the completion of a new addition which also includes three classrooms and an enlarged daycare space. Concelebrating with Bishop Christensen were Fr. Paul Wander of the Tri-Parishes in Cottonwood and Fr. Anthony Amadi of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Grangeville. Deacon Ryan Uhlenkott of the Tri-parishes assisted. Parents, grandparents and community members attended the Mass along with students and faculty, filling the chapel to overflowing. Tours of the addition and a reception followed the Mass.

St. John Bosco Academy faced a new challenge this year when they outgrew their school chapel. The new chapel is more than double the size of the previous chapel and is located front and center of the building, making the focus on our faith impossible to miss. The larger chapel allows the entire student body to attend Mass each week. School Masses early this year were limited to grades 7-12 due to the size of the old chapel. The student body continues to begin their day with prayer and are grateful to move this tradition to the new chapel as well.

The Back the Bosco Build capital campaign was launched in August which allowed St. John Bosco Academy to begin construction on the long-awaited wing. In addition to the chapel, the wing includes three new classrooms for preschool, kindergarten and first grade. Each of these classrooms keeps with the model of the original construction, with priority given for natural lighting. Students in upper grades were able to move out of temporary classrooms that were too small and into the newly vacated classrooms. A new space for the growing daycare was also included, which doubles their previous space. The daycare serves our teachers and the community at large.

St. John Bosco Academy invites all those who would like to support their efforts to donate or pledge at johnbosco.org/build. The students, staff and board of St. John Bosco Academy thank all those who donated their time, talent, or treasure to assist in the completion of this much needed project.