On Oct. 19, what had been two parishes became one with the opening Mass at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta parish in the Fairdale area of Jefferson County.

Just seven days earlier, final Masses had been celebrated at St. Mary Church, a few miles from Fairdale in Northern Bullitt County, and at St. Jerome Church, 903 Fairdale Road, the building that will now serve as home to the newly-created parish.

Last week Father Robert E. Ray, the parish pastor, and Sister of Charity of Nazareth Betty Blandford, the pastoral associate, talked about the thrill of the new parish’s birth and the sadness felt as history closed for the two others.

“The people of St. Mary loved their community of faith, loved their church with deep affection,” Father Ray said. “They were living proof that the people, not the building, represent what a church is. There was no anger or bitterness. There was, instead, a sense of gratitude for all they had been able to become.”

The two churches began cooperating as clustered parishes in 2005, and as part of the Archdiocese of Louisville Parish Reorganization plan announced a year later, they were scheduled to be merged into a single parish. Now that merger has been accomplished.

At the closing Masses for both St. Jerome and St. Mary churches, Father Ray said, parishioners came forward and gave reverence to the altars at each site, then processed out of the buildings.

“That Sunday, those two services will be memories that everyone who was there will have forever,” said Sister Blandford. “It was just such an astounding experience at both places. When we locked those doors and put a purple ribbon on the doors, it gave a sense of closure to everybody.”

Since the merger was announced, the two parishes — led at first by their respective parish councils and then by a council merged from those two bodies — had considered several alternatives for their future.

Father Ray said there was some consideration given to building a new church at a new site, and that he originally had thought that perhaps keeping both locations open as part of the new parish would be a possibility.

“We considered two locations, but the people were quick to say, ‘You need to be in one place,’ ” he explained. “The parish council said, ‘We can’t be one, be united, if you do that. Two places won’t work.’ ”

Because the building that housed St. Mary Church wasn’t designed to be a permanent worship space, there was little chance that it could be the site of the new parish. So that left building a new church or putting the former St. Jerome Church building, at 903 Fairdale Road, to use as the new Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Church. An official decree about creation of the new parish will be forthcoming from Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. The former St. Mary Church building will be part of the new parish and will be used for receptions and other events, Father Ray said.

“The worship space (at St. Jerome) had been remodeled just a couple of years ago,” Father Ray said, “so economically, locating the new parish here was the most responsible thing to do.”

The parish council considered several possible names, he noted, including Prince of Peace Church and St. Frances Cabrini Church. There was also some thought given to retaining the old church names in some fashion.

But the choice of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was particularly fitting, the pastor said.

“The name was significant, because the new parish mission statement calls for reaching out to the poor,” Father Ray explained. “The people in this part of the community know about financial struggles, and the connection they feel with Blessed Teresa is so very deep.”

“People relate very well to this woman, and what’s happened here is an experience that the whole original concept of having a patron or patroness for a parish is all about,” he added. “She is of our day; people know her and love her. Even her writings were stunning, succinct, clear and to the point.”

One of those writings is being incorporated into the interior of the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta worship space. The architect and graphic design artist helping the parish — the husband and wife team of David and Tricia Biagi — will put one of Blessed Teresa’s writings on the church wall. It will say, “Do small things with great love.”

Former members of St. Jerome and St. Mary churches are being asked to take a small step of their own “with great love,” too. They’ve been asked to re-register as members of the new parish. All of the old parish committees for the former churches have been dissolved.

“We’ve told people that when they register at Blessed Teresa, they will be called ‘founding members,’ ” Sister Blandford said. “We closed out registration for the two former parishes, and this August, September and October we’ve asked people to register here at Blessed Teresa. So far we’ve registered 236 people, and I know many others who are coming but they just haven’t taken the time to do it yet.”

Father Ray said he expects the new parish membership to total 250 to 300 people by the first of next year. As people have registered to become members of the new parish, they’ve been asked to commit to bringing one other new person to the church, he noted.

“For the people who were members of St. Mary, it will take another 10 minutes or so for them to get here,” he said. “That’s a problem for some of the elderly, I know, and I hate that it is.”

But the selection of the Fairdale Road site was a matter of responsible stewardship, he said, and that’s something that people of both the Fairdale and Hillview areas, where St. Mary was located, understand.

“I’ve always said the people in these two communities really do live the beatitudes,” said Father Ray. “There are not a lot of people out here with extraordinary means, and they don’t care about that. They don’t especially want a half-a-million-dollar house; they’d rather have one that’s paid for.

“Blessed Mother Teresa fits so well with the people of this community because they share her sense of humility,” he said. “We’ll be re-establishing parish committees as we determine the need for them, and our former parish council and the leadership in both former churches has been outstanding.”

Father Ray said the blending together of the two parishes hasn’t been easy, but the effort has produced “a lot of friendships among the leaders.”

“I’m at the point of being thankful for having gone through this,” he said. “It hasn’t been easy, and we’re not finished. But it’s been a refreshing experience for a lot of us, and we’re excited about the future.”