George P. Matysek Jr.

When Monsignor John Dietzenbach pushed open the doors of the new St. Peter the Apostle Church in Libertytown during a Sept. 7 dedication liturgy, more than 900 parishioners looked on in stunned silence.

Standing on the sidewalk outside a small, three-story house on Paca Street, Father John Kemper, S.S., raised one hand and dangled a long, old-fashioned key that looked like it could unlock a treasure chest.

The future fire chief said he fell in love with the Catholic Church, attracted by the richness of the liturgy and the solid structure of the church. There was a sense of authenticity he longed for, he said.

“Holy Communion makes you feel better that you have received Jesus,” he explained. “I’m so glad I’m able to receive it. It gives me strength.”

After a recently completed $700,000 restoration, the small chapel has been stabilized, a new roof added, the exterior made over and the interior returned to the elegant simplicity that characterized the structure at the time it was erected in 1855.