Mar 25, 2008 / 23:24 pm
The oratory at Ave Maria University will be dedicated next week at a Mass celebrated by Bishop of Venice Frank Dewane, the Naples Daily News reports.
Ave Maria University President Nick Healy said in an e-mail to the university community that Bishop Dewane would dedicate the 100 foot-tall, $24 million structure at a Mass on the afternoon of March 31.
“We are very pleased to announce that Bishop Frank Dewane will dedicate the oratory at a special Mass and ceremony,” Healy wrote. “Thank you for your prayers.”
It is unclear whether the building will be dedicated as a church or an oratory. Oratories are places of prayer dedicated to a particular community, while churches are the spiritual centers of parishes. Baptisms, weddings, and funerals typically occur in churches, and not oratories.