Most Blessed Sacrament Church is honored to host the conclusion of this Holy Year of the Real Presence in the Diocese of Allentown.
Our church was built in 1743, two years after the founding of the mission by Father Theodore Schneider, S.J. and was originally dedicated to St. Paul. This original structure forms the rear of the Church behind the sanctuary. The original Chapel is still intact.
As a professor in the University of Heidelberg, Germany, Fr. Schneider brought his passion for education to the mission in colonial Pennsylvania and established the first Catholic School to be found in the colonies. Over the years the mission grew into a flourishing parish and school.
In 1837, Belgian native Fr. Augustine Bally became pastor, and in his 45-year tenure, was much beloved by the town, then called Churchville. Overseeing the expansion of the Church and school, Fr. Bally is fondly remembered for his honorable exercise of his sacred priesthood and kind care for all. After his entry into eternal life, the town honored his memory by renaming itself Bally in his honor. It was Father Bally himself who renamed and dedicated the Church as Most Blessed Sacrament, following in a long tradition of love for the Holy Mass and Eucharistic Worship, including an annual Corpus Christi Procession.
For nearly three centuries, this Catholic Church in Bally has been a Holy place where our Lord’s Real Presence in the Eucharist has been worshiped, adored, and received.
Our Parish is honored that Bishop Schlert will be leading the Diocesan Celebration of the Year of the Real Presence in our beautiful Church, so fittingly celebrated in our Diocese’s oldest Tabernacle of God’s Dwelling with Mankind.