By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

DEERFIELD TWP.- More than 2,300 people, including the archbishop of Cincinnati, are expected to celebrate the opening of the first permanent home of St. Margaret of York Catholic Church here today.

"We've built the church, then we just had to finish the building, and now we've done that," said the Rev. Tom Kreidler, pastor. "Everything was done with so much love and detail, there's something in the building for everyone."

St. Margaret of York Catholic Church began in 1983 with 50 families meeting in a public school.

The parish built a school first on the property, 9483 Columbia Road, and has been worshipping in the school's gymnasium and cafeteria since.

The parishioners will celebrate the dedication with a Mass, presided over by Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk, beginning at 5 p.m. in the old sanctuary with a procession to the new building, said Rose Eckhoff, director of marketing and communications for the church.

Leading up to the dedication, the church has had a week of activities, including the hanging and blessing of a parish quilt, with squares from the congregation's families, an ice cream social and a 24-hour prayer vigil.

The new church has several amenities, including a lectern that is wheelchair-accessible, a stained-glass crucifix and numerous stained-glass windows, including one of its patron saint, St. Margaret of York, Pilarczyk's favorite saint.

She was an English woman in the Reformation Era who hid priests and arranged Masses amid persecution.