Welcome to Our Parish

The parish of Jesus Christ the King was founded in 1936 to serve the residents of the Tatnuck area of Worcester and Paxton, Massachusetts. This parish has a rich history and remains an important part of Tatnuck community life. Christ the King Church also has a reputation for accomplishing extraordinary things. In an uncommon act of bold faith and perseverance, parishioners succeeded in building a 450 seat church in only 45 days, a mere four months of the parish's inception. Originally intended to be a temporary six year structure, the original church served the parish fortwenty-two years. Construction of the existing, permanent structure took nearly two years and was dedicated on October 26, 1958 for the feast of Christ the King.

Major renovations have changed the face of the building twice in 40 years, in 1966 and again in 1985. Adjoining two story function rooms were added along with handicap restrooms and an elevator to meet the needs of a growing community in 1998.

Today our parish continues to play an essential role in the life of the local community.  Aside from the steady streams of baptisms, weddings, and funerals one would expect to find in a parish with over 1600 member families, Christ the King Church hosts over 35 active ministries and provides religious education to nearly 400 youths at all grade levels. The parish engages seven full or parttime employees and hundreds of volunteers to fulfill its mission "to serve one another" and "to reach out to all".

We invite you to join us in Celebrating the Good News of Christ's redeeming love.  

Early Christ the King Church

 

Today's Christ the King Church

Christ as King, depicted in many aspects of His glory, is the central theme of the striking mosaic mural adorning the front of Christ the King Church. Juliette Nault, Worcester artist and sculptor, executed the work after spending months in research on its design.  After sketches were complete, the full scale design and specifications were sent to artisans in Italy to be executed in mosaic. Hundreds of thousands of marble pieces in varying shades of grey, white, black, and muted red tones are interspersed with small pieces of gold leaf fused under glass. The end result is a creation of great beauty that was installed in 1958. Christ the King is over the main entrance of the church and is flanked by figures of the Blessed Virgin, angels, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, and symbols representing the Apostles, Martyrs, Pontiffs, Doctors of the Church, Confessors, Virgins, and Holy Women. Dramatic values are subordinated to symbolic ones. A sea is clearly visible, symbolic of Christ the King of the sea. The "King of all living creatures" is depicted by a lion, representing Christ's strength and a stag, the symbol of power over evil. A rose bush represents His love and compassion. The family is represented by three figures and peace is expressed by children releasing a dove. Christ's power is evident in the King, saints, and angels giving homage to Him. The panel extends around the baptistry and contains symbols of the seven sacraments. The entire design is consolidated by the use of branches that have a common root in the tree at the bottom of the large pane at the left.

Marquetries also adorn the church's interior.  The marquetries were originally ordered by an Archbishop in Paris.The artist made duplicate panels and sliced each marquetry into two layers, 
making two sets. One set is now in the church of the Sacre Coeur in Paris. The other was discovered by Bishop Wright in an antique shop in New York. He purchased them and gave them as a gift to Christ the King Church. To view the Marquetries click here
 

Several new improvements to the modern church have also been completed in recent years, including the addition of the Johnson Center, Our Lady of Tatnuck Chapel and the Holy Family Shrine. To view them  here


In November 2013, significant changes were also made to the front of the church including the relocation of the tabernacle to its original site, the addition of a new statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ child, and a candlestick reminiscent of an original one. To view them 
ciick here