At a pastoral visit on October 26-27, 1974, Bishop Silas presented the community with the Ecclesiastical Charter formally acknowledging our existence in the Archdiocese. Again momentum was building in the community. Picnics and open air services were held on our property, although home base was still Parkville Senior High School. Membership was growing, having more than doubled from 74 families in 1970 to 168 families in 1974. The passing of time saw the uninterrupted establishment of worship services, a complete parochial program to witness the life of the Church and the needs of her Parishioners and the finalization of architectural plans that concretely set the "dream" on firm foundations.

With the first mortgage on the land paid off the same month, settlement for the $350,000 Phase I construction loan took place on February 6, 1975 and the erection of the first building on "our land" began February 10, 1975 with Thomas A. Lloyd as general contractor. All the fervor had been building for many years and so much had been accomplished in a short period of time. To that end, and with all the activities booming, this first fifteen year mortgage was liquidated in April 1982 after having been refinanced in January 1978 within an amazing six years and four months. This action was spurred on by a generous gift of $100,000 from the Paterakis and Tsakalos families which was matched by the community in a two year drive between 1981 and 1982.

Before we get too far ahead of 1975, a flurry of activity took place during the next ten months of construction. Our community did not sit still and rest upon its laurels. On March 29, 1975 a "Gala Concert" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was held at the Lyric Opera House as a fund-raiser and to promote public awareness of our existence. It also accentuated the cultural growth within Baltimore. We witnessed the burning of the old farm house on our property on September 4, of that year. This served not only to prepare the property for our arrival, but also as practice for the Baltimore County Fire Department. On the nameday of our Patron Saint a banquet was held in honor of the charter members. A charter scroll was signed by these pioneers as a symbol of remembrance for all the dedication which helped us get to this particular point in our history. Imagine the anticipation of celebrating the first Easter in our very own building after all the years of moving from one place to another. Although much love and joy went into being mobile, nothing could compare to being home. We did it by working together as a team.