On August 29, Bishop Richard Malone, Bishop of Portland, along with Rev. Msgr. Andrew Dubois, Rev. Frank Morin, and Rev. Roger Chabot, celebrated mass and blessed the new St. Moira's Retreat House at Transfiguration Hermitage. The celebration was held outdoors, under canopies, on a beautiful summer Sunday afternoon. A group of about 175 friends, benefactors, and well-wishers gathered to celebrate the occasion and dedicate the new retreat house.

Using the Sunday Gospel , Jesus' parable of the importance of taking the lower place, Bishop Malone spoke of the value of each person's contribution to the life of the Church, and praised the value of humility. He reminded the gathering of the importance of places such as the Hermitage, and the new retreat house, and then blessed the building and the grounds.

Sr. Elizabeth thanked the Bishop, the volunteers, and all those who had so generously given so much to bring the new retreat center into being. Asked if it was everything she had hoped for, she replied, "Oh, it is far, far more than we had ever hoped. Everything just came together beautifully for this building, and it turned into a real gem. God has showered us with blessings: in this building, in the people we know, in our friends and benefactors, and in so many, many ways."

St. Moira's is not only a gracious and inviting place for retreats, it also has space in its downstairs floor for a chaplain's apartment, a fruitcake cellar, a work space, and a root cellar. As one of the members of the Hermitage Board of Directors remarked, "it makes a remarkably efficient use of every square foot of floor space."

The St. Denis Choir, and the Spiritus Schola, a Gregorian scola from Waterville, provided music, along with violinists Alex and Sarah Smith. Volunteers from St. Denis and Our Lady of Good Hope in Camden provided refreshments. The Knights of Columbus assisted with parking and with numerous other responsibilities.

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