For many people who grew up in the vicinity of Centralia, the day of prayer Sunday at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church was like a homecoming.

"I grew up in Centralia and this is my home parish. I was baptized here," Susan Mashack Klein, Still Creek, Rush Township, said at the church, which is in Conyngham Township, Columbia County. As soon as she and her daughter, Ashley Klein, Reading, Berks County, entered the church at 11:45 a.m. they started seeing familiar faces."Oh my gosh! My Susie! It's so good to see you, welcome home," Matthew Kenenitz, a cantor from Chicago, said."He's also a homeboy," Mashack Klein said. "Originally I'm from Centralia. I was born here, but I grew up technically in Ashland. My grandparents lived here until 2000, so I was always in Centralia," Kenenitz said.Kenenitz and his aunt, Bernadette Hutnick of Miami, Florida, who was also born in Centralia, had pictures of their relatives pinned to their chests."I never knew them. I believe they died before I was born," Kenenitz said. She remembered the name of his great-grandfather, Frank Kasenych.My great-grandfather was one of the founders of this parish," Kenenitz said.The parish was founded Aug. 15, 1911. The first services there were held in 1912.The church still serves a thriving parish family, with worshippers driving to the hilltop on Sundays and holy days from communities throughout the area. The church is located on North Paxton Street, two blocks north of state Route 42 in Centralia.The Kleins, Kenenitz and Hutnick were among the hundreds of people who traveled to the area - the site of one of the worst mine fires in history - for a special event at the church, which is atop a hill made of solid rock. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church was recently named a pilgrimage site by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, primate of the worldwide Ukrainian Catholic Church.The church hosted its first pilgrimage on Sunday. "I heard about this celebration and this is the first time I've been back in a long time," Mashack Klein said. "I came up here for vacation, but because this was happening I came up for this weekend," Hutnick said. "I came home for Seminary Day back in July and then I promised Father Michael I'd stay home for this," Kenenitz said, referring to the Very Rev. Archpriest Michael Hutsko, pastor of Assumption BVM and Ss. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church, Mount Carmel.His parish in Chicago is St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The five-hour event started with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at noon. More than 250 people packed the church.