When it is dedicated this Saturday, the new sanctuary for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Nassau Bay will showcase liturgical items rich in meaning for parishioners.

The red marble used for the floors, altar and baptismal font symbolizes the blood of Christ and was mined from a mountain in the Phillipines, the homeland of the pastor, the Rev. Alberto A. Maullon Jr.

Chains carved into the objects throughout the sanctuary are to remind worshippers of St. Paul, the oft-jailed evangelist for whom the church is named.

And the stained-glass windows depict images of the Orion and Swan nebulae are from photos taken by the Hubble telescope. This is NASA country, after all, and astronaut Mike Good is a parishioner and chairman for the church's capital campaign.

"We're the primary church for NASA employees who are Catholic," said Heidi Clark, the pastoral associate for ministry.

The dedication Mass will be celebrated at 3 p.m. in the new sanctuary, 18223 Point Lookout Drive. But Clark warns that people should be there by 2:30 p.m. because the 1,000-seat sanctuary will be packed. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo will consecrate the church, and 50 priests are expected for the service.

Parking will be at nearby Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 18220 Upper Bay Road, and Nassau Bay Baptist Church, 18131 Nassau Bay Drive, with shuttles to the St. Paul sanctuary.

On Sunday, the church will host an open house from 1:30-4 p.m.

The church is proud of its wide range of programs for all ages and cultures represented by its 1,900 families. Spanish speakers from throughout the Bay Area attend Spanish-language Mass.

"Every day of the week, our parking lot is full. There's always something going on," Clark said. "And that's the way we like to keep it."

The carefully planned new facility is in contrast to the 40-year-old sanctuary the church has been using.

"We've been worshipping in something that was meant to be a gym," Clark said.

The current sanctuary was initially intended to serve as a temporary worship facility until a school could be built, when the building would be converted to a gym. The school never happened, and parishioners continued to gather for decades in "a very homey worship area," Clark said.

"Now what we have feels much different. There's much more concentration on the sacred," she said. "It's based on who we are."