St. Mary's Church (New Haven, Connecticut)

St. Mary Parish is a Roman Catholic parish in New Haven, Connecticut, part of the Archdiocese of Hartford.

St. Mary Parish, New Haven, CT
Saint Mary Parish, Roman Catholic Church
St. Mary's Church, summer 2014.
Location5 Hillhouse Ave.
New Haven, Connecticut
CountryUnited States
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
Founded1834 (destroyed)
1874 (present church)
Architecture
Architect(s)James Murphy (for the 1874 church)
Demolished1848 (fire)
Administration
ParishSaint Mary
DioceseHartford
ProvinceHartford
Clergy
ArchbishopMost Rev. Leonard Paul Blair
Priest(s)Fr. John Paul Walker, OP, Fr. Leo Camurati, OP (Associate), Fr. Joachim Kenney, OP (Associate)
Laity
Organist(s)Dr. Muriel Maharidge
Front gable, photographed in 2008
St. Mary's New Haven Sanctuary

The Parish of St. Mary consists of two churches: St. Mary's Church, and St. Joseph's Church, located in the Black Rock section of New Haven.

The Church of St. Mary's, New Haven, Connecticut, United States, was the first Catholic Church in New Haven, and the second oldest Roman Catholic parish in Connecticut. The parish was established in 1832 and is located near Yale University. The parish is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. The Knights of Columbus was founded here in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney, who was then the church's assistant pastor;[1] McGivney's remains are interred within the church. The church is currently run by friars of the Dominican Order.

In 2018, the parish of Saint Mary was consolidated with the parish of Saint Joseph in East Rock, New Haven; both church buildings remain open for regularly schedule worship, and the combined parish continues to use the Saint Mary name.[2]

St. Mary's

In the summer of 1827, Irish immigrants working the Enfield Falls Canal at Windsor Locks sent to New York for a priest to tend to one of their number who had fallen grievously ill. Vicar general Monsignor John Power responded. Learning of the large number of Catholics in the area, he returned again in October. From there he went to New Haven, and having missed the boat for New York, stayed over. It being Sunday, a group of Catholics requested use of a small chapel on the Long Wharf, and being refused next resorted to a barroom. Benches were brought in and blankets hung to obscure the view while Mass was said.[3]

On July 14, 1829 Rev. R.D. Woodley of Providence arrived from Hartford and said Mass and administered the sacraments in a barn at the corner of Chapel and Chestnut Streets, called at the time "Sliny's Corner". In August of that year, Rev. Bernard O'Cavanaugh arrived in Hartford as the first resident priest in Connecticut. He made periodic visits to New Haven, where he celebrated Mass in the house of a Mr. Newman. Rev. James Fitton from Hartford was delayed saying Midnight Mass in 1831 when his horse gave out four miles from town and he had to walk the rest of the way.

In September 1832 Rev. James McDermot was assigned as assistant to Fitton at Hartford, but not long after was appointed to New Haven. This also entailed mission stations at Bridgeport, Waterbury, Derby, Norwalk, Danbury, Meriden, Middletown, Goshen, Tariffville, nd other places. The congregation at New Haven numbered about 200.[3]

Christ Church

Their Protestant neighbors were averse to doing anything to encourage "popery" and refused to allow the use of or rent and space that might be used as a gathering place. Nonetheless, a lot was secured through Jannett Driscoll, a Protestant lady who had married a Catholic. The small frame church was scheduled to be dedicated on the Feast of the Ascension, May 8, 1834, but just prior to the ceremony, the gallery gave way and two people were killed in the collapse. The carpenter had decided that trusses would provide sufficient support rather than the planned columns. Some days later, Bishop Fenwick of Boston blessed the building, naming it "Christ Church". In October of that year, the church was broken into and a crucifix and silver chalice stolen. Protestant members of the community presented the church with a fine silver chalice to replace the one taken.[3]

Rev.James Smyth became pastor in 1837, and enlarged the church. It burned down on the night of June 11, 1848 and was thought to be arson. The following month Smyth was transferred to Windsor Locks, and succeeded as pastor by Rev. Philip O'Reilly. Services were held in a tent for some months, until O'Reilly purchased the Congregationalist building on church Street. The church was dedicated under the name of St. Mary, by Bishop Tyler of Hartford on December 18, 1848.

Since 1886, St. Mary's Church has been under the care of the Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph, based in New York City. The present priory building was erected in 1907.[4]

Present church

Property on Hillhouse Avenue was secured in July 1868. Architect James Murphy of Providence, Rhode Island was commissioned to draft the plans. The construction of a Catholic church on Hillhouse Avenue was strongly opposed by the Protestant elite who lived in the area.[5] The church was dedicated in 1874.

In 1982, in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the Knights of Columbus, the church went through a complete renovation. Although included in Murphy's original plans, the spire was never completed. The installation of the spire was part of the renovations, courtesy of the Knights of Columbus.[4]

Since February 2019, the Saint Mary church building has been temporarily closed for emergency repairs; century old plaster had come loose and fallen from the ceiling.[6] As of 2020, all services are held for the time being at Saint Joseph's.

St. Joseph's Church

The Saint Joseph church building was completed in 1904.[2]

See also

References
  1. The Early Years, Knights of Columbus website. Accessed February 3, 2011.
  2. "About Saint Joseph's Church". Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  3. O'Donnell, James H., History of the Diocese of Hartford, D. H. Hurd Company, 1900, p. 325 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. St. Mary's Parish, New Haven
  5. Koehlinger, Amy (Winter 2004). ""Let Us Live for Those Who Love Us": Faith, Family, and the Contours of Manhood among the Knights of Columbus in Late Nineteenth-Century Connecticut". Journal of Social History. 38 (2): 455–469. doi:10.1353/jsh.2004.0126. JSTOR 3790447.
  6. "St. Mary Church in New Haven closed for repairs to plaster". February 20, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
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