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. The Parish of St. Mary consists of two churches: St. Mary's Church on Hillhouse Avenue, and St. Joseph's Church in the East Rock section of New Haven.

St. Mary Church, New Haven, CT
Saint Mary Parish, Roman Catholic
St. Mary's Church, summer 2014.
Location5 Hillhouse Ave.
New Haven, CT
CountryUnited States
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
Founded1834-1848 (as Christ Church)
1848 (as St. Mary's)
Dedicated1874 (present church)
Relics heldTomb of Blessed Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus
Architecture
Architect(s)James Murphy (for the 1874 church)
Demolished1848 (fire in Christ Church building)
Administration
ParishSaint Mary, New Haven
DioceseHartford
ProvinceHartford
Clergy
ArchbishopMost Rev. Leonard Paul Blair
Priest(s)Fr. John Paul Walker, OP, Fr. Joachim Kenney, OP (Associate), Fr. Ignatius Schweitzer, OP (Associate)
Laity
Organist(s)Dr. Muriel Maharidge
St. Joseph Church, New Haven, CT
Saint Mary Parish, Roman Catholic
St. Joseph Church in 2020
41°19′3.23″N 72°54′49.4″W
Location129 Edward St.
New Haven, CT
CountryUnited States
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
Founded1894-1900 (as mission of St. Mary's)
1900 (independent parish)
2017 (merger with St. Mary's)
Dedicated1905 (present church)
Administration
ParishSaint Mary, 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. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. In 1882, Father Michael J. McGivney, the church's assistant pastor, founded the Knights of Columbus at the parish.[1] McGivney, who remains are interred within the church, was beatified by Pope Francis in 2020. Since 1886, the St. Mary's parish has been run by friars of the Dominican Order.

In 2018, the parish of Saint Mary was consolidated with the nearby parish of Saint Joseph; 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, and 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 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.

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.[4] The church was dedicated in 1874.

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 next door to the church was erected in 1907.[5]

Front gable, St. Mary's in 2008
Sanctuary of St. Mary's in 2012 (prior to repairs in 2019-20)

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.[5]

From February 2019-October 2020, the Saint Mary church building was temporarily closed for emergency repairs; century old plaster had come loose and fallen from the ceiling.[6] On October 30,2020 the church was open for the beatification of Father Michael J. McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus in New Haven.[7]

St. Joseph's

St. Joseph Parish started as a mission of St. Mary's in 1894, meeting in a chapel of convenience on Lawrence Street. St. Joseph's was established as an independent parish in 1900, from territory taken in part from St. Mary's and also the parishes of Saint Patrick and Saint Francis, both in New Haven. The present Saint Joseph church building was constructed between 1904-05, and was dedicated on October 22, 1905.

Between 2010 and 2015, the number of families registered at each parish reduced significantly. After briefly sharing a pastor with St. Mary's after 2015, the two parishes were merged by decree of Archbishop Leonard Paul Blair, effective June 29, 2017, with a goal of increasing the combined parish's spiritual and financial health.[2][8]

St. Joseph convent, rectory, and church buildings, looking east.

The 1904 colonial revival-style St. Joseph church building and neighboring 1885 Queen Anne-style rectory building are listed as contributing structures within the Whitney Avenue Historic District.[9]

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. 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.
  5. St. Mary's Parish, New Haven
  6. "St. Mary Church in New Haven closed for repairs to plaster". February 20, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  7. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-haven-celebrates-mcgivney-s-beatification/ar-BB1azM2C
  8. "Decree of Merger St. Mary-St. Joseph New Haven" (PDF). Archdiocese of Hartford Pastoral Planning. May 2, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. William E. Devlin and Bruce Clouette (June 9, 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Whitney Avenue Historic District". National Park Service. and Accompanying 32 photos from 1988 (captions pages 60-62 of text document)
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