St. Vito's Church (Mamaroneck, New York)

St. Vito's Church in Mamaroneck, New York is a Roman Catholic church in the Latin rite parish of Most Holy Trinity-Saint Vito in the Archdiocese of New York. It is the parish church of the Parish of St. Vito and Most Holy Trinity.

St. Vito's Church
40°57′26.7″N 73°44′27.7″W
LocationMamaroneck, New York
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websitestvitochurch.com
History
StatusParish church
Founded1911
DedicationSaint Vito
Architecture
Functional statusRegular use
StyleRoman
Administration
ParishMost Holy Trinity-Saint Vito
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of New York
Clergy
ArchbishopTimothy Cardinal Dolan
Pastor(s)Msgr. James E. White

History

The parish of Saint Vito's was founded in 1911 to serve the Italian Catholic community of Mamaroneck,[1] which prior to this, was attended by priests from Our Lady of Mount Carmel in White Plains. Eventually, a small chapel dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua was constructed at Sheldrake Place.[2] [3]

In 1908 Father Ferdinand Papale became the first resident priest and efforts were made to build a permanent church. Property was acquired and a wooden structure was built on Madison Street, and dedicated to St. Vito. It opened in April 1910. The first pastor assigned to the new St. Vito’s was Father Francis Cocozza. He was succeeded by Father Biaggio Del Negro, who obtained permission for a new church ‘on higher ground’ for protection from the periodic flooding. Designed by Anthony J. DePace, the new church building was completed in 1930.[2]

Father Del Negro was followed by Monsignor John Goodwine, who undertook the construction of a school, parish hall and a renovated convent. The church was heavily damaged in a flood that ravaged the Village of Mamaroneck in April 2007, but has since been restored.

To this day the parish still maintains a large percentage of Italian-American parishioners. There are monthly devotions to Padre Pio every 4th Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The parish also holds an annual Festa Italiana in honor of its patron saint, which includes a procession with a statue of St. Vito.[4] Once a month, Mass is celebrated in Italian. There is also a Mass in Spanish on Sundays. The Pax Christi Sisters, who speak English, Spanish and Italian, visit fifteen to twenty elderly homebound parishioners each week.[5] St. Vito's hosts the annual Mass before Mamaroneck's St. Patrick Day Parade.[6]

St.Vito's interior

School

Initially, the Sisters of the Divine Compassion from White Plains provided religious instruction to the children of the parish. They were later followed by the Sisters of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine. St. Vito's Parish School operated from 1962 to 1986 and was staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill. The school building is now leased to the French American School. [7] The gymnasium is still used for an active CYO sports program

Recent history

On November 2, 2014 the Archdiocese of New York announced as part of its "Making All Things New" round of church closures that the Parish of Saint Vito would be merged with the Parish Most Holy Trinity also located in Mamaroneck, New York. As of August 2015,[8] the church is part of the newly formed parish of Most Holy Trinity-Saint Vito. The parish is served by the Knights of Columbus, Council 2247.[9]

James E. White is the pastor of Most Holy Trinity-Saint Vito Parish.[10]

Pastors
  • Francis Cocozza, 1910-1927
  • Biaggio Del Negro, 1927-1959
  • John Goodwine, 1959

References
  1. Lafort, Remigius. The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X., Catholic editing Company, 1914, p. 411 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. "Parish History". St. Vito and Most Holy Trinity (Formerly St. Vito) Main Church.
  3. "Mamaroneck 'Italian Parish' Has Room For All Faithful - Catholic New York". www.cny.org.
  4. "St. Vito's Festa Returns To Mamaroneck", Daily Voice, June 20, 2012
  5. "Mamaroneck 'Italian Parish' Has Room For All Faithful - Catholic New York". cny.org.
  6. "soundshoreparade". soundshoreparade.
  7. "French-American School seeks to expand". The Mamaroneck Review.
  8. http://archny.org/documents/2015/2/33_Saint_Vito_Mamaroneck___Most_Holy_Trinity_Mamaroneck.pdf
  9. "Knights of Columbus Mamaroneck". Knights of Columbus Mamaroneck.
  10. "St. Vito and Most Holy Trinity (Formerly St. Vito) Main Church". St. Vito and Most Holy Trinity (Formerly St. Vito) Main Church.
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