A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 129

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

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St. Bridgid's .- The parish of St. Bridgid, Linden street and St. Nicholas avenue, was formed in October, 1882, by the Rev. John McCloskey. The corner-stone of the new church was laid in June, 1883, and the church was dedicated on Christmas day of the same year. Father McCloskey died in 1893, and was succeeded by Rev. Michael A. Fitzgerald, who remained here until 1897, when he was placed in charge of St. Peter's church. His successor was the Rev. Thomas E. Carroll, the present (1901) Pastor, who is assisted by Rev. William F. Blaber and Rev. Frederick Wunch.

St. Ambrose's .- In the year 1883 the Rev. Daniel J. Sheehy, who had been for some years.

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an assistant at St. Augustine's church, was di- rected to build a new church at the corner of DeKalb and Tompkins avenues. An old frame house stood upon this corner and here Father Sheehy said his first Mass for the little con- gregation that was soon to be placed under the patronage of St. Ambrose. Father Sheehy was a man of action and before a year had passed he had erected a neat frame church to be replaced in time by a larger and more pretentious edifice. He also erected a large and commodions pastoral residence in the rear of the church. Father Sheehy secured the large double house on DeKalb avenue, just below the church, and converted it into a flourishing academy under the care of the Sis- ters of St. Joseph: Sister Mary Augusta is in charge. Father Sheehy died February 4, 1895, at the age of forty-five years, in the full vigor of manhood and with great possibilities before him. He was succeeded by the Rev. J. J. Crowley, who had been for nearly a quarter of a century Pastor of St. Patrick's church, Huntington, Long Island. There is as yet no. parochial school attached to St. Ambrose's church, but there is a rapidly growing Sun- day-school, which now numbers over 600 chil- dren. The church property is valued at $120,000.

St. Thomas Aquinas .- The Church of St. Thomas Aquinas has a history. It is the forty- seventh Catholic church in the city of Brook- lyn. In the winter of 1884 the Rev. James Donohue was sent by Bishop Loughlin to or- ganize a new parish in Gowanus. The wig- wam on Ninth street, near Fifth avenue, which had been used by the Twenty-second Ward Democrats during the presidential campaign, was presented to Father Donohue by ex-Coun- ty Clerk Delmar, and it was gratefully ac- cepted and used for church purposes until Passion Sunday, 1886, when the first Mass was said in the basement of the new church. The corner-stone of the church had been laid June 28, 1885. The church property has a frontage of 200 feet on Fourth avenne and 100 feet on

Ninth street. The style of the church is foliated Gothic; the nave is 75 feet by 100 feet, the transept 37 by 78, and the apse 16 feet by 32 feet. The upper part of the struc- ture is of Philadelphia brick, the interior is finished in hard wood. The windows are of stained glass, and the church will seat 1,400 persons. It was dedicated to the service of God on Sunday, May 16, 1887, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin, who also preached on the occasion. Among the most prominent benefactors to the church are ex-County Clerk Delmar and his estimable wife, and Mrs. Daniel Gray.

St. Francis Xavier's .- The church of St. Francis Xavier, on Sixth avenue, corner of Carroll street, and of which the Rev. David J. Hickey is happily still the Pastor, was or- ganized in 1886. Father Hickey had been for many years assistant Pastor at St. Au- gustine's church and in that time had acquired an experience that proved invaluable to him in the great task entrusted to him. He went to work at once, and on September 17, 1886, rented the house No. 243 Sixth avenue, and by the following Sunday he had fitted up the spacious parlors into a temporary chapel, and here two Masses were said for the new con- gregation which crowded into the parlors, the halls and the stairways. Father Hickey is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier's College, and he did not forget alma mater when he started his new church. He had commenced his. stttdies under the care of the Apostle of the Indies and he took pleasure in placing the great work of his life under the patronage of that saint. Ten vacant lots on the opposite corner of the house just mentioned were se- cured for the needs of the new parish, and these lots were subsequently supplemented by five more on Carroll street. On October 3 Father Hickey with his own hands turned 111 the first spadeful of earth, and by Christmas he had the happiness of seeing the work in his new church so well advanced as to enable him to celebrate the birth of Christ within its walls.

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Twelve hundred persons gathered in the base- ment to hear Mass "in their own church." Father Hickey did not feel that he could, at that time, build such a church as he desired, but he did build a very neat and substantial church of wood and iron that was adequate for the immediate wants of his people, and he is now erecting a more lasting building. The original church was ninety-two feet deep by fifty wide, with a sacristy 16 by 32 feet and a seating capacity of from 700 to 800. The new church will be an ornament to the city and will continue in spite of the vast improve- ments that have recently been made in that part of the city to merit the name of the "Gem of the Hill."

Father Hickey was born in Brooklyn and is now in the full vigor of manhood. He was for a long time an altar boy at the Church of the Assumption under good old Father Kec- gan. In 1872 he graduated from St. Francis Xavier's College, New York, and made his ecclesiastical studies at the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, Suspension Bridge. He was ordained in 1876. His parish has grown from 900 souls to over 3,000. Besides the church he has built a fine rectory, and his people have generously seconded his efforts. Al- though he began in 1886 without a cent in hand, he had the happiness, on Sunday, June 28, 1896, of announcing that his parish, church house, academy and all, valued at $150,000, were free from debts of any kind. This is a record of which one may feel proud. But Father Hickey's work is not yet done. He is now building a magnificent new church.

The Church of Our Lady of Good Coun- sel, on Madison street, was built in 1886 by the Rev. Eugene P. Mahony, formerly Chap- lain at the Penitentiary. This building has since been replaced by a handsome new edifice ·on Putnam avenue, which was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin on Sunday, October 4, 1891. The building is of Norwegian granite, Eng- lish Gothic in style, and is said to have cost some $80,000. It is one of the most complete

churches of its size in the city of Brooklyn. The structure was erected under the imme- diate supervision of its Pastor, who did a great deal of the manual work himself while superintending the work of others. Besides the erection of his fine church, Father Mahony has provided ample school accommodations for over 300 boys under the care of the Franciscan Brothers, and nearly 400 girls under the care of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Father Mahony was a quiet, unobtrusive man, shunning noto- riety, but always an indefatigable worker, as his church and school will testify. He died a victim to his devotion on January 26, 1901. As Father Belford said in his beautiful eulogy over the dead pastor, "No priest ever worked harder, and few priests have met and con- quered difficulties so wisely and so well."

Church of the Presentation .- In 1887 the Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin sent the Rev. Hugh Hand to organize a new parish at the corner of Rockaway avenue and St. Mark's avenue. It was called in honor of the Presentation of the B. V. M. On April 7th of that year Fa- ther Hand assembled his people in Luhr's Hall, at the corner of East New York and Liberty avenues. Thirty persons attended his first Mass, prominent among whom were Mr. Thomas F. Ryan and Mr. Timothy Berckley. In a short time Father Hand erected a church building, which he enlarged and improved in 1896. The edifice is 112 feet by 36 feet, ample enough for the accommodation of the Cathi- olics of a new district. Father Hand has been hampered in his work by the immigra- tion into his parish of an element not cal- culated to make it attractive to English-speak- ing people ; nevertheless, he has had the happi- ness of seeing his congregation grow from the thirty who attended his first Mass to one that now requires the ministrations of two priests. Father Hand is still a young man and has plans for the future which will be realized as soon as the means for so doing are placed at his disposal.

St. Nicholas' .- The Rev. John Hoffman

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in 1886 built a new church for the German congregation in Bushwick. On July 4th of that year Bishop Loughlin laid the corner- stone of the new St. Nicholas'. Over 1,500 men from the different German Catholic so- cieties in the city participated in the cere- monies. Father Hauber preached the sermon, in German. The edifice is 148x70 feet, is Gothic in style without transept, and accom- modates 1,000 persons on the floor and 200 in the gallery. The complete cost of the church is estimated at $100,000.

Our Lady of Sorrows .- The church of Our Lady of Sorrows, at the corner of Mor- gan avenue and Harrison Place, was founded for the Germans in 1890 by the Rev. John Willmann and Rev. John B. Zentgraf. Father Willmann remained only two or three weeks after the foundation of the parish, and its or- ganization devolved upon Father Zentgraf. A two-story frame building, 40 feet by 60 feet, constituted the first house of worship, and about 300 persons attended the first Mass. In October, 1892, Father Zentgraf added forty feet to the length of the building and improved it, both interiorly and exteriorly. He also built a school, 40 feet by 100 feet, which is under the care of eight Sisters of St. Dominic, who teach 180 boys and 190 girls.

In 1893 Father Zentgraf, knowing how dearly Our Lady of Sorrows loved the friend- less and the orphan, erected a fine brick Orphans' Home, 100 feet by 75 feet, four stories high, and supplied with all modern im- provements, and placed it under the patronage of Our Mother of. Sorrows. Here are lodged some three or four hundred boys and girls who are cared for by twenty-four Sisters of St. Dominic. Father Zentgraf continues to look after the interests of his church, school and asylum and is assisted in his work by Rev. Herman Mertens. His parishioners now num- ber about 1,000 souls. Some 400 children at- tend Sunday-school.

The New Theological Seminary .- The year 1890 was also marked by the opening of

the New Theological Seminary of St. John. This building adjoins the College of St. John the Baptist, at the corner of Lewis avenue and Hart street. This building was designed by the clergy of the Diocese as a testimonial of their regard for their Bishop on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood. No personal gift would have found favor in his eyes. This the clergymen knew too well; they consequently decided to give their memorial in the form of a monument that would con- tinue the good Bishop's work long after he had ceased "to fight the good fight." He had long cherished the idea of founding a diocesan seminary, and his devoted priests decided to cheer his heart by the realization of this de- sire. The Bishop selected the ground ad- joining the college as the site for his future seminary, and while both clergymen and laity questioned the wisdom of building a sem- inary in the heart of the city, where the sent- inarians would be deprived of the out-door exercise so necessary to student life, yet this was no time for crossing the Bishop's deep- set purpose, and work was at once commenced. The Lazarist Fathers were to be the trainers of his future clergy and upon Father Hartnett fell the tåsk of erecting the building. The corner-stone was laid on Sunday, September 29, 1889. The style of the building is Roman- esque ; it is built of brick, with terra-cotta and stone trimmings and is three stories high, with a Mansard roof. The Lewis avenue front is sixty feet in length and the depth on Hart street is one hundred and eighty-five feet. At the extremity of this wing is a beautiful chapel adorned with stained-glass windows and hand- some frescoes, representing St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine. The altar is of white marble and of beautiful design. Over the chapel is the Diocesan Library. The class- rooms, dormitories, halls and refectory are large, well ventilated and finished in hard wood, and are all heated by steam. The sem- inary was opened in the fall of 1891.

Church of the Holy- Rosary .- In June,

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1889, Bishop Loughlin decided upon the for- mation of a new parish, to be placed under the patronage of the Holy Rosary, on Chaun- cey street, between Stuyvesant street and Reid avenue. His choice for its Pastor fell upon Rev. Dominic Monteverde, then an assistant at the Church of St. John the Evangelist. Father Monteverde was a native of Italy, but his early childhood was passed with his par- ents in England. After deciding to devote his life to the service of God at the altar, he went to Ireland, where he made his ecclesiastical studies at the famous Seminary of All Hal- lows, near Dublin. After his ordination he labored for some years as a missionary in California and Nevada. While attending some mission among the mountains of Nevada he was thrown from his horse and sustained in- juries from which he never fully recovered. He came to Brooklyn and offered his services to Bishop Loughlin. They were accepted and he was assigned to duty as an assistant at the Church of St. John the Evangelist.

In 1889 he was directed to build the Church of the Holy Rosary. He set to work at once to survey the ground and lay his plans. Hav- ing no residence of his own, he accepted the hospitality of Father Corcoran, at St. Joseph's rectory, and before many days secured a build- ing at No. 1747 Fulton street, near Reid ave- nue. Here he gathered his first congregation and said his first Mass in this improvised chapel. A week later he purchased a piece of ground 100 feet square for $2,000, and upon it he built the church that to-day owes its ex- istence to his unceasing labors : and it required all his energies to accomplish what he did. His people were not numerous, nor were they blessed with this world's wealth. . Father Monteverde had made friends while at St. John's, among whom was the good pastor, who was not slow in offering a helping hand to his former assistant. Father Monteverde appealed to the people of St. John's for help, and they responded most generous- ly. The new house of worship was start-

ed, and on May 4, 1890, it was dedicated. The good Pastor was anxious that everything about his church should be worthy of the great object to which it was devoted. His ambition was to have a beautiful marble altar. He did not live to see his hopes realized, but the money he had secured for the purpose was used ac- cording to his desires by the Rev. M. J. Flynn, who was for a time acting Pastor after the death of Father Monteverde. The main altar, which is Gothic in style and very mas- sive, was consecrated by Bishop McDonnell on April 24, 1897, the month after the deatlı of Father Monteverde, which occurred in Baltimore on January 2, 1897. The present Pastor is Rev. James McEnroe.

Church of the Blessed Sacrament .- In . February, 1891, Rev. Joseph E. McCoy, an assistant priest at St. Anthony's Church, Greenpoint, was sent by Bishop Loughlin to found a new parish in the Twenty-sixth Ward. Father McCoy set to work at once, gathered his flock in Pflalman's Hall, Atlantic avenue and Crescent street, said Mass for them, and announced his intention of building a church for their use. Later on he said Mass in the parlors of a pastoral residence he had been able to secure. In a little while Father McCoy pur- chased ground for a church, at a cost of $5.000. This lot has a frontage of 125 feet on Market street and runs back 150 feet. On this lot, on July 19th, Bishop Loughlin laid the corner-stone of a frame church, 45 feet wide by 90 feet deep and 40 feet high. The design is Gothic, the foundation is of stone and brick and it has a seating capacity of over 600. On November 22 Father McCoy had the happiness of seeing his church dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin. This was the last of the many churches founded and dedicated by that venerable prelate. The occasion of the dedication was one of great joy to both Pastor and people. The interior of the church is beau- tifully decorated and the little congregation that had gathered in the parlors of the rectory has now grown to nearly a thousand. Father

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McCoy at once invited the Augustinian Fa- thers to give a Mission in his new church, and thus enkindled a zeal for religion that burns as brightly to-day as when the church was opened.

St. Edward's .- In May, 1891, Bishop Loughlin sent the Rev. J. F. Mealia to estab- lish a new parish at the corner of Canton and Division streets (now known as St. Edward's street and Leo place). It was to be formed from parts of St. James', Our Lady of Mercy and the Sacred Heart parishes. Father Mealia lost no time in beginning the work entrusted to him. A suitable site was secured, ground broken, and on September 13 Bishop Loughlin laid the corner-stone of the new St. Edward's Church. The ceremonies were attended by a vast concourse of people, who listened to the address of the bishop with the deepest atten- tion. In the territory assigned to this parish there was an estimated Catholic population of 3.500 sculs. On December 8, 1891, work on the new church had so far progressed that the basement was opened and mass has been said there ever since. The new church will be completed during the present year, 1901, and will be, architecturally considered, a very handsome building. This parish claims to be the last one founded by Bishop Loughlin. It is estimated that the church and pastoral resi- dence will cost some $100,000. The style of architecture of the church is Romanesque, with rounded front flanked by two towers. The building will be 124 feet long, with an average width of sixty-five feet, and will seat about 1,000 persons. The material used in construc- tion is gray brick, trimmed with terra cotta. The roof is tiled with slate. The rectory will be built in the rear. Father Mealia is keeping the debt well in hand.

Cur Lady of Angels .- The village of Bay Ridge, now a part of the borough of Brook- lyn, was a long time without a church, and the Catholics of that region were obliged to go to St. Patrick's Church, Fort Hamilton, or to St. Michael's, at Fourth avenue and Forty-

second street, to hear mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation. In 1890 Bishop Loughlin conceived the idea of establishing a new parish for their relief. The people were not blessed with much worldly wealth, and it was nearly a year before the bishop could see his way clear to make a beginning. In Sep- tember, 1891, he sent the Rev. Martin J. Lof- tus, one of the assistant priests at St. John's Chapel, to set the work in motion. A lot of ground 100 feet by 120 feet was secured on Seventy-third street, near Third avenue, and $1,700 was subscribed toward a building fund. Father Loftus made a visitation of the terri- tory assigned to him, and he found some three or four hundred Catholics who were to form the nucleus of his future congregation. He got them together in an engine house in Sixty- seventh street, where on Sunday morning, Sep- tember 20, he said two masses, one at eight o'clock and the other at ten o'clock. A meet- ing of the parishioners was held, and Mgr. M. J. McNamara was appointed temporary chairman. Collectors were appointed to go through the village and raise funds for the erection of a church. Good Bishop Loughlin gave the work his blessing, but before the corner-stone could be laid he had gone to give an account of his stewardship. In the mean- time Father Loftus secured additional ground, and it was not long before the corner-stone of a beautiful church, to be placed under the pat- ronage of Our Lady of Angels, was laid by Bishop Loughlin's successor.

The structure is in the Italian Romanesque style of architecture, of washed brick with terra cotta trimmings, and a basement of blue stone. The tower is eighty feet high and the interior affords a seating capacity for 600 or 700 persons. The church was dedicated by Bishop McDonnell, on Sunday, September 21, 1893. Adjoining the church is a neat and com- modious rectory. When it is considered that all this was done inside of two years and by a congregation by no means rich, too much praise can not be given to both pastor and

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

people. To-day the church property is valued at. $60,000, three-fourths of which has been paid.

BISHOP LOUGIILIN'S JUBILEE.

On October 17, 1890, Rt. Rev. John Lough- lin, D. D., celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his priesthood. The people of the diocese of Brooklyn, over which he had presided as Bishop for thirty-seven years,-priests and laity,-determined to celebrate the occasion in a truly Catholic manner. The celebration throughout was religious in character, affec- tionate in feeling and edifying in results. It was not a mere display of adulation, which would have been deeply offensive to the, retir- ing modesty of the great Bishop. It was the outburst of grateful souls ; grateful to God for having given them so good a bishop, grateful to the Bishop for the impetus he had given to religion in his diocese. And this gratitude proclaimed itself in the spontaneity and magni- tude of the celebration. It is estimated that no less than 10,000 persons were present at the Clermont Avenue Rink and its immediate surroundings on the night of that memorable 17th of October, 1890. On the stage beside the jubilarian were seated Cardinal Gibbons, Arch- bishop of Baltimore and Primate of the Ameri- ican Heirarchy; Archbishop M. A. Corrigan, of New York; Archbishop Elder, of Cincinna, ti; Bishops Conroy, McNięrny, O'Farrell, Wad- ham, Ludden, Keane (now Archbishop of Du- buque), Ryan (of Alton), McQuaid and Wig- ger ; Monsignori Farley (now Auxiliary Bishi- op of New York), McDonnell (the successor of Bishop Loughlin) ; Rev. D. E. Allen, Presi- dent of Mt. St. Mary's College (Bishop Loughlin's alma mater) and representatives, of religious orders, in and out of New York.

At the appointed hour Mr. James H. Mc- Mahon, chairman of the Central Committee, read the opening address. It was very brief, and expressed the love of the people of Brook- lyn for their bishop. This was followed by congratulatory addresses by Mr. Edward J.

Dooley, of the St. James' Catholic Club, of Brooklyn; Mr. Thomas W. Hynes, of the St. Vincent de Paul Society ; Mr. Edward Feeney, of the State Council of the Catholic Knights of America; Mr. John Greene, on behalf of the alumni of St. Francis' College; Mr. John C. McGuire, of the Catholic Benevolent. Le- gion ; and Major John D. Keiley, Jr., on behalf of the laity. Following these addresses Mr. Jacob Zimmer, Treasurer of the Jubilee Fund, came forward and presented the Bishop with a check for $25,000, the offering of the dif- ferent parishes of the diocese.

The Most Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D. D., Archbishop of New York, was the next speak- er. He made a hasty review of the church in the last fifty years. At the time of Bishop Loughlin's consecration Brooklyn contained but two Catholic churches. "The diocese then embraced the State of New York and the greater part of the State of New Jersey. There were but sixty priests and fifty-four churches, in whose terri- tory there are now over 1,000 priests, 1,500 churches and 1,500,000 Catholics." The Arch- bishop concluded with a justly. eulogistic trib- ute to Bishop Loughlin, which was most heart- ily endorsed by His Eminence, Cardinal. Gib- bons. Bishop Loughlin's reply to all this was characteristically brief and characteristically modest : "I can not take to myself any of the glory that has been ascribed to my labors, for, inasmuch as we are in the hands of Almighty God, we must accord to Him all the glory; next, to the clergy of the diocese, who have manifested such untiring energy in the dis- charge of their duties. Wonderful, indeed, has been their work. Nor can the glorious. relig- ious communities be overlooked. What could we do without them? Nothing. To these and to the faithful laity, who have always joined with the clergy in their beneficent suggestions, and to whom God has given the dispositions as well as the means to carry out these. sug- gestions,-to these, but above all to God the Father, be honor and praise and glory and ben-

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ediction forever and ever." Thus ended the exercises at the rink, and the vast audience filed out to the strains of the "Star Spangled Banner."

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 129

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188