USA > Pennsylvania > Northampton County > History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the grand valley of the Lehigh, Volume I > Part 49
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The Syrians of Northampton county are mainly from Mount Libanus, in Northern Palestine. They are located principally in Easton, though they are scattered throughout the county. 'Some of them are Melchites or United Greek Catholics, others Maronite or Syrian Roman Catholics. These people were attended occasionally by Rev. Paul E. Sion, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. For last two years he said Mass for them once a month in either St. Anthony's or St. Bernard's Church at Easton. On November 7, 1919, boundaries were set for a new parish in Easton to em- brace Wilson township, Palmer Heights, West Easton, Avona Heights and High- land Park.
Father Sion was born in Jarjour, Sidon in Syria, January 15, 1877. When eleven years of age he entered the order of St. Basil, St. Savior's College, Mount Libanus. He was ordained in 1899 in his native town, and by a personal order from the Vatican reported to Archbishop Prendergast to care for the Melchite Syrians in the Philadelphia Archdiocese. On his visit to Easton he also attends to the Greek Syrians residing in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The Roman Catholic Syrians or Maronites are ministered to by Rt. Rev. Joseph Yazbec, who has had charge of those located in the Arch- diocese since December, 1892. He was sent to the United States by the Patri- arch of Antioch, and makes monthly visits to Easton, holding services at St. Anthony's Church. The Archbishop has instructed Monsignor Yazbec to minis- ter to the Maronites ; while Father Sion attends the Melchites.
Holy Infancy, South Bethlehem-The priests of Easton from 1855 to 1858 attended the Bethlehems, and from 1859 to 1866 the charge was transferred to Allentown. Father Michael McEnroe cared for South Bethlehem from the time he became pastor of Allentown, 1862, making weekly visits, until it became a separate parish in 1866, and he was the first pastor and organizer of the Holy Infancy parish. As soon as he located himself at Bethlehem, he established mis- sions at Coopersburg and Friedensville, Lehigh county, and Freemansburg in Northampton county. Occasional visits were made to Hellertown in 1868, and to Lime Ridge in 1869. In the seventies, Hellertown was constituted a monthly mission. In 1875, Bingen, our county, became an occasional mission. The Germans of South Bethlehem continued to go to the Church of the Nativity, founded in 1856 at Bethlehem, Lehigh county, where, about 1871, Rev. John J. Albert became its first resident pastor. Iron Mines in 1877 was made an occasional mission to Holy Infancy Parish. Father Michael McEnroe was transferred in 1877 to St. Charles', Kellyville, now Oakview, Pennsylvania. His successor at South Bethlehem was his brother Philip, a former curate of St. Bernard's, Easton, who was ordained January 20, 1867, and died at the Holy Infancy Rectory, October 13, 1910.
Rev. Michael McEnroe, while pastor of the Holy Infancy congregation, purchased from the United Brotherhood of South Bethlehem, for cemetery purposes, on September 23, 1867, a piece of land located in Lower Saucon township, but since annexed to South Bethlehem. Rev. Philip McEnroe of April 3, 1903, and January 7, 1905, purchased the site on which he built the school and convent. Rev. Thomas McCarthy, now pastor of St. Edward's, Philadelphia, was Father Philip McEnroe's assistant from 1888 to 1896, and to his energies is mainly attributable the successful erection of the very up-
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to-date and efficient parish school opened in 1895. Rev. Joseph Connell, then pastor, on December 15, 1910, purchased of Sara McCarthy lot number 86, and of James Michael McCready and wife lot number 88, a total of eighty by one hundred and eighty feet on Fourth street, for $5,000 each, on which he built the present rectory. The latter lot had been the property of the Catholic Beneficial Association and of the Emerald Beneficial Association of South Bethlehem. Both lots were part of the Charles Brodhead plan of lots, formerly a section of Southern Saucon, but later annexed to the borough of South Bethlehem. The former property belonged to Mary Bauch and was sold to Sara McCarthy, September, 1908.
Rev. Michael McEnroe, first pastor of the Holy Infancy, was ordained September 27, 1861, becoming pastor of Allentown, May, 1862, and of South Bethlehem, April 9, 1866. Up to this time, since 1855, South Bethlehemites worshipped in the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. This church is still on Union street, but as been replaced by the congregation of St. Simon and St. Jude, organized by Rev. Elmer Stapleton, formerly a curate of Father Mc- Geveran, at Easton. Prior to the erection of the Church of the Nativity, Father Reardon used to say Mass in private residences, as did also the pastor of St. Joseph's, South Easton. On March 11, 1855, the congregation made use of Odd Fellows' Hall in Bethlehem.
The construction of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company brought an influx of boatmen and railroad men, most of whom were Catholics, to the Bethlehems. They began to look about for a site whereon to build a church. These boatmen, canal and railroad builders were largely Catholics from Pottsville, Beaver Meadows, Swamp Root, and the upper Northamp- ton towns. Father Michael McEnroe began the Holy Infancy Church in 1863; the cornerstone was laid October 4, 1863; and Bishop Wood dedicated it in 1864. The original church was replaced by a new structure in 1882. The cornerstone of the present church was laid September 17, 1882. Mass was offered in the basement of the new church, Christmas Day, 1883, and on May 23, 1886, it was solemnly dedicated by Archbishop Ryan. Rev. Joseph A. Strahan, ordained October 18, 1872, was Father Michael McEnroe's first and only curate. After being transferred to St. Dominic's, Holmesburg, St. James, and the Visitation, Philadelphia, Father Strahan was appointed pastor of St. Leo's, Tacony, in 1883. He died as pastor of the Immaculate Conception, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. It was during the curacy of Rev. Henry Hasson that the parish school, registering four hundred and twenty-five pupils, was opened under the charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
German Parish of St. Bernard and The Holy Ghost-The German Catholics of the Bethlehems were visited as early as 1852 by the Rev. Severn Rudolph Etthoffer, also by the Revs. George Gostenschnigg and Joseph Tanzer. The lat- ter in 1855 began the erection of the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord. The Rev. Joseph Tuboly and his successors of the Immaculate Conception parish, Allentown, continued monthly visits to the congregation until 1867, when Rev. Michael McEnroe of the Holy Infancy Parish said Mass every Sunday. The congregation in 1870 came under the charge of the Rev. Ernest Hilterman, first pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Allentown. The following year Rev. John J. Albert became the first resident German pastor of the Bethlehems.
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Father Albert was ordained September 11, 1869, and remained at Bethlehem until Dcember 13, 1874, when he was transferred to St. Joseph's Catholic Church at South Easton.
His successor, Rev. Joseph A. Winters, established a school of seventy pupils under the Sisters of St. Francis. Finally, in 1885, Rev. Bernard Kor- ves became pastor of the Germans of the Bethlehems. Father Korves was born at Hanover, Prussia, November 25, 1852. Twenty years later he came to America, having finished his classical studies in his native land, and entered Overbrook Seminary. After completing the philosophical and theo- logical course he was ordained December 23, 1878. After receiving a tempo- rary appointment at St. Patrick's Church, Philadelphia, he was transferred as curate to St. John the Baptist Church, at Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and Febru- ary, 1879, succeeded Rev. John H. Badde as pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. The latter became the first resident pastor of the Church of the Annunciation at Catasauqua.
Father Korves in the fall of 1886 purchased of Charles Brodhead a site, and built a combination church and school building, now used as a parish casino. The name of St. Bernard was given to the new church and it was made the principal German congregation of the Bethlehems, with the Church of the Nativity of Our Lord as a mission, which it continued to be until officially discontinued by Archbishop Prendergast, when the new parish of Sts. Simon and Jude was established. During his pastorate, Father Korves never had a curate; he was transferred June 8, 1891, to the large German congregation of St. Ludwig's Church, Philadelphia, where he is at the present day.
The present pastor, Rev. Alois Fretz, was born at Uberach, Strassburg, Alsace, May 15, 1856. He came to America in 1867, entered Overbrook Semi- nary, and was ordained June 24, 1880, with Rev. Peter A. Quinn, William K. Egan, Hugh P. McGovern and Bernard J. Conway, all of whom labored in Northampton county as pastors and curates. Father Fretz purchased two additional lots and at the cost of $10,000 erected a handsome new school- house. This school is complete from kindergarten to high school, with a corps of fifteen teachers and seven hundred pupils, under the tuition of the Sisters of St. Francis. At the time of the dedication, September 25, 1910, of the present handsome new church, Father Fretz had its name changed in honor of the Holy Ghost. He has had the following curates: the Revs. Albert Korves, Aegidius Mersh, Augustus Beuttner, Henry Herbrecht, Co- lumbus Wenger, and Vincent Hillanbrandt, the present incumbent.
The Church of Our Lady of Pompii-The first Italians to locate, in 1885, in the Bethlehems were Frank Martin, Charles Devito and the Castelluci brothers. These sons of Sunny Italy were looked after by the local clergy until 1898, when Rev. Lambert Travi, D.D., made regular trips first from East Mauch Chunk and later from Kelayres near McAdoo, Schuylkill county, where he was pastor in 1900. Father de Nisco, of Roseto, also visited these Italians from 1892 to 1902.
The first resident pastor, Rev. Michael Maggio, came in 1902 and made quarterly visits to Allentown, Reading and Siegfried. His successors were Revs. Vito Barelli, Paul Moles, Andrew Piro, and Paul Gentile. Father Piro attended
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missions in Cementon and Siegfried. Rev. Dominic Octaviano became. pastor in 1906, opened a little school, and was both pastor and school master for three years. Rev. Louis Fiorella, of Roseto, in 1911, came occasionally. At present the Sunday school is conducted by the St. Joseph Sisters, from the Holy Infancy parish, and the present pastor, Rev. Fernando Gherar- delli, has cleared the church from debt. The church property is valued at $35,000, and before the war the membership of the congregation was four thousand. Since the signing of the armistice, the general exodus of workers has dwindled this to eight hundred. From this parish three hundred and twenty-six of the young men enlisted, four making the supreme sacrifice. The Victory Loan subscription was $50,000, which was exceeded in the pre- ceding loans.
The Ruthenian Missions, Sts. Peter and Paul, and St. Josaphat, are located in Bethlehem. The former is attended by the clergy of St. Michael's at Allentown, the latter from the Immaculate Conception of that city. The Ruthenian Greek Catholics of Easton attend these churches, although some of them worship at Alpha, New Jersey. The Rev. Emil Baransky came from Allentown to Easton in 1915 and said Mass at St. Bernard's Church, Easton, and administered the Easter Communion to four score Greek Catholic com- municants.
The Slovaks founded Sts. Cyril and Methodius parish in 1891, dedicating it to those Apostles of Moravia and Bohemia. It received occasional visits from East Mauch Chunk, and was formally organized in 1901. The Hun- garian Station at Bingen, constituted in 1891, ceased now to be a special mission, and was incorporated in the Slavish parish of South Bethlehem. The Rt. Rev. William Heinen, V.F., provided for all these Slovak missions. He was a native of Germany and served in the Prussian army during the Franco- Prussian War. Coming to America in 1871, he was ordained April 3 of that year, and in 1900 was appointed domestic prelate with the rank of Mon- signor. Archbishop Ryan commissioned him to take charge of the non-English- speaking parishes of the diocese. He learned their language and thereby was able to secure for them priests who spoke their language. He died in 1910.
The Right Rev. William Heinen, V.F., in 1891 made monthly visits to the Slavonic parishes, assisted by Rev. Francis Vlossak, the present pastor, and Rev. Albert Korves, now pastor at South Easton. The first resident pastor was Rev. John Movasky, in 1894, who also attended the missions at Catasauqua, Emaus, Pen Argyl, Coplay and Egypt. His successor was Rev. Edward C. Werner, in 1896, who, after two years, gave place to the Rev. Francis Vlossak, the original visitant, pioneer and organizer. His successor in 1908 was Rev. Martin Meres, and his assistant in 1915 was his nephew, Rev. John Vlossak. The congregation bought, on July 25, 1895, spacious grounds from the Lehigh University, on which they constructed a massive brick church, modern school, convent and rectory, and established an exten- sive cenietery. These sites when purchased were in Lower Saucon township but were afterwards annexed to the borough of South Bethlehem. The attendance at the school is five hundred pupils, whose education is cared for by six mission workers of the Sacred Heart teachers.
The Hungarian and Magyar Parish of St. John Capistrano was first
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attended occasionally by clergy from East Mauch Chunk, also from Sts. Cyril and Methodius, but became a distinct parish in 1903, when Rev. Alexander Varlackey was appointed rector. The Magyars at Palmerton and Slatington, Lehigh county, were, in 1911, made missions to this church. The present school was organized with four lay teachers, the attendance being at present one hundred and ten boys, and one hundred and twenty-eight girls. The pastor in 1912, Rev. Louis Von Kovacs, introduced the Bernardine Sisters. From 1913 to 1918, Rev. John P. Schimko was pastor. The present pastor is Rev. Joseph Reseterics.
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic congregation was founded in 1903 and organized in 1906. It is composed of Jugo or Southern Slavs and Czecho or Bohemian Slavs. Rev. Charles Zrinyi in 1906 was assigned to Rev. Alexander Varlackey, pastor of St. John Capistrano, to care for the Slavonians, Mag- yars and Croatians. Rev. Anselm Murn of the Order of Friars Minor, a Franciscan Friar, undertook, in 1913, to build a church for the Slavonians. Father Murn was born at Carniolia, Jugo-Slovia, August 29, 1875. After a proper course of studies he was ordained priest, December 22, 1900, and came to South Bethlehem, September 4, 1914. In October of that year he purchased the present site of the church and rectory on East Fifth street. where he built the present buildings at the cost of $80,000. The Bethlehem parish numbers fifteen hundred souls and the Slavonian children attend parish schools; there is, however, in contemplation the establishment of a school in connection with the parish. The congregation owns a park at Seidersville; and twice a month Father Murn attends his fellow countrymen at Ringwood, New Jersey. The congregation during the late war purchased $300,000 worth of liberty bonds, every working man of the parish possessing one or more.
St. Stanislaus-The Poles and Letts of South Bethlehem were, like the other natives of Central Europe, provided for by Monsignor Heinen, of East Mauch Chunk. They were formed into a separate congregation in 1902. A site for a church was purchased March 17, 1905, from the trustees of the Lehigh Uni- versity, in Lower Saucon township, where a beautiful church was erected for the Poles and named St. Stanislaus's. The parish is well organized, two Sunday Masses are celebrated, and there is Sunday school and Vesper service.
Rev. Francis Wiszek became the resident pastor the following year, and established Polish Missions and Stations in Albertus, Allentown, and Naza- reth. His successor in 1908 was Rev. A. Kulaz, who was followed two years later by Rev. Albert Wroblewski. Quarterly visits were made to the Polish people of Easton and Pen Argyl. Rev. Theodore Sack was pastor in 1912, and the following year Rev. Joseph Kuseynaki, a graduate of Louvain Uni- versity, became pastor pro tem. Rev. Wladialus Rakowski is at present in charge of the congregation.
Of the fifteen hundred converts to the Roman Catholic faith secured in the Philadelphia diocese of 1918 from within the old and new boundaries of Northampton county, a large percentage came from within the present limits of our county. The Ruthenians, Poles, Slavs, Magyars, and German Catholics largely prevail in Northampton, and are loyal to the church and State. This was partially due to the state of warfare in the Balkan States which led the NORTH .- 1-25.
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peaceful farmers of those countries, adherents of the Catholic religion, to seek more congenial surroundings, and they chose the lower part of Northampton county for their new home. The cement works and railroads furnish them with employment, and as they receive the benefits of education they will gradually take their places side by side with other nationalities in the pro- fessional and business world. It was in 1902 that Rev. John Damascene Policka purchased a lot of land adjoining two lots already secured on New- port avenue, and in 1907 the final purchase was made, embracing a total of six lots. This property was conveyed, November 9, 1910, to Rt. Rev. Soter S. Ortynski, who was consecrated May 12, 1907, first Ruthenian Catholic bishop of the United States. St. Ursula parish, on Fountain Hill, South Bethle- hem, was just organized October, 1919, with Rev. Jno. Green, first pastor.
The erection of St. John the Baptist's Ruthenian, Greek, United Catholic Church, Northampton, was commenced by Father Policka in 1905. The church is beautiful in its construction and is noted for its fine paintings. Rev. Emil Baransky became pastor in 1911 and opened a mission for his countrymen in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Allentown. His predecessor, Rev. Peter Luczozko, attended the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Chapel of St. Michael's, Allentown. The present pastor, Rev. Michael Ruziv, has had charge of the parish since 1915. The Allentown chapels have become sepa- rate parishes, and he has served the two chapels at Bethlehem. These Ruth- enian Greeks are mostly Ukranians and are in complete union with the Pope in discipline and doctrine and are called Uniate Greeks, in contradistinction to the Russian Orthodox. They number about fifteen hundred souls, and in 1919 they erected a school in which one hundred and twenty pupils are ob- taining the best of secular knowledge, and are receiving also the safeguards of Christian instruction, which is calculated to make them better and more law abiding citizens.
The Hungarians of Allentown, Bingen, Catasauqua, Emaus, Pen Argyl, Friedensville, Nesquehoning, Slatington, Redington, Penn Haven, and Weath- erley have been visited monthly since 1892 by priests from adjoining parishes. The Hungarians around North Catasauqua, Northampton, Seig- fried and adjacent territory are known as Magyars, and about 1907 Rev. Oscar Solymos built a church, naming it Our Lady of Hungary Church. A parish school was opened, with an attendance of seventy-five pupils under the tutelage of six nuns, Mission Workers of the Sacred Heart. This atten- dance increased rapidly and in 1918 there were one hundred and five boys, and one hundred and sixteen girls receiving education. Previous to the erec- tion of a church, the Northampton Slavs and Maygars were attended from the South Bethlehem parish of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The pastor of that parish, Rev. John Novacsky, also went monthly to Emaus, Coplay, Egypt, and Pen Argyl. Rev. Paul Hermann became pastor pro tem in 1910, and a year later the present incumbent, Rev. Bernard Joseph Sommers, took charge of the congregation. There are in the neighborhood of four thousand souls in the parish, two-thirds being Magyars, and one-third Slavs. The total valuation of the parish's properties is about $150,000.
St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Northampton, was organized for the accommodation of the Poles. Rev. Michael Strzemplewicz in 1913 made visits
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and undertook to organize a parish. The following year Rev. Adalbert Sulek purchased two lots in what was then called Stemton. The present pastor, Rev. Martin Casimir Maciejewskie, ordained May 29, 1915, and made pastor of St. Michael's June 9, 1916, deciding that the site selected for the church was not the best, sold the two lots and purchased the Stem mansion, at Eighth and Main streets for $6,000. This reasonable figure was accepted by the owner of the homestead, as the idea appealed to him of it becoming a site for a church and school. This mansion has been converted into a commodious chapel and rectory, leaving sufficient ground for a future school, convent and church.
Catechism classes are held every Saturday and two Masses are cele- brated Sundays and Holydays. The parish comprises about fifty Polish families. Father Maciejewskie is an American-born citizen, has displayed marked business capacities, and has the interests of his people at heart. He was born at Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, entered the Seminary of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Detroit, Michigan, and after preparatory studies there, came to Overbrook Seminary to complete his philosophical and theological courses.
The St. Laurence Parish in North Catasauqua was organized in 1856 by . Rev. Laurence A. Brennan, of St. Bernard's, Easton, who named it after his patron saint and became its first pastor in 1858. About the same time Rev. Jooeph Tuboly, pastor at Allentown, established the German parish Church of the Annunciation at Catasauqua. Both of these parishes have now well equipped schools. Rev. Henry I. Connor is the present pastor of St. Laurence's, and Rev. John A. Steinmetz and Rev. Edward B. Burkhardt are pastor and curate of the Church of the Annunciation.
The Slavs of North Catasauqua received occasional visits from the priests of East Mauch Chunk previous to March, 1903. At that time Rev. Paul Licisky was made curate at East Mauch Chunk, and for the three follow- ing years he made visits to the borough, and religious services were held in the Northampton public schoolhouse. Father Licisky purchased six lots near the Hockendauqua bridge on Third street and a beautiful church at the cost of $25,000 was erected and named St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church. He became the first pastor and immediately built a rectory adjoin- ing the church at an expenditure of $8,000. Father Licisky was trans- ferred in 1912 to the parish of St. Michael, Lansford, Pennsylvania, and was succeeded by the present incumbent, Rev. Joseph Kasparak, an alumnus of Over- brook Seminary, ordained June 24, 1894. His jurisdiction embraces all Slovaks in Allen township, Northampton, Catasauqua, Fullerton, Cementon, Hocken- dauqua, Coplay, Egypt and Omrod, and numbers about two thousand souls. The school children attend St. Mary's German and St. Laurence's parish schools.
The Italians of Siegfried were visited quarterly by Rev. Michael Maggio, pastor of Our Lady of Pompii, South Bethlehem, and by his suc- cessors, Rev. Andrew Piro and Dominic Octoviano. Up until 1906 it was known as a "station" not having a church, Mass being said in private houses.
Nazareth was organized in 1905 as an out mission to St. Stanislaus' Polish Church, South Bethlehem, and Father Francis Wiszek made it
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monthly visits, going also to Albertus and Allentown, but did not cele- brate Mass on these occasions. His successor, Rev. A. Kalav, did likewise.
The Holy Family Church, Nazareth, became a separate parish in 1908. The first resident pastor was Rev. Peter J. Fuengerlings, who in 1909 opened the school which today has an attendance of about one hundred and fifty pupils, in charge of three Mission Sisters of the Sacret Heart. He organ- ized this parish while assistant at St. Joseph's parish, South Easton. Rev. John Neuenhaus was pastor from 1912 to 1914. The present pastor, Rev. Bernard Griefenberg, was assistant at the old Mission of St. John the Baptist at Haycock, and when Holy Family parish, in 1914, was placed under the spiritual care of the Mission Fathers of the Sacred Heart he was transferred to Nazareth. The combination church and school building is situated on an eminence in the western end of the town; the rectory nearby is sufficiently commodious for future needs. The parish numbers about fifteen hundred souls, who are mostly of Austrian birth or descent. It includes Nazareth proper, Bath, Belfast, Stockertown, Tatamy, Hecktown and Chapman's Quarries. Father Reardon and his immediate successors were its pioneer priests. For many years after his coming to Easton, Rev. James McGeveran and his curates made occasional visits to these scattered regions, attending all the sick, burying all the unclaimed Catholic dead in the county almshouse, with full Chris- tian burial rites, in the cemetery at St. Bernard's, South Easton.
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