South End Closed Parishes

After my visit at the Cathedral today, I swung by former South End parishes nearby and snapped a few pictures.

St. Anthony of Padua-1908


St. Anthony's was founded in to serve the Italian community that was moving into the Mansion and Pastures neighborhoods of Albany. Situated 2 blocks from the Cathedral and St. John's on the corner of Grand St. and Madison Ave. It's population was practically demolished with the South Mall construction project and the parish was closed in the 1970's. Currently, it is a local arts center for the neighborhood.

St. John the Baptist-1837


St. John's was the 2nd Catholic church built in the city (after St. Mary's) and is located in the Pastures neighborhood of the South End. Like others, the community here relocated during the construction of the South Mall project. St. John's had a huge parish with both a grammar and a high school. In 1978, it merged with St. Anne's and the building was sold to an architectural firm. It currently sits vacant, boarded up, and for sale.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (1852)

For my first entry, I figured i'd start at home base. It's the seat of the Bishop, its where priests and deacons are ordained, its the last parish that would ever be closed (theoretically), it's the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on the corner of Eagle St and Madison Avenue.

(NB-I don't know when this postcard is from, but by the Automobile design, i'm guessing 1930's-40's)

BRIEF HISTORY:


Built between 1848 and 1852, Immaculate Conception is the oldest neo-Gothic cathedral in the United States. The cathedral contract was given to a young church architect named Patrick Charles Keeley by Bishop (later Cardinal) John McCloskey. This was one of Keeley's first constructions and one of at least 3 in the diocese (the others being St. Joseph's in Albany and St. Bernard's in Cohoes-both now closed) as well of dozens of churches and cathedrals across the Northeast and Midwestern United States. Towers and spires were added in the 1860's and 1880's, with the aspe and sacristies being built onto the front of the church in the early 1890's to complete the current structure (visit http://www.restorethecathedral.org/ go to multimedia and video for an excellent video on the Cathedral)

STRUCTURE:

When I was younger, When I thought of cathedrals, it reminded me of what I saw on TV (St. Patrick's in NYC, Notre Dame in Paris, St. Peters in Rome, The Crystal Cathedral) and these big edifices to the Almighty always struck power, awe, and wonder in me. About seven years ago, I entered Immaculate Conception for the first time...and let say I was extremely disappointed. The pastor of my home parish asked me to go with him and the staff to the Chrism mass (where the Bishop blesses the sacred oils for the year, to be distributed to the parishes in the diocese) and I was all excited! I entered the old sandstone church and my heart sank. I cant remember exactly my words were but I know it contained: "ugly"  and "creepy". It was very dark, not well lit and the pews were very uncomfortable (built for the small Irish immigrants, not big boy's like me.)

Beginning in 1999, the diocese began to renovate the exterior. The first project had the North tower, celestories, and Main Portal completely rebuilt with new red sandstone from England (and cut onsite at the Cathedral stone works) and a new lead roof installed. If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the black meshing over the South tower protecting the stone so it does not fall off and hurt pedestrians (that side has not been completed, due to lack of funds). You can also see the different colors between the North clock tower (the rebuilt one), and the remainder of the Cathedral.

From the Cathedral website: www.cathedralic.org

In 2009-10, they closed the Cathedral for months ( and moved their liturgies to the proto-Cathedral, St. James on Delaware Avenue) and completely gutted and renovated the interior. They painted the faux-stone walls a similar paint scheme from the 1890's (which brightened it up), did some upgrades on the electrical and sound systems, and moved the sanctuary farther out into the crossing. My friends Jay and Michael were the first group to use the Cathedral post-renovation for their ordination to the Diaconate. Here are some pictures of the renovated Cathedral:

Sanctuary from the center isle

Main Altar-The original high altar was removed in the 1970's and a wooden table on wheels was used for many years. Then a wooden "permanent" altar was constructed until the renovation when this square marble and brass was made out of pieces of the old high altar.

The Cathedra (Bishops Throne). This is what makes a church a cathedral. It's a symbol of the teaching authority of a bishop in his diocese. This particular cathedra was given to the sixth Bishop of Albany, the Most Reverend Edmund F. Gibbons by the priests of the diocese (that's his coat of arms on the back of the chair). It was then placed in the chapel at Mater Christi Minor Seminary on New Scotland Avenue where Bishop Gibbons resided prior to his death. It was later moved to the Cathedral and is currently being used by the present bishop, the Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard

The Ambo

Baptismal Font

Blessed Sacrament Altar

Original cornerstone

View facing outwards from the Sanctuary (note the missing Organ in the loft...if anyone has an extra 600k lying around, i'm sure the Cathedral would love to have it!)

COMMUNITY:

The Cathedral parish community is nestled in the Mansion neighborhood in the South End of Albany. Built on the backs of the immigrant community, Cathedral always had a consistently large number of parishioners until the 1960's when its community was largely displaced by the construction of the South Mall/Empire State Plaza project. When I was there today for the 11am mass, the church was not full, maybe half (with no one standing in the back). It really is a shame because the liturgy was very joyful and the music was some of the best I have heard in a long time (with the appropriate mixture of song, chant and even Latin!). The people there were welcoming and made me feel right at home

EDUCATION:


The parish at one time had both a grammar and a high school. I am not sure when the grammar school closed down but the High School was merged in the 1950's with the neighboring south end catholic high schools to form Cardinal McCloskey. Cathedral does offer religious education for children and teens, as well as other faith education programs. They also have a parish outreach program.

OVERALL:


The renovation has returned the Cathedral to the glory deserving of a Mother Church. It is one I would suggest every Catholic to visit, as it is the mother church for the Diocese of Albany. While you're there, say a little prayer to the Blessed Mother for this lowly wanderer, as I move on to my next church. Until we meet again:

Keep on Walking!

Old High Altar (www.restorethecathedral.org)

RECAP:

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany

Church Dedication: 1852 by Archbishop John Hughes of New York
Architect: Patrick Charles Keeley
Style: Neo-Gothic

Additions: (1862-North Tower, 1888-South Tower, 1892-Apse and Sacristies
Pastor: Very Rev. William H. Pape

The Catholic Church in the City of Albany

The Diocese of Albany was erected on the 23rd of April in 1847 from territory originally  part of the Diocese of New York. The first bishop was the Rt. Rev. John McCloskey who later became Archbishop of New York and the first American Cardinal. Its current size of 14 counties was set in 1886, following the loss of territory with the erections of the Dioceses of Ogdensburg (1872) and Syracuse (1886).

According to http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org, in 1950, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany had the following statistics:

Total population: 952,022

Number of Catholics: 285,775 (30%)

379 Secular (Diocesan) Priests

198 Religious Order Priests

495 Catholics per Priest

0     Permanent Deacons

315 Professed Male Religious (Brothers)

710 Professed Female Religious (Sisters)

159 Parishes run by both the Diocese and Religious Orders

At this time, the City of Albany had 18 parishes, one mission and the Diocesan Cathedral (Immaculate Conception). However, as with all the changes in demographics of the late 1950's to the present, most of these city parishes no longer exist. Here is the list of current parishes in the City of Albany and their predecessors:

All Saints Catholic Church (2009): The original Holy Cross (1842-German) was demolished during the construction of the South Mall and relocated up to Western Avenue. The parish merged  in 2009 with St. Margaret Mary (1939) at the St. Margaret Mary site. This parish has a grammar school, which is a merger of the former Holy Cross and St. Teresa of Avila grammar schools occupies the former Holy Cross church and school.

Blessed Sacrament (1898): Close to the city line of Albany and the town of Colonie has sat Blessed Sacrament for over 100 years. Also, part of Blessed Sacrament are the former churches of St. Patrick's (1858), St. Casimir's (Polish-1893) and Our Lady of Angels (German-1867) merged in 2005 to form Holy Family Parish at the St. Patrick's site. Holy Family closed in 2010 and the church is still open, being run as a shrine mission of Blessed Sacrament. This parish also has a grammar school.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (1852): This church was one of famed 19th century church architect Patrick Keeley's first projects. The mother church of the diocese just received a multi-million dollar face lift that restored her to the regal elegance fitting to a cathedral church. 

Mater Christi (2009): The two youngest parishes in the City of Albany, St. Teresa of Avila (1920) merged with St. Catherine of Siena (1953) in 2009 at the St. Catherine site to form Mater Christi. This parish was named after the now closed diocesan minor seminary down the street on New Scotland Avenue. This parish has a grammar school.

Sacred Heart of Jesus (1874): The only Catholic church in the North End of Albany

St. Francis of Assisi (2010): St. John's (1837) merged with St. Ann's (1866) in 1978 forming the parish of St. John/St. Ann at the St. Ann site. They later merged with St. James (1913) under the name, keeping both sites open.

St. Mary's (1797): The oldest church in the diocese (2nd oldest in the state, next to St. Peters in Manhattan) celebrated 200 years in 1997. The parish is still open, but the St. Philip's Mission Church (1926) closed in the 1970's. (Note: St. John Neumann, CSSR who was the first (and only) American bishop to be canonized, said mass at St. Mary's)

St. Vincent de Paul (1895): One of two churches on Madison Avenue (other being the Cathedral) right next to the College of St. Rose. 

These are parishes that have been suppressed and no longer exist. As soon as I find more information on these parishes ill add them to this post:

Assumption (French-1842) was demolished in the 1960's with the construction of the South Mall. They moved the parish to Latham

Our Lady Help of Christians (German-1874) closed in 2002

St. Anthony (Italian-1908) closed in the 1970's

St. George's (Lithuanian-1916) closed in 2005

St. Joseph's (1848): This "Church of Bishops" (former pastors John J. Conroy and Thomas M.A. Burke later became the second and fourth Bishops of Albany respectively) and Patrick Keeley masterpiece was the crown jewel of Arbor Hill. It saw the "long goodbye" as people moved out of the city into the suburbs. St. Joseph's celebrated its last mass in the church in the early 1980's, with the parish being suppressed in the early 1990's. It is now owned by the Albany Historical Society. Most of its interior furnishings were utilized in the construction of the new Christ the King church in Guilderland.

Currently, Albany has 3 parish elementary schools (All Saints, Blessed Sacrament and Mater Christi), and one diocesan high school: Bishop Maginn. It was formed in the 1970's from the merger of Cardinal McCloskey (which was a merger of the South End HS of Cathedral and St. John's, later St. Joseph's in Arbor Hill) and Vincentian Institute. Albany also has 3 private Catholic schools, Holy Names (PK-12, female), St. Gregory's (N-K coed, male grades 1-8) and Christian Brothers Academy (6-12, male).

This is where I am going to begin my journey...some of the closed churches still have access (sold to other faiths or organizations) and others are shuttered or destroyed. My goal is one active church a week...so the journey begins!

Until we meet again, keep in mind what Johnny said....Just Keep Walking

-WC

PS: Also for those of you who want to know, here are the Albany stats for 2006 (again, from www.catholic-hierarchy.org)

Total Population:: 1,351,000

Catholics:             403,000 (29.8%)

232 Secular (Diocesan) Priests

108 Religious Order Priests

1,185 Catholics per Priest

105     Permanent Deacons

188 Professed Male Religious (Brothers)

832 Professed Female Religious (Sisters)

167 Parishes run by both the Diocese and Religious Orders

What am I doing here

Let me start off with this: I am a sucker for churches. The architecture, the stained glass, statuary, you name it. While I have my own particular taste in churches, I believe I can still find the absolute beauty in any of these edifices which were created Ad majorem Dei gloriam. 

I know what you're thinking, why blog about your church experiences? Well, a few years ago, I stumbled on a website: http://www.phillychurchproject.com/. I found it after I went to Philadelphia and stayed at the former Notre Dame Sisters convent attached to St. Boniface's in the Kensington section of town. I was primarily was looking for pictures of the enormous complex (church was closed and shuttered), but instead found a myriad of great information about Philadelphia churches, some which are very historic. I  nosed around the site some more and found it absolutely fascinating. So I guess you can say this new journey I am undertaking is rooted in fate that I stumbled across that website.

Being a native of the Diocese of Albany, which is one of the older catholic dioceses in the United States, I thought why not begin looking at some of our fascinating houses of worship right here in my backyard? The Albany area, like much of New York has huge roots in American Catholicism, Dutch Reformed, Anglican and Episcopalian and boasts some gorgeous houses of worship. It is my intent (when I have free time) to visit these buildings, see their communities and blog about them (and maybe snag some pictures along the way).

Also, I want everyone to know that this is not a blog for people to be biased or judgmental to any governing bodies, bishops, priests, lay leaders etc. It is just a blog for those interested in these buildings whether for their ecclesiastical usage, architectural wonder, works of art, or as an "time capsule" of a bygone era.  I do this also on my own accord as a layman, and not on the behalf of anyone else.

If you have any recommendations of buildings to visit, please let me know. The older and more ornate the better!

Until we meet again, as Johnny says...keep on walking


-WC