St. Mary's (1797)

I have returned to my blog with the grande dame of the Diocese of Albany. Nestled in the Capitol Hill section of Albany, between the court house and Pearl Street is the 2nd oldest parish in New York: St. Mary's.

BRIEF HISTORY: 

Information taken from: http://www.hist-stmarys.org/History.htm


Incorporated in 1796 as the "Catholic Church in the City of Albany" and under the patronage of the title of Assumption (not to be confused with another Assumption church in Albany that would come later), St. Mary's is really an historical entity all of it's own. St. John Neumann, later Bishop of Philadelphia, celebrated mass here while passing though the area. The Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution celebrated mass here with his men, and St. Mary's has had the luxury of being a part of three different diocese's in it's life: Baltimore, New York, and finally Albany.

In 1847 when the diocese was created, St. Mary's was selected as the cathedral of the Rt. Rev. John McCloskey, Bishop of Albany, and was installed on September 19th by Bishop John Hughes of New York. St. Mary's remained the cathedral until Immaculate Conception was completed in 1852. Since then, St. Mary's has been a parish church, serving the City of Albany.

The current church is the third such building to carry the name of St. Mary's. The first building was dedicated in 1797 on the corner of Pine and Chapel streets after the Catholic faithful successfully petitioned the Vatican to do so. In 1820, a new church was built by famous architect Phillip Hooker in the Federal design with such famous benefactors as Stephen Van Rensselaer and President Martin Van Buren. The current building is the third church built in 1867 by Charles Nichols in the Romanesque Revival design. It was dedicated by the Second Bishop of Albany, Rt. Rev John Conroy. The building has been renovated many times since 1867, the most recent being in the late 1990's to celebrate the parishes bicentennial in 1997.


STRUCTURE:

Main Sanctuary

As stated earlier, the current St. Mary's was built in the Romanesque Revival style and is pretty linear. Unlike most Gothic Revival churches (like Cathedral), St. Mary's is not built in cruciform pattern, but very rectangular in shape. The outside is light brick and painted trimmed stained glass windows line the sides of the buildings. The bell tower has electronic bells (real bells have been fitted with electric strikers for structural issues) and is copper topped with a statue of the angel Gabriel, blowing a trumpet (see above picture).


The interior is traditional Romanesque style, with painted frescos, statuary and a balcony to support another tier of people (this was also seen in Our Lady of Angels, which is another example of Romanesque style church). The main sanctuary has what I would consider " half of a baldachin" over the high altar where the Blessed Sacrament is in repose, with angels on either side of the top of the Corinthian columns. The statues are a mixture of painted plaster, carved painted wood, and marble and are  The side altars in my mind were small, yet very ornate. The colors of the church fit the patroness, as it is done in cream, gold, and blue (with the exception of the green carpet). Another fact of note: St Mary's was the first church in the City of Albany to be lit by electricity in 1895.

The parish has a better website than I could produce that talks about the church here.

Our Lady of Victory-From the 2nd Church

Sacred Heart From the Original 1797 Church

I guess what gets me about this church is not just it's beauty, but it's history. While it's not the original church, the parish hosted many different important events over the years. This is also where many of the "big wigs" from the state go to mass and it's not uncommon to be shaking hands with a State Senator at the sign of peace.

COMMUNITY:

If you're looking for praise and worship music, lots of hugs and hospitality after mass, then this parish isn't for you. I love going to St. Mary's when I need to be quiet and left alone to pray. It is more traditional than some parishes (you still kneel at the altar rail and they only distribute one species), they offer 2 daily weekday masses, a vigil mass on Saturday and six on Sunday with the last one being in Latin (ordinary form).  I went to a noon weekday mass this time and it was about 2/3rd full (and they had a collection which made me chuckle) and you will see people from every walk of life from the old timers, to young professionals.

EDUCATION:

At one point St. Mary's had a school, but it has been closed for many years. They do not offer faith formation of any kind, and all families are asked to enroll their kids for Religious Education at Blessed Sacrament. For outreach, they have a very small food pantry.


OVERALL:

I work less than five minutes walking time from St. Mary's and sometimes I go to the noon mass. It's a spiritual oasis in the center of the very loud, beating heart of New York State. Even if you're not Catholic, St. Mary's is the perfect picture of a old-style church. She is the crown jewel of the diocese and besides the Cathedral, this is one church every "Albanian" should see.

PS: It has another plus in my book: it's air conditioned!

RECAP:

St. Mary's Church
Parish Erected: 1797 as the Catholic Church in the City of Albany, Diocese of Baltimore
Present Church Dedicated: 1867 by the Rt. Rev. John Conroy-Bishop of Albany
Architect: Charles Nichols
Style: Romanesque Revival
Pastor: Rev. John T. Provost