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St. Mary Parish is a Roman Catholic church in Bridgeport, Connecticut, part of the Diocese of Bridgeport. == History == Before April 1857 the East of Bridgeport Catholics were attended by the priests of St. James Church, first parish in the city and predecessor of St. Augustine’s. St. James was located at Washington Avenue and Arch Street and had been dedicated July 24, 1843 – 13 years after a missionary priest had first celebrated Mass in Bridgeport and several months before the Diocese of Hartford was created. At this time St. James had parish boundary lines including an area greater than today's Diocese of Bridgeport. Rev. Thomas J. Synott, third priest to serve St. James and second pastor, soon found the church was too small to accommodate the growing number of parishioners and the east of the Pequonnock River was too remote from the church and in 1854 decides to build the first St. Mary Church on Crescent and Church Streets where St. Cyril’s now stands. It was a white wooden frame church. Their first parishioners were from Ireland. In April 1857 St. Mary receives official status of parish and is assigned its first pastor, Rev. Peter A. Smith, who builds a rectory and serves the community for five years. St. Mary thus became—a priest-historian said in later years—“the eldest daughter of St. Augustine and the first granddaughter of St. James.” The next eleven years the young parish was under the direction of Revs. Francis J. Lenihan (1862), Richard O’Gorman, Thomas Drea (1867). In 1869 the first church of Bridgeport, St. James, (established in 1842, one year before the establishment of the Dioceses of Hartford) is replaced with San Augustine Church. On July 6, 1873, Rev. John F. Rogers takes Rev. Drea place as pastor for the next 29 years. During his tenure as spiritual director, the parish grew into one of the most important parishes of the Hartford Diocese. In June 1874 Rev. Rogers noticing that the small church sandwich in the triangle between the railroad tracks and the former Father Panik Village, begins to build the red brick, Romanesque-style church, which for many years was one of the ecclesiastical showpieces of New England. On May 16, 1875, the first cornerstone is placed and on October 14, 1877, Bishop Thomas Galberry, 4th Bishop of the Dioceses of Hartford, dedicates the new St. Mary. After the construction of the church Rev. Rogers converts the old little white wooden frame church into a St. Mary Private School with more than 200 children at a cost of $3 per month. It was the first catholic school in the city and served as a model for future catholic schools. Rev. Rogers brings the first order of nuns “Sisters of Mercy” to teach and they stayed until the last days of our school existence. The cost of the construction was approximately $100,000 and attracted wide attention with its beauty. There were a lot of writings over the beautiful St. Mary Church and its redbricks and 187 feet peak that soar into the air was for more than 50 years a beacon of Bridgeport. But, Rev. Rogers was not finished, in 1881 he built the rectory next to the church, before the end of the century he renovated the interior of the church and purchases land for the building of a school and convent. Rev. Rogers, not in good health, turn over the projects to his administrator. In 1901 the cornerstone for the school, opposite the church, was laid. In the same year Rev. Rogers’ health worsened and he died in May 1902. Rev. William H. Lynch, as administrator, completed the school and convent and later opens a new church, St. Charles, and becomes its first pastor. In the early 1900s immigrants from Italy start coming in and the church became primarily an Italian parish. Rev. John F. Murphy, who was Rev. Rogers’s associate, returns as pastor in November 1902, and in April 19, 1917, Rev. Matthew J. Traynor is appointed pastor. These two pastors brought to completion the work of building up a fully equipped parish plant. Once everything was completed they dedicated their time to the spiritual and educational life of the parish. Another priest that arrived at St. Mary on September 18, 1924, was Rev. M. Ernest Wilson who founded the Holy Name teams of Basketball and Baseball, which flourished until WW II. He was also well known for his involvement in the community and is remembered for being a pioneer, along with Waltersville School principal, for the early dismissal of catholic students to attend religious classes. In the early 20s Rev. Traynor had renewed the interior of the church and in October 1927, Rev. Wilson and his assistants started plans for the Golden Jubilee of the parish. In the eve of the celebration, the church caught fire and destroyed everything. In rebuilding the church, Rev. Wilson introduced many changes, fireproof features were installed and the sanctuary enlarged. The magnificent spire was a casualty of the fire, but altars of choice Italian marble replaced the wooden altar of the old burned church. It was re-dedicated on June 24, 1928 by the Bishops John J. Nilan and Maurice McAuliff, 7th and 8th bishops of Hartford. During the depression, Rev. Wilson provided food and shelter for many families, many times providing from his personal means. The next pastor, Rev. Paul F. Keating, was to serve St. Mary during the Depression years 1930 34. He was succeeded by the Rev. Leo M. Finn who, shortly after arriving was to become Monsignor and capelin of the Knights of Columbus. In June 1939, one of the city’s best-loved priests, then serving in Long Hill, was to become the 11th pastor of St. Mary. Rev. James H. Killian who died unexpectedly after two years on a trip to Florida in February 1941. Rev. Michael J. Kearney came to St. Mary on March 28, 1941, as pastor and in his 13 years finishes the renovations and plans that Rev. Killian started and with his ability is able to balance the records and safe enough money to later celebrate the Centennial. At this time a new flock of immigrants from Puerto Rico came to the city looking for jobs and start to assist the church of their beloved Mother, St. Mary. 1953 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. Mary Church (Bridgeport, Connecticut)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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