SHELTON - This Sunday, Oct. 13, exactly 100 years to the day of its church’s original dedication, St. Joseph Parish will commemorate this milestone in its history with a special Mass to be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. by newly-installed Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport.
After the Mass, Caggiano will bless the new elevator and newly-renovated Herman Pastore Church Hall.
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| Photo taken from church website |
Gerety, who at 101 is the oldest archbishop in the Catholic Church, grew up on Oak Avenue, just two blocks from St. Joseph Church where he was baptized in 1912.
“Very likely his mother brought him as an infant to Mass that Oct. 13, 1913, when the Bishop of Hartford consecrated the new, beautiful church,” Msgr. Chris Walsh said.
“Now he will be present for its centenary! That symbolizes the incredible continuity of families and tradition that makes St. Joseph’s such a unique parish.”
According to Walsh, pastor, the $1.2-million renovation to the historic church began with a capital campaign in the fall of 2011.
Ground was broken for the project in the spring of 2012.
The renovation, under project manager Deacon Brad Smythe, included the installation of an elevator, a modern heating and air conditioning system, handicapped-accessible restrooms, a state-of-the art kitchen, and complete renovation of the church hall.
The general contractor for the project was A. Secondino & Son, Branford; Silver/Petrucelli & Associates of Hamden was the architect.
St. Joseph’s was founded in 1906 as the first Catholic parish in Shelton.
Construction of the present church at 50 Fairmont Place, a modified Gothic design, began the following year.
Generous gifts
The present convent (completed in 1918) and school (completed in 1928) quickly followed.
During the 1990s, working from old photographs, the parish restored the interior of the church as closely as possible to its original design.
The current church renovation, the first in the parish’s history to exceed $1 million, was made possible by generous gifts from approximately 400 parish families and friends, as well as a major gift from the estate of Herman Pastore.
He was a lifelong parishioner and longtime public school educator in Woodbridge.
The earliest parishioners were Irish, Italian, Polish, and other Eastern European immigrants who labored in Shelton and Derby factories.
In recent years, the parish has seen an increase in families from Latin America, Portugal, the Philippines, Albania, Vietnam, and French Africa.
St. Joseph’s offers a Mass in Spanish at noon on Sunday as well as seven weekend Masses in English. The parish is served by three full-time priests and two deacons.
Four religious sisters of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, headquartered in Hamden, are in residence in the convent.
This post is taken from a press release from St. Joseph Church.
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