WEST WARWICK — Generations of proud parishioners gathered Sunday at St. Mary Church in the city’s Crompton Village to celebrate the 165th anniversary of historic St. Mary Church.
St. Mary has the distinction of having the oldest church building in the diocese; St. Mary Church in Newport is the oldest Catholic parish in Rhode Island, and was established in 1826.
According to parish historian Richard S. Hughes, before the Crompton village church was erected in 1844, Catholics wanting to attend Mass had to walk to the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence, a distance of about 10 miles.
For several years prior to St. Mary’s opening, Michael Carroll, a native of Ballybay, County Monaghan Ireland, traveled to Boston by horse and buggy and brought Father James Fitton to the Pawtuxet Valley to celebrate Mass in Carroll’s home.
It soon became apparent that a church was needed, and a young woman, Mary Doran, the wife of a printer employed by the Crompton Print Works, responded to that need and purchased an acre of land and gave it to Father Fitton for the purpose of erecting a Catholic Church.
The cornerstone of the new church was laid on October 15, 1844 and a small church building, 30 by 50 feet in size, was completed on Jan. 4, 1845. In July, the church was dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and was a mission church served by priests from the Cathedral until it became a separate parish in 1850 and renamed St. Mary Church, in honor of the Blessed Mother.
While St. Mary Church, known as the Mother Church of the Pawtuxet Valley because of its historical prominence, has witnessed many significant events in its long history, one that stands out is the devastating fire that struck the church on Aug. 6, 1926, destroying much of the building. After extensive renovations, the church reopened on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1927.
The 165th Anniversary Mass of Thanksgiving honored the many thousands of dedicated parishioners, like Carroll and Doran, whose sacrifices and dedication helped build and sustain the rich spiritual life enjoyed by St. Mary’s vibrant parish community.
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin served as the main celebrant of the Anniversary Mass; Fathers Thomas D. O’Neill, administrator of St. Mary Church, and Wilfred Gregoire, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, Westerly, who grew up in the village of Crompton, served as concelebrants.
The procession was lead into church by members of the Knights of Columbus, Mary Doran Council No. 8799.
Bishop Tobin reminded those gathered of the abundant graces and many blessings that God has bestowed upon the parish during its long history.
“It’s an amazing record,” he emphasized. Bishop Tobin noted that anniversaries are intersections, uniting the past and the future and asked those gathered to always thank God for his many gifts.
“We have to strive to recognize the many ways that Christ is present in our lives,” the bishop said. “There is nothing more beautiful than our encounter with Christ.”
During the Year of Evangelization being celebrated in the diocese, Bishop Tobin asked those present to share the good news about Jesus and their Catholic faith with others. He reminded the worshippers of the importance of following the commandments, receiving the sacraments, praying, becoming active in parish life and reaching out to those less fortunate.
“Whenever we serve others, we serve Christ,”?Bishop Tobin said, reminding those gathered to heed Mary’s words spoken to the waiters in the Gospel reading chronicling the wedding feast at Cana: “Do whatever he tells you to.”
“We can’t be a Catholic for one hour, and a pagan for the rest of the week,” Bishop Tobin emphasized, telling the congregation that they must live their faith every day and be “ambassadors for Christ.”
Recalling the instruction provided by the Baltimore Catechism, Bishop Tobin said that St. Mary Church provided a foundation from which parishioners can come to know, love and serve Christ.
Hughes, a retired postal worker who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, recalled the parish’s colorful history during a short presentation. He noted that the church was built 16 years before the Civil War.
“People were attending this church 32 years before Custer’s Last Stand,” he observed, recalling that the parish as surmounted numerous difficulties in 165 years.
“The parish will survive,” Hughes concluded, eliciting applause from the congregation.
Susan Furtado, a St. Mary parishioner for 21 years, said the anniversary celebration was a “promise of good things to come.
“I think it’s a celebration of the past, but more importantly, it’s a sign of hope for the future of the parish and the Catholic Church.”
Furtado emphasized that the Crompton parish community is a family.
“We are saying ‘Happy Anniversary’ to each other,” she said, noting that many parishioners were wearing large red and white buttons with the inscription “I love my parish. Old St. Mary Church (1844), Crompton.”
Maureen Murphy, a parishioner for five years, noted the many activities that the parish has sponsored during the past year. The events included a sports raffle, bazaar, golf tournament and parish picnic, and will conclude with a corned beef and cabbage dinner on March 13.
Lifelong parishioner Paula Paolucci Marsh said that she had received the sacrament of baptism, and made her first holy Communion and confirmation at St. Mary Church, where she was also married.
“This year has been very emotional,” she acknowledged. “I just love this church.”
Father O’Neill, appointed as administrator of St. Mary Church six months ago, praised committee members and parishioners for the dedication and diligent efforts to make the anniversary celebration a success.
“I’m really delighted at the turnout and how it gave a sense of our history,” he said. “We stand on the shoulders of those at St. Mary’s who came before us.”
