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The first Mass was celebrated on Sunday, Dec. The bishop approved a loan from the bank and work was resumed.
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Money ran short and work on the new church had to be stopped. While some pledged monetary gifts, others gratuitously gave the strength of their hands, but all poured forth love from their hearts for the construction of the new church to be dedicated to Our Lady.Ī parcel of land was purchased, extending from Catherine Street to Jay Street, and excavation began on April 23, 1896.Īll new undertakings have their problems, and Mount Carmel was no exception.
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Donations, large and small, came from Utica and vicinity. With the help of such clergymen as Syracuse Bishop Patrick Ludden, Monsignor James Lynch, and devout people such as Cecelia Rapetti Kernan, the Italian church of Santa Maria di Monte Carmela was organized and incorporated into the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse in July 1895.įather Castelli and the committee began campaigning immediately for funds for the new church. The new church, they decided, would be dedicated to our Lady of Mount Carmel. The new church was to be devoted to the Madonna because all had remembered the beautiful Madonna to whom they knelt and prayed to, asking for guidance before leaving their native land. Committees were formed for this purpose and appeals went out, loud and clear, stating their intentions the responses were extraordinarily in favor of this idea. The prayers and meetings that took place in this old school sealed the determination for the immigrants to construct their own church. The old schoolhouse building was the inception of what was later to be known as St. Monsignor Lynch’s zealous and gentleness went one step further when he donated the old school building on Catherine Street, which Father Castelli transformed into a temporary church and meeting place. The first baptisms and marriages of the Italian colony were performed at St. Lynch, a good friend of Father Castelli and the Italian colony, was pastor. Father Castelli began to work immediately and called upon every man and woman and inspired them to one mission, to have a church of their own.ĭuring these visits, he invited them to attend Mass at St. John’s Church and later became the first pastor of Mount Carmel. Antonio Castelli, first pastor of Mount Carmel.īy 1887, the Italian immigrants were no longer alone because they had their own Italian priest, Father Antonio Castelli, who served as an assistant to Monsignor Lynch at St. It did not take long for them to become convinced that they could support a Catholic church of their own. The textile industry also was attracting Italians to the city and, overnight, the Italian colony in Utica grew from a dozen or so families to hundreds of men, women and children.
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These immigrants liked what they saw in Utica and decided to make it their home. Those not employed at the West Shore Railroad found work in the brickyards, for which Utica was then famous. The West Shore Railroad which was being built through the Upper Mohawk Valley employed many Italian laborers. John’s Parish in downtown Utica, find employment and learn to read and speak English. She assisted them to assimilate quickly into St. Mary of Mount Carmel really began in 1865, the year the Civil War ended, when Michael Kernan returned to his native Utica with his bride, Cecelia Rapetti Kernan, the daughter of a prominent Italian broker in New York City.īefore long, she was helping the few Italian families arriving in Utica in the late 1860s and early 1870s. Mary of Mount Carmel Church – Santa Maria di Monte Carmelo – celebrated Mass for the first time in a church building they could call their own.īut the history of St. (Prepared by the history committee for the 1996 centennial celebration) Last Updated on Octoby Editor From left: The convent, church, school and gymnasium and nursery school in 1946.