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Our History
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An Early History of St. Thomas the Apostle Church
1864-1964
By
Harold L. Robinson, Jr.
Thursday, June 8, 1905 – 10:50 AM … The Roman Catholic Church, St. Thomas’, was ablaze! Within two hours a hot burning, fierce, withering fire consumed the thirty – three year old gray, wood edifice. Bits of flam winged shingles and whits of intensely glowing wood exploded sporadically and sprayed the nerve – stunning scene. The stark lines of the walls and the slender wavered in the shimmering heat, trembled, then collapsed, sighed, and slipped into a smoldering pit besmirched with ash blackened waters. The original Roman Catholic Church of West Springfield had been suddenly snatched away by a swirling summer wind.
1864-1882
The symbol of the Catholic Church in America ought to be the Irish Potato. Before the mass mid-nineteenth century immigration of the Irish the Catholic Church, in America, never having been a vibrant religious movement, could only hope for little beyond, mere survival. But, by the overwhelming weight of his numbers and his intense faith, the Irish immigrant quickened, the Church, swayed and shaped its American image; even today it bears his imprint. This is especially true of West Springfield and the Parish of Saint Thomas.
Reverend Patrick Healy, of Drumgooly, County Kilkenny, Ireland came to America shortly after his ordination. He served, as a curate, in and around Boston for almost nine years until, in 1864, he was assigned as Pastor of the Holy Name of Jesus, in Chicopee. Mittineaugue was but one of the mission areas under his care. More than any other man, he was the Father of Roman Catholicism in West Springfield.
On March 25, 1865, he purchased a tract of land on Pine Street. The area included the present site of the church, the rectory, and the garage. The deed carried several stipulations. The church would be built of brick and have a seating capacity sufficient for one thousand persons. A comfortable ‘Parsonage’ house would be erected and a place of worship would always be maintained, otherwise, the land would revert to the seller, The Agawam Canal Co.
Time, which heals all wounds, also muddies waters. Two dates can be found as being the completion dates for the church, 1869 and 1872. Legal documents tend to support the latter date. On April 20, 1870, a deed was executed which … ‘released, annulled and made void and inoperative the said conditions and restrictions …’ It does not seem likely that Rev. Healy would completely finish a church, which violated the conditions of sale.
In 1872, then, the church of St. Thomas was completed on the western side of Pine Street in Mittineague. It was a substantial wooden structure and a late example of architectural efforts to translate the Gothic styling of 12th century France using low cost and easily available native materials. The translation demanded some compromises, however, but the basic elements were retained; the pinnacle, pointed windows, arches, leaded stained glass, wooden tracery, and a huge cross at the top of the tall slender steeple.
Dark varnished pews filled the huge interior and three wide aisles separated the six hundred seating capacity into four large areas. All three altars were of wood, the main being the largest. Its tabernacle was flanked with six sculptured gold candlesticks and high above it suspended from the tall timbered ceiling, were six vigil lights, their lemon-yellow flames, like tiny hands in prayer, pointed heavenward.
The church, canonically, was a ‘station’ church under the direction of the Holy Name of Jesus. This would cause considerable confusion in later years. While the church was under construction, Rev. Patrick Healy, purchased land on Tatham – seven acres, more or less to give the Catholics of Mittineauge their own cemetery. The deed was executed on June 5, 1871, and in November of the same year, the town approved the use of the land for burial purposes.
Due to constantly increasing numbers of Catholics in both Chicopee and in West Springfield the burden became too great. In 1877, West Springfield was made a separate parish and Rev. Patrick B. Phelan was assigned its first Pastor. For reasons unknown, and now unknowable he did not build his rectory near the wooden church on Pine St. Instead, he purchased land on Main Street – formerly called, Shade Lane – and there he built a church – Immaculate Conception.
Both churches were administered from the Main Street rectory and St. Thomas’ remaining a ‘Station’ church, had its records intermingled with those of the Immaculate Conception. This gave substance to the belief that the Immaculate Conception was the original Catholic Church in the town.
1882-1905
Irish names continued to dominate in Church records. Rev. John J. O’Keefe, in 1882, had St. Thomas Hall constructed at the rear of the church. It served as a gathering place for the young people of the parish and it was also used for social activities. In later years, it would serve a destructive purpose.
With the assignment of Rev. Thomas O’Keefe two years later, the Immaculate Conception gained official recognition as a parish. Rev. Michael J. Ahern’s assignment read, ‘West Springfield, Immaculate Conception’. The Immaculate Conception became the first recognized parish in the town. Only in 1900, when the two locations obtained separate recognition, did St. Thomas gain entry to Diocesan records. Rev. John Francis Griffin’s assignment read, ‘1st Pastor, Mittineague, St. Thomas’. Newspaper accounts state that each church had about one thousand parishioners and add that St. Thomas had a large Sunday school attendance – apparently conducted in St. Thomas Hall.
It was Rev. Griffin’s task to organize the parishioners into a solid congregation. For the first time in its history, the church would maintain its own records. Now, it had the full dignity of a parish. It was necessary he build a rectory and a shelter for the indispensable horse and carriage. The rectory was a large square two-storied building and had a tiny dormer piercing each side of the low slanting roof. On the church side, there was a small porch, more like a sheltered entry while on the opposite side a huge porch sprawled along almost the entire length of the wall. The house was large, square, functional, and almost antiseptic in atmosphere. The main entry was formal.
The carriage house was to the south rear of the rectory. It was a long low rectangular structure and only a large cupola and a stumpy crick chimney broke its roofiness. There were only a few trees on the church property. All were quite young. The Area directly across the street from the rectory was a wide expanse of rolling green grass broken only by a single fruit tree. Later, the house, which would become the first convent, was built on this land.
1905-1926
The calendar for June 8th listed two entries: A wedding at 8 AM and a funeral at 9 AM. When Rev. W.I. Phelan left the church after the Requiem Mass everything appeared to be in order. Later, flames were noticed breaking from the windows in the south vestry. The alarm was turned in at Box 59, at the Mittineague Hose Hours on Second Street and brought an immediate response from the firefighters. However, a lack of sufficient water pressure, a delay in obtaining aid from the Bond St. Engine House, and a strong wind resulted in the complete destruction of the church, St. Thomas Hall, and the rectory. Although the wiring of the church had been examined and replaced a few months before it was believed that the fire was caused by some electrical failure. In the church, everything was destroyed except the candlesticks on the main altar and a few chairs. In the rectory, everything was saved except two bedsteads. The church was valued at $30, 000 and the rectory at $10,000. Everything was covered by insurance. The pastor of St. Williams, the French church in Agawam, offered the use of his church, hall, and parochial school to Rev. Griffin. The members of the Mittineague Congregational church passed a resolution offering the use of their church until better arrangements could be made.
Rev. James Joseph Tyrrell, a native of New York City, came to St. Thomas on December 7, 1905. He had previously served as Pastor in Southboro and in Millbury. He was appointed Pastor by the Rt. Rev. Thomas D. Beaven, Bishop of Springfield. His burden would be that of rebuilding the church, the rectory, repairing the slight damage to the carriage house, and buoying the spirits of his disheartened parishioners. He also knew he was a new priest, one who could only promise to plunge the parish into debt because of the erection of the new brick Gothic – Romanesque church would cost far in excess of the insurance awards for the loss of the old.
Apparently, he had little to say about the style or location of the new edifice. Rev. Griffin, having learned from sad experience, arranged before his transfer as Pastor to St. Bridget in Millbury, to relocate the church further from the rectory, facing Maple Street. But, Rev. Tyrrell would have something to say about the speed of construction. Within a month after his arrival, the first brick for the new church was laid. Rev. Tyrrell promised his parishioners that the first Mass would be celebrated in the new church on Christmas Day the following year.
On April 5, 1906, the contractors began building the new church. Construction workers labored through the blistering summer months. On September 6, 1906, the interior decorators began finishing the interior. Though he was suffering from a severe cold, Rev. James J. Tyrrell celebrated the first Mass on Christmas morning, December 25, 1906. In spite of the discomfort of chest congestion, he also gave the sermon. The strain was too great for him and he was unable to participate in the 8:30 or the 10:30 Mass or give the sermon.
Original plans anticipated the dedication of the newly constructed church within a month. Actually, it did not take place until May 26, 1907. There was heavy rain that day but it failed to dampen the spirit and enthusiastic joy of the parishioners. A large crowd turned out. Dedication services were conducted by Rt. Rev. Thomas Daniel Beaven, Bishop of Springfield. A pontifical High Mass was celebrated by Rt. Rev. D. F. McGrath of Milford. Rev. I. A. McGovern and Rev. W.T. Phelan, of Holyoke, served as Master of Ceremonies. The present church, a mixture of Gothic – Romanesque architecture, is of red brick and white stone. Over the main door, there are the symbols of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Seven leaded stained glass windows, each in brilliant varied colored bits of glass, depict the symbols of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Stations of the Cross, mounted on the walls of the church were originally bordered with a heavy involved tracery. Bells were never installed in the tall gracious square bell tower at the left front of the church. This was the church that Rev. James Joseph Tyrrell had promised his flock he would have completed by Christmas 1906, and he kept his promise.
For almost twenty years he served as pastor firmly intent that in addition to taking care of their spiritual needs, he would not leave them through death with a financial burden. Asthma plagued him during his entire life. Scallions offered him only brief seasonal relief. In 1919 he suffered a severe case of pneumonia the scars of which remained. For six years illness continued to drain his strength. On October 13, 1925, another attack confined him to his bed. His weakened condition did not permit recovery and at 1:15 PM on October 22, 1925, he died in his bed at the rectory. Rev. George Flynn, of St. Bernard in Worcester, in the eulogy delivered at the Solemn Requiem High Mass, celebrated at 10 AM Monday noted that he had many notable qualities that stood out prominently: intense loyalty to his friends, exceptional administrative ability, patience in sickness and suffering, and finally his scrupulous devotion to duty. He was buried in St. Thomas Cemetery and the parishioners, through donations, had a large monument erected in his memory. It is a tall cross, adorned with a chalice, mounted on a raised iterated base. The entire monument is of Barre Granite. Nearly a year would pass before Rev. James W. Dolan would be assigned, ‘Pastor, Mittineague, St. Thomas’. The effective date – October 1, 1926.
1926-1939
Rev. James V. Dolan, was a native of Worcester, MA. Prior to his assignment in Mittineague he had served as a curate in seven parishes and as Administrator in one. He would be the Pastor of St. Thomas for almost thirteen years and under his guidance and direction, he would develop the property until it became one of the best-groomed church properties in the state. He firmly believed that the site of the Eucharistic Presence of Christ should be surrounded by beauty. The grounds were landscaped. Evergreens, yews, cedars, and rhododendrons hugged the base of the walls of the church and rectory like trailing folds of a huge backdrop tapestry of lofty pines.
The problem of giving the children of his flock a Catholic education constantly assailed him. The Sunday visits of the Sisters of St. Joseph from St. Michael’s Cathedral, to teach catechism between Masses was not enough. The entire country was suffering the throes of a great depression but this did not discourage him. He resolved to build a parish school. In 1931 he purchased property and converted it into a future convent. In the same year, he took out a building permit for a school. Records indicate a cost of $70,000. Between the school and the church, he had a Grotto, similar to Lourdes, constructed and at the base of the stone-studded mound, a goldfish pond.
The school opened in 1932 with an enrollment of 125 students in all grades combined. Although nothing was ever said, nor were any plans announces, it is speculative to ponder whether or not Rev. Dolan would have founded a Catholic High school in West Springfield. When the first class graduated from the eighth grade, Rev. Dolan kept them for another year. When they graduated from ninth he inaugurated a tenth grade. Death silenced his lips and cut the thread of his dreams. He died Wednesday, July 19, 1939, in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Boston, following an operation. He is buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Worcester, MA. Of the varied memories of Rev. Dolan, there are the Lawn Parties, the Communion Breakfasts, and the journeys to his summer cottage at Point Judith, Rhode Island. Many remember the gold-leafed dome over the main altar and the seraphic symphony of the sweet tipped, richly colored flowers that adorned the church on joyous, festive Holydays.
1939-1964
Rev. Harry J. Hackett, a native of Portland, Maine was assigned, ‘Pastor, West Springfield, St. Thomas’, November 19, 1939. His wide experience as curate in eight different locations, a Chaplain during World War I, and two assignments as a Pastor, would serve him in good stead, as Pastor of St. Thomas. His years would be, and are, years of hard service under the brass-knuckled demands of the time.
Two months before his assignment Hitler had ordered the German Army into Poland and a new era in the history of the world was born. Within a year the youths of his parish would be flung to the far corners of the world. Silver stars of the Christmas Season were augmented by Gold Stars which dotted the glazed windows of the homes of his people. He led his parishioners in prayer for victory and peace. With peace, his problems increased the population explosion!
He allowed himself only one architectural delicacy. The rectory was given a brick veneer to complement the exterior of the church. Everything else was sacrificed so he could maintain the church building and care for the needs of his parishioners. With each census, the total increased. Within a year of the day he became Pastor, he arranged the first of many purchases of land that would be required to take care of the demands of his flock. Additional classrooms were needed and this, in turn, would demand more sisters and the old convent was already overcrowded.
It distressed him greatly, to have to turn the children of his Parish away from the parochial school. In 1952, on the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, February 3rd, he formally opened the Building Fund Drive. He could no longer stand turning Catholic children away from a Catholic Education, ‘there must be room, we must make room’ was his plea. In staggering succession, he purchased land to permit the additional four classrooms, the construction of a new convent, enlarged the parking area, and in 1961 added more classrooms and a large auditorium which would serve also as a cafeteria for the children.
Cemetery land was increased through many purchases and the number of Masses had to be increased from three, to four, to nine. At first, the basement of the old school was used as a chapel. It was inadequate. The auditorium was pressed into service for Sunday and Holy Day Masses. And, constantly there was the demand for maintenance and repair of the grounds and the buildings. Some of the beautiful, through non-contributing things, had to be sacrificed: the formal garden, the fishpond, and the luxuriant flowers around the shrines.
Lay people were pressed into service. The Men’s Club and the Women’s Club were formalized. Both made sacrifices for the Parish. But, this was not enough. There was a need for lay teachers, for lunchroom workers, and for an entire staff to make the CCD program living and vibrant. There were the financial demands for Parish support for the new Cathedral High School, the new Providence Hospital, and the Catholic Charities, which placed demands on the parish funds. To his leadership, the parishioners responded generously. No goal has ever been set that was not exceeded.
In recognition of his long and loyal service, Pope Paul VI made him a Domestic Prelate, with the title Monsignor. On January 22, 1964, Bishop Christopher J. Weldon invested him in the robes of his new office. Almost completely unnoticed, during the service, were the six century-old sculptured gold candlesticks that flanked the tabernacle. Their tall tapered beeswax candles crowned with lemon yellow flames, like tiny hands pressed in prayer, pointing heavenward – to God whom Rt. Rev. Msgr. Harry J. Hackett, like the pastors before him, had served well and made a lasting contribution to the church of St. Thomas on Pine Street.