Transcript Province of St Elias

Province of St Elias
Carmelite History
The left hand side of the shield reflect he
Carmelite identity of the Province. The
eagle in the upper right hand portions
indicates this is an American province
while the fiery wheel indicates it is
named after Elias who was taken to
heaven in a fiery chariot.
The lower
right hand portion indicates the Irish
origin of the province. Brian Boru’s harp
is the official symbol of the Republic of
Ireland while the sunburst represents
resurrected freedom in Irish heraldry.
Carmelites in Ireland
Late 19th Century
•Catholic Emancipation came in 1829
-Persecution ended.
•Famines of Mid-19th Century
•In 1870, there were 41 members in the Irish Province.
• Yet in the mid-1850’s there
were more Irish aspirants for
the order than could be
educated and usefully
employed in Ireland.
– So, Santa Maria Traspontina in
Rome became a Novitiate for
any nationals who desired to
serve the Church in the
Carmelite Order wherever there
was a need.
Irish Provincial Andrew Daly to General in 1852:
“For a long time, I have thought of the needs of the Catholic
religion in the United States of America. Various Bishops of
that region have spoke with me about this. The work is large
but the workers fewest. The faith of our Irish people settled
there is exposed to many dangers. I have often been invited by
bishops and priests to join these missions – having thought
about it for a while I would favor the diocese of Philadelphia or
New York where a great part of the people are Irish or of Irish
parents. But I would do this work under the auspices and
authority of Your Paternity. This should be done after a short
time we should be able to erect easily some convent and church
in honor of Our Blessed Lady of Mt Carmel. To do this I now
ask for the obedience needed to go from Ireland to America.
After I am there I will write you and will try to do everything
according to your advice.”
Father Michael Moore (Ireland)
-Visited
New York City in 1887
-He received from Father James
McMahon the promise of an
endowed foundation at a specified
location in New York city.
Archbishop Michael Corrigan considered the area
offered to have enough churches for its population.
-When efforts to change the Archbishop's mind
failed, the Irish Provincial, Father John Bartley,
came to see Corrigan.
-Refusing to change his position on the endowment,
Archbishop Corrigan offered Bartley a new parish to
be separated from St. Stephen's and to include the
care of Bellevue Hospital.
John Bartley returned to New York City in March, 1889
with three other Carmelites to begin the parish of Our
Lady of the Scapular on East 28th Street.
-Founding Carmelites:
-Rev. John Bartley
-Rev. Edward Southwell, First Prior
-Rev. Michael Daly, First Pastor (OLS)
-Rev. Paul McDonnell
Rev. John Bartley
Rev. Edward Southwell
(First Prior)
Rev. Michael Daly
(1st Pastor)
Rev. Paul McDonnell
Why did Corrigan give the Carmelites Our Lady of the
Scapular on 28th Street off 1st Ave?
Dr Edward McGlynn was pastor of St
Stephen’s on 29th Street and Lexington
Ave.
-He supported the economic ideas
of Henry George.
-Corrigan excommunicated him for
backing the ideas of Henry
George.
Catholic Schools
• Rev. Dr. Edward McGlynn became
famous because of his opposition
to parochial schools.
– He said public schools were good
enough and that Catholic children
were in no danger of sin and
temptation if they went to public
schools.
– This put him in opposition with the
Catholic hierarchy.
Rev. Dr. Edward McGlynn’s statue in
Woodlawn Cemetery
Henry George
Henry George wrote “Progress and Poverty” in
1879.
-Proposed the “single tax” on land theory.
-In it George made the argument that
nearly all of the wealth created by social
and technological advances in a free
market economy is captured by land
owners and monopolists via economic
rents, and that this concentration of
unearned wealth is the root cause of
poverty.
It is into this situation that Archbishop Corrigan
decided to offer the Carmelites the parish of Our
Lady of the Scapular on 29th Street off First Avenue.
•This parish was cut out of the boundaries of St
Stephens which was Dr Edward McGlynn’s
parish.
•Corrigan saw the Irish Carmelites as a solution.
•The Irish parishioners of St Stephens who
backed Dr Edward McGlynn could be
“pacified” by them.
The First “Church”
A tobacco factory on 29th St and First Ave served as the first
Church.
-Duke’s Tobacco Factory
-A brewery was also located in the building!
-500 people could be accommodated
-July 16th 1889 the feast of OLMC was celebrated.
-It was a Tuesday!
-Other floors of the warehouse were in operation
and the machinery noise precluded a high or sung
mass.
Our Lady of the Scapular
Our Lady of the Scapular Parish was dedicated on December 22, 1889. Located between 1st and 2nd
Ave on 28th Street, the Church was 40 feet by 60 feet. Later in 1891 a Hall was constructed on the left
side which was desperately needed for parish functions and Sunday School. This building would serve
as the “mother house” of the province until 1989 when the ADNY decided to combine Our Lady of the
Scapular parish with St Stephens parish on 29th Street. In 1991,l the church and the Priory at Our Lady
of the Scapular were sold to a developer and the buildings were demolished.
Early Challenges faced
•The Irish Carmelites had difficulties realizing the difference
between the conventual parish of Ireland and the parish in the
United States owned by the Archdiocese.
• Bellevue Hospital
•Right from the beginning, the chaplaincy of
Bellevue hospital was part of the Carmelite
ministry.
•Busy city hospital
•TB wards
•Finances
•Building buildings (Priory & Church)
•Raising funds for the Order (St Alberts in Rome, Irish Debt)
Edward Southwell
May 12, 1893 letter to General (Aloysius Galli)
-Talked of the difficulties of finding good religious to do the
work in the United States.
-Not satisfied with the Carmelites in the US.
-Blamed the poor formation at Terenure College
and in the Irish Novitiate for not implementing
good discipline.
-Said the Novice master was not fit for office.
-Stated that his own hope for the Order in the US
is based on a “religious” college in Ireland or
Rome (San Alberto).
-1894 First students were sent from the US to Rome.
-Eugene Scully & Denis (Finbar) O’Connor
John Elias Whitley died on July 15, 1894
-Plot purchased in Calvary Cemetery.
-Southwell felt this was a solution to some of his
problems.
1896 - Tarrytown Parish began.
-First Mass was offered in
the new parish using a room
in the Cleveland mansion for
a chapel.
-Romaeus Stone and
Michael Daly first
Carmelites there.
Southwell made a move to have OLS and Tarrytown put directly
under the General
-This would take control away form the Irish Province
and give Southwell more say in who comes to New York.
-He demanded in a letter:
.Have O’Grady & O’Byrne removed immediately.
.Have Carr and McGuinness sent to NY
.Let any of the Irish fathers in NY who wants to return
to Ireland go home.
.Put NY directly under the General
Southwell’s ambition was to be the first Major Superior.
1906 - Important Year
-Stanislaus O’Reilly elected provincial.
-Edward Southwell removed as prior and pastor of 28th
Street.
-Louis McCabe named his successor.
-He was a thorn in Southwell’s side.
-McCabe’s tenure as pastor was occupied to a great
extent in raising funds through the annual fair and
building up the parish societies.
-McCabe remained pastor until the Chapter of 1909
when Southwell was elected provincial.
-He immediately removed McCabe!
During O’Reilly’s time as Provincial, Southwell called for an
independent American commissariat.
-This was supported by Cardinal Farley of NY who
did not like the constant change in personnel at every
chapter.
-Southwell also disliked the “laxity” that developed
in Ireland and wanted to create a commissariat that
was “living the life”.
-Southwell wrote to the General, Mayer, with his
idea.
1909 – Southwell elected provincial of the Irish Province
- appointed Paul O’Dwyer pastor and prior of 28th Street.
-He also made sweeping changes in Ireland that were not
well received by all.
-He set out to get Whitefriars Street (Ireland) into shape.
Otisville and Middletown
1910 Archbishop Farley gave
the Carmelites a new Parish –
Otisville, NY.
-Southwell admitted to the
General that it was not much
of a gift.
-Farley gave it because
he felt the Carmelites
could do much good
work among the farmers.
Before the parish was given to the Carmelites, the priest in
Wurtsboro covered Otisville, the sanitarium, Bloomingburg,
Bullville and Pine Bush.
Connected to the parish was the care of a sanitarium.
-Owned and operated by NYC for TB patients.
Chapel at the Otisville
Sanitarium (opened in 1906)
that was built by the
Carmelites. In 1955 the
Sanitarium became and
Training (Reformatory)
School for juvenile delinquent
boys where the Carmelites
served as chaplains until
1972 when the property
became the present day
Otisville Correctional Facility.
When Carmelties took over (1910), they were given, Otisville,
Bloomingburg and Bullville and the care of the Sanitarium.
OLMC in Middletown also became a
Carmelite parish in 1912.
•Richard Colfer was the first pastor.
Otisville, Bloomingburg and
Bullville were then made
missions of that parish.
•OLMC, Middletown, Dividing line
was the Erie railroad.
•St Joseph’s was the wealthy
parish.
•OLMC the business/industrial area.
Old St Pauls, Bullville
New St Pauls, Bullville.
Built in 1964 for $140,000
Our Lady of the Assumption
Bloomingburg (Built 1913)
Gradually, the Carmelites moved their principal residence from
Otisville to Middletown.
-In 1912 the Carmelites purchased the home of Dr Samuel
Shorter at 26 Monhagen Ave.
-Grandfather of Frank Shorter – Olympic Marathon
runner.
1916 – Holy Cross Church in South
Centerville was begun.
1917 – St Alberts property purchased
and St Alberts opened as a preparatory
seminary.
St Alberts, Middletown, NY
The Carmelites purchased the property across
the street from the Thistles (1921) from Romer
Gray, the brother of author Zane Gray who
wrote western novels. There was a house on
the property to which the Carmelites added a
building that would serve at the Novitiate.
O’Connor Hall 1956
Built in 1929
St Alberts, Middletown, NY
The college building served as the novitiate,
college building, recreation rooms and
counseling center until it was built onto an
existing house in 1923 and demolished in
1986.
O’Connor Hall
O’Connor Hall was the main
dormitory building for the high
school and college students living
at St Alberts. After St Alberts Jr.
Seminary closed in 1977 the
building was used to house a
retreat center until it no longer
was up to code. The building had
three floors with a gym in the
basement. The building was
demolished around 1986.
The Thistles, Middletown, NY
The original “Thistles” was built sometime in the 1880’s. A fire on February 9, 1889
destroyed some of the building. The main part of the present building was constructed in
1902. James Wallick, who was a theatrical producer owned it. The Carmelites purchased
the Thistles and the red barn in 1917. Fr Albert Metcalf was the first Carmelite assigned
to live in the Thistles which was to be used as a college preparatory seminary for the
Novitiate. It was Metcalf who suggested the name “St Albert” thereby honoring his own
patron – Albert of Sicily. The first two students to live in the building were John Hickey
and John Maher who had connections with the Carmelite parish on 28th street.
The Thistles, Middletown, NY
In 1920 the Thistles housed around 25 postulants. The top floor was one large
dormitory where all the students slept. The classrooms were where the present day 1st
floor guest rooms are located. In the 1920’s much of the land around present day St
Alberts was gradually purchased.
St Alberts
In 1939 the Carmelites purchased the land
around the large lake from the Middletown
Milk and Cream company. The company
harvested ice from the lake. The land was
immediately leased back to the company
which continued to harvest the ice form
the lake and sell it to customers in the
Middletown area.
The Rhinohorn Tavern (present day
American Legion Lodge) wanted to
purchase the land and use it as a beach
for its customers. The Carmelites
objected to this since it would interfere
with the prayerful atmosphere that they
wanted to create for the seminarians.
National Shrine, OLMC
St. Alberts Chapel
Building Built 1958
Provincial Offices
Dedicated November, 2006
Irish Movement (1919)
• -Finbar O’Connor and
Elias McGinnis were
strong supporters of
an Independent
Ireland from England.
• -Dionysius Flanagan
was good friends with
Eamon de Valera.
• De Valera served as
President of Ireland
from 1959-1973.
Eamon de Valera
Irish Movement (1919)
Liam Mellows, a part of the
Irish Freedom Movement
was housed at Our Lady of
the Scapular. He later was
shot in Ireland for killing a
British soldier.
Had participated in the Easter
Rising.
• -Carmelite Priory was open
to Irish Republicans!
Liam Mellows
Friends of Irish Freedom (FOIF)
-Founded in 1916
-“To encourage and assist any movement that will
tend to bring about the National Independence of
Ireland.”
-Many meetings were held at Our Lady of the
Scapular.
-The Secret Service used to be present for
some since the “anti-English” atmosphere was
a threat to the US policy of total British
support during WW1.
-Woodrow Wilson Policy.
Friends of Irish Freedom held a rally at Madison
Square Garden
-Peter Elias Magennis presided at the gathering and
spoke critically of England.
-This caused some to protest to Cardinal Farley
that the Carmelites were getting too involved in
politics.
-Farley did order that Magennis could not
preside at any more meetings.
-Yet, he allowed Magennis to accept the
presidency of the Friends for Irish Freedom.
-Magennis held this position until he was
elected Prior General.
Establishment of St Simon Stock
(1920)
-Grand Concourse had been
completed in 1909
-Gerard O’Farrell the first
Pastor.
-Cardinal Farley had
promised the Carmelites a
parish in a developing part of
New York City.
St Simon Stock
St. Simon Stock Parish
started in a large two story
house on the corner of
182 & Valentine.
• -1926 School and Priory
built.
– O’Farrell died shortly
thereafter at a young age.
• O’Farrell was Commissary Provincial when he died in
1926.
St Simon Stock Today
St Simon Stock School
St Simon Stock Church
1922 - The Commissary Established.
-Denis O’Connor was the first Commissary Provincial
-This came about because of pressure from Archbishop
Hayes on the Carmelite Curia to give the “NY Carmelites”
more autonomy so that he had someone in the US that he
could communicate with.
-Hayes felt the major superior was too far away.
1925 – The new OLMC Church was begun.
The Flanagan Years
Lawrence Dionysius Flanagan was commissary provincial and
then Provincial from 1926 – 43
-Theology students went to Washington DC and resided at
St Therese House of Studies. (PCM Province house) (1933
– 35)
-A house of studies was later rented on Randolph St.
-Whitefriars Hall was completed in 1940 – 41
-All St Elias Students then went to Whitefriars Hall.
California Houses started in 1934
-Bp John Cantwell wanted the Carmelites to build and staff a
high school
- 1935 – The Carmelites were given St Raphael’s parish.
Pictured above are the old St Raphael Parish and Mt Carmel High School. Both have
been taken down. At the PCM Chapter of 1957, the General of the Order Kilian Lynch
announced that these two houses would be given to the PCM Province. Native born
Californians had to return to California and those stationed at Mt Carmel and St
Raphaels were given a choice of which province they would belong to.
-Titus Brandsma visited in 1935
1941 – The Scapular Militia began.
-Provided a scapular for every
American serviceman.
1941 – The Scapular magazine began.
Sean Reid – Pastor of Our Lady of the Scapular 1943 – 64
-He revived the Irish connections in the parish.
-A friend of William O’Dwyer, mayor of NY.
-Chancery did not like Reid’s support of O’Dwyer
because O’Dwyer called for equal rights for all including
Afro Americans in the City of NY.
1934 – Mel Daly became pastor of St Simon Stock
-Pastor for 27 years.
1933 – John Maher became Prior of St Alberts followed by
Albert Daly in 1940
-O’Connor Hall completed in 1928
-Corpus Christi sisters worked in the kitchen and dining
room beginning in 1943.
1945 – Our Lady of the Scapular in Unionville began.
Killian Lynch elected Provincial in 1943.
-Served until he was elected General in 1947.
47 – 55 - Patrick Russell - Provincial
-Williamstown and Tamaqua purchased.
-High School in Pottsville.
The “Thorvale Farm” was purchased from
Sinclair Lews in 1952. It was to house the
Novitiate. Renamed Mt Carmel and an
addition built on in 1955.
In 1968, the property was used as a
retreat center . A renewal program for
Sisters and family weekends were to two
popular programs at the Center. The
property was sold in 2001.
55 – 61 Donald O’Callahan
-Missions in Africa began
-St Albert’s Cemetery built
-Land in Rhode Island purchased for a future
theology level seminary.
1961 – 65 – Richard Nagle elected Provincial
-Turmoil and Changes after Vatican II
-St Joseph Priory on Harewood Rd., Washington DC
built.
-Gregory Smith
St Joseph Priory on Harewood Rd,
Washington DC opened on February 13,
1965. Located directly across the street
from Catholic University, it was hoped
that a college program and a theology
house could be established in the house.
Containing about 100 rooms, the building
was soon too large for the needs of the
Carmelites since vocations were no
longer plentiful. The building was sold
to the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1979.
1965 – 73 - Lawrence Mooney Provincial
-Had to also deal with the changes in Vatican II.
-Many left the Order and Priesthood
-Closing of Auburn
Auburn Priory
Mt Carmel School, Auburn, NY
1970 - St Joseph, Troy administered by the Carmelites.
Charles Haggerty Provincial from 1973 - 79
-Personnel Challenges
-Closing of St Alberts, Pottsville,
St. Joseph Church
Troy, NY
Carmelites took over the responsibility for St Joseph parish in Troy, NY in 1970. The
Carmelites were looking for a parish that could house not only a parish staff but some
men who were interested in teaching in nearby schools.
Thomas McGinnis - Provincial - 1979 - 85
-Opening of PJPII High School in 1980
-In 1980, the Boca Raton area was part of the
Archdiocese of Miami. Archbishop Edward McCarthy
of Miami invited the Carmelite community to staff the
high school.
-Transitioned out of the High School in 2007.
High School Main Entrance
St. Elias Priory
Scarborough
In 1979 the Carmelites purchased
a house in Scarborough, New
York to house Carmelites who
were teaching at Marymount
College, Maria Regina High
School and hospital chaplains at
the VA Hospital in Montrose, NY.
The house, no longer
being needed, was sold in 2008.
Transitions
• Harewood Road sold & students eventually went
to Whitefriars Hall in 1981
• 1979 Establishment of Pre-Novitiate in
Brandsma Hall, Purchase, NY.
Matthias DesLauriers Era
Matthias Des Lauriers Elected Provincial 1985
- 91
•St Alberts converted to Shrine and retirement
facilities
•Titus Brandsma celebration
•Amalgamation of Our Lady of the Scapular & St
Stephens.
•Provincial Offices moved to Middletown, NY.
Gary O’Brien elected Provincial in 1991 - 94
-Pre-Novitiate established in Tappan, NY
-Personnel Challenges
1994 - 2000 Mario Esposito elected Provincial
•1997 Chapter established missions in Vietnam (1996) and
Trinidad (1998)
Vietnam
Joseph Chalmers, the General of the Order
asked the St Elias Province to take on the
responsibility for the mission in Vietnam
(1997).
– A number of students were already living in
community under the direction of a Donum
Dei sister (Marie Lys).
– In May of 1998, the first student from Vietnam
(Joseph Thien) came to the pre-novitiate
formation house in Tappan, NY.
Vietnam
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Priory in Saigon, Vietnam was dedicated on April 22, 2006.
This building serves as the ”Motherhouse” in Vietnam and the formation house for the
professed Carmelites studying theology. Besides this house, the Carmelites rent two
other houses. One houses the professed and ordained Carmelites who are ministering in
the area of Saigon. The other house is for the postulants who are preparing to come to the
US for language studies and the pre-novitiate.
Trinidad
• At the Provincial Chapter in April,
2007, the St Elias Province decided to
begin a mission in Trinidad.
• August, 1995, Gerard Tang Choon, 1st
Student to begin formation for the
Carmelites at St Eliseus Priory.
• Carmelties and the Archdiocese of
Port of Spain built an addition onto the
presbytery to house students in
formation.
Trinidad
Carmelites are located at St
Michael’s Parish in Maracas
Valley. Pictured to the left is the
old Church which still stands on
the property. It is structurally
unsound and in need of repair.
Parish liturgies presently
take place in the Parish all that
has been converted into a church.
The old Church is of historical
value to the area and likely would
be too small for the size of the
present congregation.
St John Martyr
• On May 1, 2007, that the
Archdiocese of New York decided
to appoint an Archdiocesan priest
as Pastor of Our Lady of the
Scapular- St. Stephen’s Parish.
– Carmelites no longer at
OLS/SS and Bellevue.
– Had served both since 1889.
• The Carmelites were offered St.
John the Martyr Parish, on East
72nd Street, a few blocks from
Central Park. The transition took
place in July 2007.