History of Immaculate Conception Church
By Edward V. Zegarelli
The Immaculate Conception Church traces its origin to May 6, 1917, when fewer than 25 persons of the Italian-American community attended the first mass in a refurbished store at 87 Cortland Street. World War I was four years old at the time and the United States had just joined its allies in Europe the month before, giving rise to fear and anxiety. But despite the war, May 6th was a happy and memorable day because our forefathers were hearing mass for the first time in their own house of worship.
It wasn't much as churches go; it was a long and narrow store with a large, plate glass window facing the street. Rows of folding chairs on each side of the center aisle were neatly placed over the thoroughly clean wood floor. The fourteen, small-sized Stations of the Cross dotted the white tin-paneled barren walls. But that which truly transformed the store into a church was the altar at the far end. It was a beautiful centerpiece, made of plasterboard and built by the parishioners themselves.
Although the sacrifices and generosity of our forefathers provided the means for transforming the store-church on Cortland Street into our present and beautiful and spacious church on Broadway it was the imagination, vision and determination of our pastors who supplied the necessary stimulus and guidance that brought their efforts to a successful conclusion.
The founding pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church was Father Domenico M. Coda, a 41-year-old immigrant priest with scant knowledge of the English language. However, he was a man with a strong and decisive personality, a priest who was convinced that the religious needs of the Italian-American community could best be satisfied through their own ethnic church.
The new Immaculate Conception parish grew rapidly and it soon became evident that the Cortland Street store-church was inadequate. And so, within three years of its founding, and with Father Coda as a constantly encouraging factor the parish purchased the German Lutheran Church on College Avenue, an old wood-frame structure. Although the frame church provided more space for satisfying the religious needs of our parish it was obvious that this building could only serve as a temporary way-station and that the ever-expanding parish would need a much larger and more solid permanent place of worship.
By keeping expenditures to a minimum and saving at a maximum, the usual characteristics of our ancestors, Father Coda was able to accumulate sufficient monies which, when added to a large mortgage, made possible the building of a sturdy, brick church over and around the wood-frame structure. This was done so that masses could be said uninterrupted throughout the construction period. The cornerstone was laid in October 1926. The church was completed in December 1926. The first mass was said on Christmas Eve.
After serving as pastor for 25 years Father Coda was compelled to resign at the age of 66 due to severe chronic illness. Although parishioners frequently demonstrated their love and gratitude for their first pastor the opportunity to more fully express their feelings occurred on December 8, 1951 when a dinner in his honor was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination. He died in Italy at the age of 84.
From 1942 to 1944 a series of acting pastors were assigned to our parish and although they adequately fulfilled their priestly duties they proved to be little more than temporary caretakers. During this period, parish activities languished, attendance decreased, little was done to properly maintain the eighteen-year-old church and the burden of an ever-present mortgage was depressing the morale of the parishioners. Aware of our church's sad state of affairs, the archdiocese finally assigned a pastor who proved to be the key to the parish's renewal: Monsignor Salvatore Celauro.
Monsignor Celauro, who was appointed in June 1944, was a dynamo of energy and determination. He immediately recognized our problems and just as rapidly he compiled a series of goals for correcting and resolving them. He instilled into our people the spirit of motivation; he attracted and enlisted leaders of the parish to participate more actively in church functions; he reorganized and stimulated our church societies; he originated and actively participated in annual church bazaars, he formed highly successful fund-raising drives; and he attracted new parishioners into a unified group which had but a single goal, i.e., the revitalization of the Immaculate Conception Church! The three years of Monsignor Celauro's pastorate were indeed of historic importance, for once again our church societies flourished, parish functions multiplied, contributions soared, and the heavy weight of a 19-year-old mortgage was finally wiped away. Undoubtedly however, Monsignor Celauro's greatest legacy was instilling in the minds of his parishioners that, as a cohesive group, the parish was fully capable of great accomplishments. After completing his objectives within a three-year period Monsignor Celauro was transferred to Newburgh where the Sacred Heart Church in that city was also sorely in need of revitalization.
To replace him the archdiocese appointed Father Nicasio Viso of the Sacred Heart Church in Manhattan as our new pastor. At first glance, Monsignor Viso was not a particularly impressive person: he was 59 years of age; short and frail-appearing with thin white hair. He was a soft spoken and modest priest who, armed with a Master's degree in Psychology from Fordham, had devoted many years of his life to teaching in parochial schools. But, his age and physical appearance were deceptive because he had great physical stamina and he had an amazing imagination, which was strengthened by his enthusiasm and boldness.
Monsignor Viso was well aware of the religious spirit and the strong support of the parishioners and he appreciated that the momentum created by Monsignor Celauro should not be allowed to wither but that it should be harnessed and directed to other objectives.
With the scholarly logic of a Jesuit he set his goals: (1) a larger church for our expanding parish, (2) a more suitable and much needed rectory and (3) a parochial school for our children. And then, in his gentle and convincing way, he described how the monies for funding these projects could be raised: by several, small fund-raising drives, expanding our annual bazaars and increasing our weekly contributions.
Within a few short years, Monsignor Viso succeeded in building a positive bank balance of over one hundred thousand dollars and, in the process; he strengthened the confidence of his parishioners that much greater things were within our reach.
And then in 1955, through a series of simultaneous circumstances, our church found itself in a most fortunate position: (1) we had outgrown our aging and deteriorating church on College Avenue, (2) the Federal Housing Authority was anxious to purchase it as a site for housing development, (3) the large and imposing St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Broadway was up for sale, and (4) our confident and growing parish was not only free of debt but we were blessed with a large nest egg. Almost everything appeared to be in place for a truly remarkable turn in the history of the Immaculate Conception Church. The only part missing was a person of trust and respect who could diplomatically bring all four items together in a manner satisfactory to all concerned. And fortunately, there was available such a person: Judge Thomas A. Margotta, an experienced developer and banker who through his professional expertise, diplomacy and understanding was successful in selling our College Avenue church to the Housing Authority and purchasing St. Mark's for our parish.
Although the purchase of St. Mark's on February 24, 1956 was an occasion for rejoicing our joy was tempered by the realization that we needed $400,000 to renovate the church.
Nevertheless, Father Viso's optimism and confidence were not to be denied. A building fund campaign was inaugurated and within a short period of time our parish raised over $150,000 in pledges, a fantastic success considering the economic position of our people and the existing economy. As an aside, our parishioners redeemed over 91% of their pledges. With the monies derived from the campaign and a mortgage of $265,000 the renovation was begun in April 1957 and completed within eight months. The first mass in our new place of worship was held on December 1, 1957.
In recognition of his pastoral achievements Father Viso was elevated to a Monsignor by the Holy See on August 13, 1957. This was followed by Cardinal Spellman's visit to our church on May 3, 1958 at which time he blessed it in a highly emotional ceremony.
Monsignor Viso served as pastor for 15 years, one of the most exciting and fruitful periods in the history of our church. Our beloved pastor died after a brief illness on November 27, 1962, at the age of 74.
Father Anthony V. Ferrarelli, who had been an assistant pastor for six years, was appointed pastor on January 9, 1963. He became spiritual leader of a parish, which had now grown to over 700 families with 2300 communicants and became pastor of a church with an estimated value of over one million dollars and an annual budget of $65,000.
Father Ferrarelli was a dedicated priest who had sacrificed a career in Renaissance Latin at Columbia University and an ambitious teaching career at St. John's University in order to devote all his energy to our church and parish. Inspired by his predecessor, Father Ferrarelli guided our parishioners through the difficult years of the 1960s both spiritually and financially. Within the first three years of his pastorate, the remaining mortgage of $150,000 was completely liquidated. The parish celebrated the event at Tappan Hill by burning the mortgage papers. Once again we were free of debt! The celebration at Tappan Hill was also held as a testimonial to Father Ferrarelli who had recently been made a Monsignor by Pope Paul VI. Our parish will be forever grateful to Monsignor Ferrarelli not only for having disposed of our large mortgage and the installation of the central air conditioning system in 1967, but especially for adding deep, spiritual values to our lives.
Unfortunately, our church entered a period of disheartening inactivity from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties; Monsignor Ferrarelli had become chronically ill with a severe and debilitating illness which, together with the loss of a dear and close brother, compelled him into an increasingly isolated existence. From being an active and energetic leader he became an almost completely immobilized priest, unable to fulfill his pastoral duties. Parish societies and activities deteriorated, attendance at mass decreased, maintenance of the church suffered and church contributions fell to a level insufficient to meet church expenses. As a matter of fact, not only had our positive bank balance been depleted but also we had actually become indebted to the archdiocese.
It became apparent to the parishioners that efforts should be made to rescue our church from its depressing condition. The archdiocese was requested to lend its aid and in December 1979 the Vicar General assigned Father Anthony Fagnani to serve as administrator.
Father Fagnani, a retired Army Colonel and chaplain, acquainted himself with our parish's severe problems but although he was a well-intentioned administrator he was unable to resolve them; in fact, the problems worsened. During these difficult years Monsignor Ferrarelli became totally disabled and found it necessary to retire and return to his native country. In a beautiful testimonial dinner on April 16, 1983 the parish expressed its sincere gratitude to this courageous priest for twenty years of dedicated service as a pastor. All the church societies and many parishioners attended the farewell dinner to pay honor and extend their gratitude to Monsignor Ferrarelli.
The five years of Father Fagnani's tenure were quite discouraging since the church problems mounted and parish morale sank; society activities were minimal and attendance at mass was depressing. The fears of our parishioners increased even more when rumors circulated that a consolidation of local parishes was being considered by the archdiocese.
The Lord also must have been concerned with our church and parish because He did respond to our prayers just as He had done forty years before. This time He sent Father Louis Mazza on July 28, 1986.
When we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our present church on December 6, 1986, just five months after Father Mazza had arrived, I said then and I quote, "He is full of energy; he is enthusiastic; he's imaginative; and he has already identified and resolved several pressing problems and he is in the midst of resolving others. We sorely need a priest with his personality, drive and interest. Thus far, he has succeeded in reawakening many of our parishioners." And then I added it was appropriate for us to be celebrating two beginnings in addition to that of Advent of December 1986, i.e., the beginning of the 31st year of our new church and Father Mazza's first Advent at the Immaculate Conception Church! I said then that these were good and promising omens from the Lord Himself!
We are now in the fifteenth year of Father Mazza's pastorate. It is appropriate that we review his many accomplishments so that we can better recall and appreciate all that he has done. It was Father Mazza's bold initiative, which rescued our church from its dismal conditions in the mid-eighties. First, he called on us to join him in revitalizing the spiritual obligations of our parish: the Shrine of Saints was renovated; a new and beautiful outdoor statue of the Blessed Mother was purchased and installed outdoors; and the long neglected portrait of the Immaculate Conception was repainted and placed in the vestibule of our church. And, on a more personal basis, he deepened our religious faith by leading us on parish pilgrimages to various shrines.
All too frequently, Father Mazza's concentration on the religious needs of our parishioners was diverted to resolve the more materialistic problems of our church. We soon discovered that he had the mind of a keen manager as well as the soul of a priest as he proceeded to resolve the many maintenance problems. For example, during his pastorate, he completed major renovations in the rectory; the sidewalks bordering the church were repaired; the entrance walks were covered with slate; and the heating pipes beneath the church were repaired at a cost of $15,000.
But his greater project was the complete repainting and redecoration of the interior of the church, which had last been done 22 years before - resulting in a beautiful, warm and luxurious house of worship. At the same time, a new baptistery and confessional were installed. And once again, Father Mazza demonstrated leadership by conducting a highly successful campaign during which $85,000 was raised to cover the costs of these projects.
In addition to satisfying the religious needs of our parishioners and maintaining the physical structure of our church, Father Mazza has also revitalized the spirit and morale of the parish by holding communion breakfasts, parish picnics, garden sales, spring dances and parish suppers. He has expanded the annual summer bazaars to the point where our church realized a net profit of $32,000 last year. His active participation in these social activities has provided the glue for binding our parish into a unified group whose primary objective is to fulfill the mission of the Immaculate Conception Church.
Let us not forget that the health of any church depends on its financial stability and in this respect Father Mazza has proven to be an excellent treasurer as well as an experienced manager and devoted spiritual leader. He has coupled his pleas for support with a sympathetic understanding of our parish's economy. And yet he has been successful in increasing the weekly contributions and the Easter and Christmas collections to the level where they have established new records. The 1 989 fund- raising drive for the renovation of the church (mentioned previously) was successful in raising $85,000. And the recent Parish Fund Drive for meeting the costs of several other major improvements has also been successful in raising the necessary $75,000. In December 2000, our parish started a tithing program which has brought our parish to a good financial standing.
You will recall that when Father Mazza came to us in July 1986 the parish population had sunk to its lowest level since our church's origin in 1917. Through Father Mazza's persistent efforts in attracting new parishioners our present census indicates that we have about 350 families with a total head count of almost 2000, 25% of whom are new members.
We are deeply grateful for having Father Mazza as our pastor and especially grateful that he was assigned to our church at a critical period in its history. Only a person with his qualities could have succeeded because he has both the determination, drive and energy of a Monsignor Celauro and the enthusiasm, imagination and confidence of a Monsignor Viso.
Although there is risk in predicting the future of our church there is little room for doubt as Father Mazza continues to attract and encourage new parishioners, especially from the ranks of the younger generation. As for his vision of the future in regard to the physical structure of our church: he is determined to build a steeple above the tower and to restore the exterior stonework. But these are goals for the immediate future! Who knows what his plans may be for the long term!
P.S. The author's main objective in preparing this brief history was to restrict its content solely to the accomplishments of its several pastors during the past 75 years. It is acknowledged that the rich and productive development of our church could not have been possible without the sacrifices and support of our forefathers. For a description of their contributions we ask that you review our church's history as it appears in the Fiftieth Anniversary Journal of 1967 and the subsequent report of 1986, written on the occasion of celebrating the 30th anniversary of our present church.
This article is dated from 1992, A.D., with some current updated facts.
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