St. Peter’s Church is an abandoned and endangered Roman Catholic church in the Capitol Region of New York. The Parish was the third oldest in the state.
History
The first gathering of Roman Catholic Irish immigrants along the Hudson River north of Albany was in an old schoolhouse in 1824. 1 Father Patrick McGilligan served as pastor. The church was incorporated as St. Peter’s on March 12, 1827. 1 At the time, there were only two other Roman Catholic churches in the state: St. Peter in New York City and St. Mary in Albany. The new parish served a broad region, extending throughout northern New York and into Vermont and Massachusetts.
On October 28, 1828, St. Peter’s acquired a lot for six cents for a permanent building, 1 3 with the deed stipulating that the land was to be used only as a church and that a clock and bell should be installed. 1 2 3 If the conditions were not fulfilled, the property was to revert to the original grantors.
Father John Shanahan succeeded McGilligan at around the same time, who distinguished himself during an incident on St. Patrick’s Day in 1837. 1 The anti-Irish sentiment came to a head during the celebrations. To ridicule the Irish, some townspeople strung up many effigies of St. Patrick throughout the city. The Irish community attempted to tear them down in response. Disorder and riots soon took over, with stones thrown and guns fired. At least three people were wounded. The mayor called out the Troy Citizens Corps, bearing guns, to restore order. Father Shanahan, supporting the Irish, urged them to desist and return to their homes. His peacemaking efforts prevailed.
True to the deed, a small, 40-foot by 60-foot frame building was constructed in 1830, which was consecrated by the Rev. John Dubois, Bishop of New York. 1 3 A 40-foot brick section was added in 1834 and the parish house was added in 1836. Lamps were added in 1840 followed by an organ from Christ Episcopal Church that was paid for in installments. Up until that time, the choir accompaniment was a flute.
New Church Building
On February 10, 1848, a fire sparked by the stovepipe broke out in the church, burning the structure to the ground. 1 3 6 Construction of a new brick church was soon begun, but by the time work had reached the roof, and before the tower and steeple could be finished, funding was exhausted. 1 It was not until December 16 until the new church building was completed. 3
A parish school, taught by secular faculty, was started in the basement of the church in 1852, and a permanent building was built in 1854. 1 The school grew so fast that by 1861, 400 children were enrolled with just four secular teachers. In 1862, Father James Keveny became the pastor of St. Peter’s and chose to staff the school from those at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Missouri. 1 Seven sisters soon arrived in Troy who organized a select school for girls in the convent. A separate school in the Lyceum was later organized.
Rev. Patrick Ludden was made pastor of St. Peter’s in 1880. 1 During his eight-year tenure, a new school building was constructed for $30,000, and the school, rectory, and church were converted to steam heat. A high marble altar and stained glass windows were added to the sanctuary and some stained glass windows were added in the sanctuary.
A Lyceum, for public lectures, concerts, and athletics, 5 was organized in 1885. 1 2 Originally oriented as a social and athletic club for men, it later hosted French, embroidery, dancing, and gymnastic classes for women. 1
In 1887, Father John J. Walsh was made a parish of St. Peter’s. 1 One of Walsh’s first capital projects was to repair the church which was finished in 1890. The stained glass windows were all completed and a new pulpit, altar railing, side altars, and stations of the cross were installed. A new convent was then built at a cost of $20,000.
A ten-bell chime, cast of Lake Superior copper and India tin by the Meneely Bell Company, was added to the tower in 1896. 1 A new Seth Thomas clock was installed above. Both the chimes and clock were installed by Edward L. Kehn and Pius Kehn.
- Bell One: 3,612 pounds with an inscription: “This chime of ten bells was made for St. Peter’s Church in the Autumn of 1896, and donated by friends whose names are inscribed thereon. His Holiness, Leo XIII, being the Reigning Pontiff, Rt. Rev. Thomas M.A. Burke, Bishop of Albany, and Rev. John J. Walsh, Pastor of this church.”
- Bell Two: 2,589 pounds with an inscription: “The gift of the Congregation of St. Peter’s Church in memory of their priests.”
- Bell Three: 1,833 pounds, in memory of Henry A. Merritt and James H. Ryan.
- Bell Four 1,588 pounds, in memory of Mary Fitzgerald.
- Bell Five: 1,052 pounds, in memory of Gabrielle Mary Thacher Morris.
- Bell Six: 755 pounds, in memory of Daniel and Mary Sweeney.
- Bell Seven: 527 pounds, in memory of Catharine Fagan.
- Bell Eight: 474 pounds, in memory of Paul Kaveny.
- Bell Nine: 431 pounds, in memory of John and Mary E. Graham.
- Bell Ten: 413 pounds, in memory of Mrs. Emma Cavanagh.
The Lyceum burned on November 9, 1899, but was quickly replaced with a larger facility in June 1900 at the cost of $18,000. 1 A baptismal built of marble, onyx, and brass was installed in the new marble baptistery in 1900, and in 1909, the sidewalls of the sanctuary were covered in marble, followed by the replacement of the wooden columns with marble counterparts. 1
Construction of a larger rectory, designed in the Gothic Revival style, was begun by Charles F. Boland in 1912. 1 It was built of Potsdam stone and cost $30,000 to finish. In 1925, Professor Leo McCarthy, who was an organist and choir director, donated a $25,000 organ to St. Peter’s. 1
St. Peter’s High School was closed in 1929 and consolidated into the new Catholic Central High School, and the building was repurposed for an elementary school. 1 The Lyceum was again damaged by fire in 1930 but was repaired by the Holy Name Society.
Decline and Closure
Urban renewal was taking root in the neighborhood by the mid-1960s, and block by block, houses for the working class were razed for a proposed freeway and later, parking lots and commercial and industrial buildings. 1 7 Worshippers also began flocking to suburban congregations as they moved out of the city. The number of worshippers to St. Peter’s steadily declined with each passing year.
In 2009, the diocese began a mass consolidation of its churches, closing 33 sites. 2 St. Peter’s celebrated its last Mass on May 31, 1 4 7 just after it had celebrated its 185th anniversary. 4 The parish formally closed on August 31. 3
The St. Peter’s complex was listed for sale in 2011. 2 The nearby Commission on Economic Opportunity for the Greater Capital Region (CEO) intended to purchase the church, rectory, and Lyceum for $255,000, but the reverter clause on its deed prevented the diocese from selling the property. The Diocese filed a motion in the state Supreme Court in July 2012 to have the clause voided. 2 The case had not moved forward by December 21 because there were either no heirs to be found or there were too many, which led the CEO to drop its offer to acquire St. Peter’s in March 2013.
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Sources
- “St. Peter’s Parish History.” The Latin Mass. Article.
- Benjamin, Ian. “CEO withdraws bid to purchase former St. Peter’s church, other properties.” Record News, 7 Mar. 2013.
- McGrath, Bill. “St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church.” Troy Irish Genealogy Society. Article.
- Rossi, Adam. “Two Troy Parishes Close.” The Evangelist, 4 Jun. 2009.
- Rittner, Don. “Vanderheyden’s Village.” Troy: A Collar City History, Arcadia, 2002, p. 49.
- “Fire – St. Peter’s Church Burned.” Poughkeepsie Journal, 19 Feb. 1848, p. 2.
- Canfield, Dave. “Another church closes.” Record News, 1 Jun. 2009.
