Upper West Side Catholics

J. Shelley Thomas

Description

This remarkable history of a beloved Upper West Side church is in many respects a microcosm of the history of the Catholic Church in New York City.Here is a captivating study of a distinctive Catholic community on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, an area long noted for its liberal Catholic sympathies in contrast to the generally conservative attitude that has pervaded the archdiocese of New York. The author traces this liberal Catholic dimension of Upper West Side Catholics to a long if slender line of progressive priests that stretches back to the Civil War era, casting renewed light on their legacy: liturgical reform, concern for social justice, and a preferential option for the poor long before this phrase found its way into official church documents. In recent years this progressivism has demonstrated itself in a willingness to extend a warm welcome to LGBT Catholics, most notably at the Church of the Ascension on West 107th Street. Ascension was one of the first diocesan parishes in the archdiocese to offer a spiritual home to LGBT Catholics and continues to sponsor the Ascension Gay Fellowship Group.Exploring the dynamic history of the Catholic Church of the Ascension, this engaging and accessible book illustrates the unusual characteristics that have defined Catholicism on the Upper West Side for the better part of the last century and sheds light on similar congregations within the greater metropolis. In many respects, the history of Ascension parish exemplifies the history of Catholicism in New York City over the past two centuries because of the powerful presence of two defining characteristics: immigration and neighborhood change. The Church of the Ascension, in fact, is a showcase of the success of urban ethnic Catholicism. It was founded as a small German parish, developed into a large Irish parish, suffered a precipitous decline during the crime wave that devastated the Upper West Side from the 1960s to the 1980s, and was rescued from near-extinction by the influx of Puerto Rican and Dominican Catholics. It has emerged during the last several decades as a flourishing multi-ethnic, bilingual parish that is now experiencing the restored prosperity and prominence of the Upper West Side as one of Manhattan's most integrated and popular residential neighborhoods.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Local history
• Catholic Church
• History of the Americas

Informations

• Publié par: Fordham University Press
• Date de parution: 05 novembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780823285433
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 26 Mo

Extrait

Upper West Side Catholics

Upper West Side Catholics

Liberal Catholicism in a Conservative Archdiocese The Church of the Ascension, New York City, 1895–2020

Thomas J. Shelley

Empire State Editions An imprint of Fordham University Press New York 2020

Copyright © 2020 Thomas J. Shelley

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Shelley, Thomas J., author. Title: Upper West Side Catholics : liberal Catholicism in a conservative  archdiocese : the Church of the Ascension, New York City, 1895–2020 /  Thomas J. Shelley. Other titles: Church of the Ascension, New York City, 1895–2020 Description: New York : Empire State Editions, 2020. | Includes  bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019028505 | ISBN 9780823285419 (hardback) | ISBN  9780823285426 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Church of the Ascension (New York, N.Y.)—History. | Upper  West Side (New York, N.Y.)—Church history. | New York (N.Y.)—Church  history. Classification: LCC BX4603.N6 C474 2020 | DDC 282/.7471—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019028505

Printed in the United States of America 22 21 20 5 4 3 2 1 First edition

Dedicated with gratitude to Mrs. Elizabeth Molda (May 20, 1908–October 30, 2002)

mother of Mrs. Irene Bogoni A faithful parishioner of the Church of the Ascension And an extraordinarily generous benefactor of this parish.

Contents

Foreword by Father Daniel S. Kearney List of Abbreviations

1.A Home of Their Own

2.The Founding Fathers

3.The Upper West Side

4.The Ascension Parish Plant

5.The Confident Years at Ascension

6.A Parish in Transition

7. Quo Vadis ?

8.A Neighborhood in Peril

9.Recovery and Renaissance

10.Old and New Horizons

Appendixes

A.Pastors of the Church of the Ascension

B.Upper West Side Catholic Churches in 1865

C.Upper West Side Catholic Churches in 1910

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viii | Contents  Acknowledgments  Notes  Bibliography  Index

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Foreword

When I first asked Monsignor Thomas J. Shelley to write the history of Ascension Church as it comes to mark its 125th anniversary, he responded enthusiastically with a resounding “Yes.” For that I am grateful, as will be many people from Ascension who will read his work. In order to really appreciate the history of Ascension or any other New York City parish for that matter, it is necessary to know and understand the neighborhood the parish and its people and priests live in and serve in order to see and appreciate how the faith community has developed and changed over time. Monsignor Shelley has masterfully painted a colorful description of the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights as these areas changed over the decades including struggles with crime, violence, and gentrification which has tended to push out long-time (and often poorer) families. With the arrival of each group of new residents, many of whom were immigrants, beginning with Germans who were then followed by Irish, Hispanic, and now a highly diverse population, the parish adapted, sometimes not easily, to the needs of each. Shelley gives particular attention to the impact the building of rapid transit, particularly the extension of the subway lines uptown, had on the neighborhood and how this shaped the parish also. In the early years of Ascension, the large number of parishioners were served by a pastor and four or five assistant priests. Before the 1960s, the spiritual and social needs of the people were typically served principally through more than a score of Masses each week (including more than 5,000 people coming on Sunday alone), confessionals open for many hours each Saturday, traditional devotions on weekday evenings, and myriad clubs and activities catering to the various groups in the parish (adult men and women, small children and teens). In addition, the parish school enrolled more than 900 students at its height and had both—that is, religious sisters and brothers teaching in most of the grades. For the average parishioner it was principally through all of these services and activities in both the church and school that Ascension and the wider Church touched and shaped both their spiritual and daily lives. But as much of American culture