10 ANTIQUE ORIGINAL STATIONS OF THE CROSS. 1867 Our Lady of Angels Church

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10 ANTIQUE ORIGINAL STATIONS OF THE CROSS. 1867 Our Lady of Angels Church:
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A brief history of the now closed Our Lady of Angels church follows; prior to 1867, the spiritual needs of Albanys Catholic Germans were served by the priests of Holy Cross Parish- the only German-language Catholic parish in the city.It soon became evident that another parish was needed.Holy Cross church had become too small to accommodate all of its numerous parishioners.The church was close to the South End, but many German Catholics lived a great distance from the church, in the Bowery section of Albany.In 1867 the Very Reverend Edgar Wadhams, Vicar-General of the Roman Catholic diocese, requested the Franciscan Fathers to organize a parish for German Catholics in the western section of the city of Albany.[1]Father Francis M. Neubauer of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM) was named the first pastor of the new Catholic-German congregation,Maria Knigin der Engel, or Our Lady of Angels, for the western part of Albany on June 19, 1867.At this time Father Neubauer had a congregation of only 150 families, no money, property or plans.In time the parish grew and became the citys largest German Roman Catholic parish, including over six hundred families before the turn of the century. Through the kindness of the neighboring pastor for the Irish Saint Patricks Church, Father Francis was allowed to offer Mass in Saint Patricks Hall, since he did not have a church.[2] Father Francis immediately sought a building that would be suitable for use as a church until a permanent structure was erected. Within two weeks he rented Coulsons Factory at 328 Central Avenue. At this locale the first mass was offered in this temporary church on July 14, 1867. Soon a lot was purchased on the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Robin Street, formerly Perry Street. The existing building, an old malt house, was razed, and work began on the new churchs foundation in September 1868. Within two months, on November 29, 1868, the cornerstone was placed with impressive ceremonies conducted by the Most Reverend John J. Conroy, D.D., Bishop of Albany. A parade from the bishops residence to the site of the church inaugurated the event. Numerous Catholic societies from the city took part in the procession. Historian and antiquarian Joel Munsell noted in hisCollections on the History of Albanythat, The German Catholics laid the corner stone of a new church, to be called Holy Queen of Angels, on the corner of Central Avenue and Robin Street The notice [that was] published, [stated] that the ceremonies would take place, and be attended with a grand procession, called out one of the largest crowds we ever saw on any similar occasion.[3] Finally on March 26, 1871, Bishop Conroy, together with pastors from other city churches, blessed the new church with imposing ceremonies and dedicated it to Our Lady of Angels. The participants and onlookers of the ritual included fully six thousand people who assembled around, outside, and within the church.By 1890 the Our Lady of Angels congregation consisted of six hundred families and included numerous parish societies. Parish organizations included the German Young Mens Catholic Union, or German YMCU, which was founded before 1897. Its offices were located at 410 Sheridan Avenue, next to the school of Our Lady of Angels. The YMCU first appeared in Albany city directories in 1899- the year the writer assumes the society might have been created. The Altar-Rosary society was founded on June 30, 1867, and fostered devotion to the rosary and provided furnishings for the altar. The Saint JohannisVereinwas established on June 9, 1878, as anUntersttzungverein. The society joined the German Roman Catholic CentralVereinin 1885. TheVereinhad ninety members as of 1897, and its capital totaled $2,969.88. Members paid quarterly dues of $1.25 for a $5.00 weekly sick benefit, a $100 death benefit, and a $75 benefit for the death of a members wife.[5] The Holy Name Society was established in 1910 to promote proper respect for the Holy Name of Jesus. The Saint Elisabeth Society for the Poor was organized on June 21, 1895, with forty members that conducted acts of charity within the parish. The Saint ElizabethFrauen Verein, theMnner-Untersttzungverein, the Saint Franciscus, and Saint AntoniusVereinewere all founded before 1897. The Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, Branch 230 was formed in the parish, circa 1903. Other societies included the Knights of Saint Johns, Saint Francis Commandery, No. 102. The Knights are an American Catholic fraternal order which was founded in 1879. The men of Our Lady of Angels parish established the order in November 1899. The Our Lady of Angels Council, No. 145 of the Catholic Benevolent League, or CBL, was organized circa 1888. A choir group, the Liszt Chorus, was established on September 1, 1891, with thirty-eight members that met in the school house.[6] Additional parish societies included the Sodality of the Blessed Sacrament, containing 320 members; the Little Sacred Heart, including ninety members; the Order of Saint Francis, counting 250 members; and the League of the Sacred Heart, numbering 1,000 members[7] Pastors of Our Lady of Angels Church Francis M. Neubauer, 1867-77 Pius Kotterer, 1877-79 Maurice Bierl, 1879-83 Anselm Auling, 1883-89 Louis Miller, 1889-92 Fidelis Voight, 1892-99 Alphonse Lehrscholl, 1899-1912 Henry Thameling, 1912-1919 Sylvester Ahlhaus, 1919-1926 Camillus Eichenlaub, 1929-32 Innocent Dressel, 1932-35 Stephen Korthas, 1935-42 Gerard Stauble, 1942-48 Dominic Rapp, 1948-51 Denis Gallagher, 1951-57 Cuthbert Dittmeier, 1957-63 Matthias Manley, 1963-66 Crispin Fuino, 1966-76 Camillus Murray, 1976-77 Conall McHugh, 1977-82 Giles Van Wormer, 1982-88 Alvin Somerville, 1988-2001 Sister Margaret Walker (Parish Life Director) 2001-05