Parish celebrates sesquicentennial

Bishop John McCloskey, the first head of the Albany Diocese, had few priests to serve the needs of Catholics scattered throughout the huge Diocese, which then encompassed most of New York State (the only other dioceses were New York City and Buffalo).

In order to help immigrants in the area of Nassau and Schodack, he made a journey to Austria. Through his intercession, Rev. Theodore Noethen was dispatched to provide a spiritual presence for German Catholics.

150 years

In 1860, the parish was officially named the Church of St. Mary; later, it would be given the name of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On Sept. 8, the feast of Mary's birth, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard celebrated a Mass to honor the sesquicentennial of St. Mary's. parish.

Beginnings

Rev. Gregory Scheuermann, OMC., Conv. became the first Franciscan pastor of St. Mary's in 1916. Since then, Franciscans have headed the parish, with 17 friars from St. Anthony-on-Hudson in Rensselaer serving as pastors.

"The accomplishments achieved by the Franciscans at St. Mary's have always been due directly to the continuous cooperation of the people here," said Rev. Antone Kandrac, OFM, Conv., the current pastor. "All the men, women and children of this parish have always supported our efforts."

Anniversary

In a letter to the parish, Bishop Hubbard credited the parishioners for a century and a half of "faithful dedication, faith and determination" to maintain their parish community.

"From its humble beginnings in 1852...to the present day," he wrote, "the community is still vibrant with the vigor of its founders."

A parish history was compiled for the occasion, through the efforts of Frances Fairweather, pastoral associate for administration, and by Mary Ridzi, Laura McEneaney and Kerstin Williams from the parish's Girl Scout troop.

Students in the parish's faith formation classes prepared a hand-sewn quilt to commemorate the anniversary.

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