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ST. ANDREW AVELLINO History
of St. Andrew’s Prior
to 1914 St. Michael's church was the only Catholic Church in Flushing,
and the oldest on Long Island (1826),
In 1908 Captain John Russell, Dr. George Lawrence and John Kerwin
(all parishioners of St. Michael) discussed the need for a parish in
Upper Flushing with the pastor of St. Michael's, Msgr. Eugene Donnelly.
Msgr. Donnelly was not very receptive to the idea. Consequently, in 1912
a committee headed by Joseph Swick petitioned Bishop McDonnell directly
to establish a parish in Upper Flushing. The committee originally
consisting of Alfred Barrett, Ernest Bell, James Byrns, Michael
Cavanaugh, Charles Mayer and Benjamin Merklin was soon joined by other
parishioners bringing the number of petitioners to fifty families. In
July of 1913 Bishop McDonnell, after administering Confirmation at St.
Michael's, took a drive to
Upper Flushing and shortly after promised the petitioners that they
would have their own parish. The Flushing Journal of May 18, 1914
reported that the Diocese had announced the establishment of a parish in
Upper Flushing. Thus St.
Andrew Avellino became one of the few parishes that was founded not by the Chancery of the Diocese but by the people
of the community. That spirit has prevailed to this day. It is that
spirit that we celebrate in our 90th year. THE
PARISH
PATRON ANDREW AVELLINO So,
who is this Saint Andrew Avellino?
Admittedly he is not as well known as St. Francis, St. Lucy, St.
Agnes, St. Patrick. How did he become the patron of our parish? St.
Andrew Avellino is a 16th century saint. He was born in Castronuova in
the Kingdom of Naples in 1521. His given name was Lancelot Avellino. As
a young man he was ordained a priest and sent to the University of
Naples to study civil and canon law. While practicing law in an
ecclesiastical court one day he caught himself in a lie. That evening
while reading Scripture he came upon the words "The mouth that
lieth killeth the soul". He decided to abandon the practice of law
and devote himself entirely to the spiritual care of souls. At thirty
five years of age he decided to join the Theatines, a religious
congregation of priests, and he took the name "Andrew" because
of the apostles devotion to the Cross. He eventually became the superior
of the congregation and was instrumental in establishing a number of
Theatine religious houses in Italy. Through
his relationship with St. Charles Borromeo Andrew Avellino became a
significant force in the reform and restoration of genuine religious
life in many religious communities in Italy. This was the time of the
Protestant Reformation and church life was very much in need of its own reform. In
the later years of his life Andrew suffered from apoplectic attacks. On
November 10, 1608, at the age of 87, as he began Mass at St. Paul's
Church in Naples he suffered an apoplectic attack that resulted in his
death that afternoon. It
was the event of his death that became the reason for naming him the
patron of our parish. After his canonization in 1712 he was invoked as
the patron saint against sudden death and coronary disease. In 1914 when
Bishop McDonnell gave permission to establish a new parish in Upper
Flushing several priests of the diocese had died suddenly from apoplexy.
The Bishop's concern over this moved him to seek the intercession of St.
Andrew Avellino, and so named the new parish after the patron saint of sudden death. St.
Andrew Avellino's fame had not spread very much outside Italy and so he
is not well known. In fact our parish is the only known parish in the
United States under his patronage. Another way in which we are unique! And so St Andrew Avellino parish had permission to begin and a saint for its patron. BEGINNINGS
- THE EARLY
YEARS In May of 1914 a new parish had been formed under the patronage of St. Andrew Avellino. A pastor, Fr. Edward McGoldrick, had been named. And the parishioners were eager to get started in creating their new parish. But, there were no facilities! Two parishioners, Henry Ramme owner of the Ramme Eagle Hall and John Egan proprietor of the Murray Hill Theatre, offered their facilities for Sunday Mass. Dr. Thomas Brennan offered his home on 35th Avenue as a temporary rectory for Fr. McGoldrick. Daily Mass was celebrated there each day. The first "church" was the Murray Hill Theatre. On June 6th 1914 the first two Masses were celebrated there with 700 people attending. A wooden altar built by Patrick O'Connor was carried to the theatre each Sunday for the Masses as was a small portable organ - even then St. Andrew Avellino parishioners sang! This arrangement continued until 1915 when, through the funds earned by the annual Card Party, there was enough money to build a church. The site favored by many parishioners was on 157st and Sanford Avenue. But Fr. McGoldrick felt that Northern Blvd. was the more prominent avenue in the parish. He purchased 200 square feet of property at 158st and Northern Blvd. and constructed a Spanish style stucco church on the plot. It had a large basement and could accommodate 567 people. The original cost estimate was $25,000, but in fact the final cost was $60,000. The church was dedicate with much celebration on June 4th 1916. The
first World War delayed the construction of any other buildings. But St.
Andrew Avellino parishioners had a church prominently situated on
Northern Boulevard. In 1919 Fr, McGoldrick, who was known as the "gypsy priest" because he had been in five residence in five years, built a rectory next to the church on 157st and Northern. He finally had a place to hang his hat. The children of the parish during those years were educated in the faith through a CCD program conducted by the Dominican Sisters of Amityville. But Fr. McGoldrick and the parishioners were anxious to have their own school. The project was begun and on September 25th 1925 an eight classroom school was opened for 250 students in grades one through six. A convent to house the Sisters of St. Dominic of St. Mary of the Spring (Ohio) was also constructed. In
just 11 short years during a time of war the people of St Andrew
Avellino parish had established themselves as a vibrant and viable
parish with the necessary facilities of church, rectory, convent and
school. St. Andrew Avellino parish was on its way.
But big changes were still to come when in September of 1930 Fr.
McGoldrick died and Msgr. Francis Oechsler was appointed the second
pastor. YEARS
OF GROWTH -
1930 - 1940 In
1930 on October 18th Msgr. Francis Oechsler was appointed as the
second pastor of St. Andrew Avellino parish. Along with the
parish he also inherited a $35,000.00 mortgage; not an enviable thing in
the tough times of the 1930's. The following year Monsignor began the
development of the parish life. 1931 saw the beginning of the Rosary
Confraternity, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the St. John Berchmanns
Sanctuary Society (the society for altar servers who were always decked
out in cassock, surplice and white tennis sneakers), the Boy Scout Troop
#89 and the Andrean Players. Life at the parish was bustling. As the population grew so did the needs of the school. In
1933, eight new classrooms were added along with an Auditorium and
cafeteria. In
1937 as the parish prepared for its 25th anniversary to be celebrated in
1939 Monsignor Oechsler's vision moved to plans for a new church. The
financial situation of the parish was much better than in 1930. The debt
had been paid off, the school had been up-dated and the church, convent
and chapel had been redecorated. All this was a tribute to the
generosity of the parishioners - heroic in view of the fact that these
were depression years. A Builders Society was formed in 1937 and
200 parishioners pledged $54,000. toward the building of a new church.
In 1938 the plans for the new church were approved by Bishop Molloy who
also pledged a loan of $200,000. toward the building if the parishioners
could match that amount. On October 16th 1939 work began on the new church to be located on the north-west corner of 157 st and Northern Blvd. The foundation was completed on January 11th of the following year. The laying of the foundation presented a particular problem for the builders. The earth on the site was too soft to sustain the proposed building. The solution was to sink a much deeper foundation than originally planned. As it turned out this was quite fortuitous since the new deeper foundation provided what is now Andrean Hall - an auditorium with a connecting passage to the school for use by the parish and the school. The cornerstone was laid on June 9th of 1940 and on December 10th of the same year the new St. Andrew Avellino church was dedicated. The preacher at the ceremony, Rev. Clement Buckley, C.P., referred to the new church as the "Little Cathedral on the Boulevard," as truly it was. The architecture of the church was unique in the metropolitan area, a combination of Spanish style and art deco. The interior was large enough to accommodate 1,000 people and tastefully decorated in marble and wood giving it a soft and welcoming atmosphere. One of the unique features of the church is that there is very little exposure to exterior light. The upper side windows open out to a cat walk on both sides of the church. Artificial light is needed to illuminate them. There are many other interesting aspects of the church interior in design and iconography. PASTOR’S
CORNER
CHURCH
INTERIOR
Stained
glass windows figure prominently in the church. In the Reconciliation
Room, the former baptistry, the story of Jesus’ baptism by John is
illustrated. The Rose window behind the choir loft pictures Jesus under
the title of Christ the King. The Eucharist windows, located in the
sanctuary, present eight reflections (four from the Old Testament and
four from the New) on the meaning of the Eucharist. In the center of
each set are symbols. The pelican, which is framed by Melchizedek, the
sacrifice of Isaac, Elijah’s and Elisha’s miraculous feeding of
widows, is an ancient symbol for Jesus Christ’ Eucharistic presence.
Legend has it that when there is a scarcity of food, the pelican picks
its own breast so that the young may feed on its blood. The Lamb of God
seated on the book with seven seals, is surrounded by scenes from the
New Testament: feeding of the multitude, breaking of bread with the
disciples at Emmaeus, Christ, the true vine, and the crucifixion. AS
we move into the nave (or body of the church), we see the lower stained
glass windows which contain the words of the Apostles Creed. Each phrase
of the creed is accompanied by a scene from the life of each of the
twelve apostles. High
on both sides of the nave of the church are windows devoted to the
rosary of our Lady. The first window shows Saint Dominic receiving the
rosary from Mary. The remaining fifteen windows contain the artist’s
conception of the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the
Rosary. The mysteries of the rosary are presented in symbolic form in
the shields that adorn the outer wall of the Blessed Mother’s shrine. When the church opened its doors in 1940, there were no paintings in the church. For the first seven or eight years the walls were left blank to let the building settle. In the late 1940's Monsignor Oechsler traveled to Italy and hired a group of artisans to come to Flushing to paint the murals. Next week we will take a closer look at this artwork. History Archives Calendar of Events |
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