“From the Archives” Side Altars in the Church
Saint Mary church originally had two smaller side altars flanking the main altar, one on the right devoted to Our Lady and one on the left devoted to Saint Joseph. In the years before Vatican II, a concelebrated Mass (a main celebrant and one or more additional priests) was a rare occasion. That usually only occurred when a priest was physically unable to offer Mass alone.
On Sundays, visiting priests frequently offered Mass simultaneously with the celebrant standing at the main altar. The visitor used a side altar, most often the Saint Joseph altar. Otherwise, the visiting priest saying the unscheduled Mass would have to cross behind the priest at the main altar, distracting the congregation. Parishioners who arrived early or late for the regular Mass could choose to follow the visitor’s Mass, which fulfilled one’s Sunday Mass obligation. But it didn’t do much for the concept of the parish as a community of worshipers as the visitor might not read the Epistles and Gospel aloud in English (another distraction to the main Mass), rarely preached a homily and might not distribute Holy Communion.
When Father Michael Igoe – who grew up in Saint Mary parish – retired, he came back to live in his family home on Duke Street. He regularly walked over to Saint Mary to celebrate Mass before the regular Mass every day, including Sunday. People would shift seats when they saw him come out of the sacristy and into the church before the regular Mass because he never preached and usually did not distribute Holy Communion. Some moved where they were sitting to participate in the Mass with Father Igoe, perhaps because they liked a shorter Mass without a homily! Also, the Church law of abstinence at that time (no food or drink after midnight) cut down on the number of people ready to receive Communion. And, many Catholics would receive the Eucharist on Sunday only if they had gone to Confession on Saturday evening.
The side altars were removed in 1972 during major renovations led by Father Joseph L. Wingler, pastor from 1965 to 1981. Walter Davis, who lived nearby, found pieces of marble from the altars on the sidewalk awaiting the hauler, and saved one of the decorative centers. He was a devout Episcopalian and often came into Saint Mary church to pray.
– Kitty Guy, Parish Historian
In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series in 2021. An archive of the features is located here.