The History of the Church of the Assumption

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When Anson Greene Phelps founded Ansonia as a manufacturing village in 1845, the few Catholics who lived there belonged to and attended church services at St. Mary’s in Derby, which was then called Birmingham.

In 1864, the year Ansonia was charted as a borough of the town of Birmingham, Rev. John Sheridan of St. Mary’s Parish conceived the idea of erecting a church in Ansonia. To that end, in 1866, Fr. Sheridan purchased a parcel of land from Phelps, Dodge and Company on the southeast corner of Main and Cheever Streets, which extended east to Factory Street. Fr. Sheridan died before he could erect a church, and the task fell to his successor, Rev- Patrick J O’Dwyer. Much of the digging for the foundation of the church was done by men of the parish who worked days in the mills and then gave their evenings to work with pick and shovel. On the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1867, the Most Rev. Francis P. McFarland, Bishop of Hartford, laid the cornerstone for the new church which was completed toward the end of 1868. The white frame structure, which seated 800, cost nearly $20,000 and was given the name “The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” On June 25, 1870, Fr. O’Dwyer severed relations with Birmingham (Derby) and became the first resident pastor in Ansonia.

Fr. O’Dwyer remained in Ansonia until January 1876 at which time he was succeeded by Rev. Hugh T, Brady, who was pastor until 1886. During his tenure, Fr. Brady enlarged the church building, but it still was too small for the Catholic population of Ansonia which had grown from 1,000 souls in 1870 to nearly 4,000 souls by 1890.

The first Church of the Assumption was a white frame building with a projecting vestibule and tower, which supported a spire. The interior was very modest, the ceiling being in blue half-gables. The altar was wooden, painted white and gold. A large rose-window was at the rear. The first Church of the Assumption was used exclusively until 1900. At that time the Sacred Chapel of the present Church went into use, and consequently the first Church continued to be used only on Sundays at 8:00 in the morning for a Mass for the children of the parish. It seems that the old Church was also used for religious instructions, particularly for preparation for First Communion and Confirmation.

On October 7, 1909 , the Italian Catholics of Ansonia organized their own parish which was to be called Holy Rosary. Since the present Church of the Assumption was completed in 1907, from 1909 until August 16, 1955, Holy Rosary Parish used the first Church of the Assumption as its place of worship, although the 8:00 am Mass each Sunday was reserved for parishioners of the Assumption Parish,. In 1955, the church was sold to Holy Rosary. The Church was badly damaged in the August and October floods of 1955, but each time was restored. Finally, in 1967, the first Church of the Assumption was demolished after Holy Rosary Parish dedicated its new Church on May 28th.

The present Church of the Assumption was the concept of Rev. Joseph Synnott, the third pastor of the Assumption Parish, who became pastor in April (on Holy Thursday) of 1886. Fr. Synnott immediately saw that the first Church was too small and in August of 1888, he secured from Mrs. Charles H. Hill the property where the present Church stands on North Cliff Street at a cost of $25,000. On April 4, 1889, the same year that Ansonia became independent of Derby and was incorporated as a city, ground was broken by the men of the parish for the new Church of the Assumption.

The Church was designed by architect Patrick Charles Keely (1816-1896) of Brooklyn, New York, the leading church architect of his day. Between 1847 and 1892, Mr. Keely designed sixteen Catholic Cathedrals including the ones in Chicago, Boston, and Hartford; he also designed between 500 and 700 churches. Mr. Keely’s churches are often called "preaching churches" since they are as broad as they are long. The church was built by J. M. Wheeler of Ansonia, under the supervision of James Houghton, Patrick Keely’s son- in-law. The first stone was laid on September 16, 1889; and two years later, on Sunday, September 6,1891, the cornerstone was put into place by Very Rev. James Hughes, V.G., acting for Bishop Lawrence McMahon, who was in Europe at the time. From the time of the ground-breaking (1889) until the time of its completion (1907), the new church took eighteen years to build.

The present Church of the Assumption was dedicated on Sunday, June 2, 1907 by the Most Rev. Michael Tierney, Bishop of Hartford.

When the basement was finished but while the work on the upper church was going on, in 1899 Fr. Synnott decided to have a chapel finished off in the basement of the new church. When the structure was sufficiently advanced, Fr. Synnott’s efforts were centered on the completion of the chapel, and on Sunday, June 17 1900, the Sacred Heart Chapel was dedicated. This chapel was used for all liturgical functions until the completion of the upper church in 1907, at which time it continued to be used each Sunday for the children’s Mass at 8:00 . The windows of the chapel were designed by James Dougherty of New York and symbolically depict different teachings of the church. They are about all that remain of the original chapel for in 1967, under the past- orate of Rev. Raymond Mulcahy, (Assumption’s seventh pastor) the chapel was dismantled and remodeled into the present Church Hall.

Visible in the exterior perspective of the church are repeated buttresses, a typical characteristic of Neo- or Victorian-Gothic architecture. The foundation of the church which is 183 feet long and 115 feet wide at the rear vestries is made of granite quarried in Ansonia, while the upper levels which are 88 feet in height are done in Monson granite. The foundation goes down to a great depth; the walls at the base being six feet thick.

Since the church is built on a hill that slopes 23 feet toward the rear of the edifice, the walls thus acquire a greater depth as one goes down toward the back of the church. The slope of the hill is so pronounced that whereas the church floor is only a few feet above the front walk, three floors range along the vestries at the rear. The slate used in the roofing is from Brownsville, Maine while the timber supporting the roof is southern yellow pine.

As one stands before the main entrance, the facade of the church stretches some 98 feet with the bell tower protruding 12 feet closer to the street on the north end. The original plans called for the-tower to be crowned with a graceful spire, 195 feet high, surmounted by a cross. This tower has never been completed and consequently the church has no bells. However, in 1988, an electronic carillon was installed. There are four large loudspeakers atop the tower which amplify the sound of bells which are housed in the sacristy.

There are two stained glass windows in the tower entrance: the one on the south side is a representation of St. Patrick and the one on the north side is that of St. Bridget.

The vestibule provides a desirable space transition from the street to the nave of the church. Of particular note in the vestibule are the spiral staircases on the north and south walls that go to the galleries. These staircases are most unusual. Also of note are the two stained glass windows in the east wall, one of St. Peter and the other of St. Paul, and the stained glass windows that separate the vestibule from the main part of the church. These windows depict in symbolic form the seven sacraments.

As one steps inside the church proper, one should pause a moment to survey the interior as whole. Extending beyond the transept, the nave is terminated in a five-sided aspe, which forms the sanctuary. Immediate attention is drawn to the altar in the center of the sanctuary which juts out into the congregation, the former high altar which now acts as a backdrop behind the presidential chair, and the three stained glass windows in the back wall. It is of interest that the pews are slanted around the altar to highlight it as the most important object in the church.

Also of note, as one looks from right to left are the four galleries high above the nave as well as the choir loft and organ which are situated in the rear above the main doors. The stained glass windows on both the north and south sides are each 18 feet in height; the church from the floor of the nave to the center of the ceiling is 68 feet; and the seating capacity is about 800.

The altar of sacrifice which stands in the center of the sanctuary is the focal point of the church, for it is here that the sacrifice of the Mass takes place. Under the co-pastorate of Rev. Ernest Coppa and Rev, Thomas Missett, when the church was renovated in 1978 in order to conform with the liturgical changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council, Theodore Muller of Westport, the architect, tried to use as much of the material which was already in the church as he could. Therefore, the altar was fashioned from wood which came from the two confessionals which were beneath the two transept rose windows.

The original altar which now serves as the backdrop for the presidential chair, designed by the Ficigna Studio of New York City, is truly a work of art. It is made of Carrara marble, stands 32 feet high from the base to the top of the central crucifix canopy, and, like the church, is Gothic in design. In the front of the base is carved in alto relief a representation of ‘The Last Supper,” by Leonardo DaVinci, showing our Lord instituting the Eucharist in the midst of his apostles. On either sides of the carving are panels, one depicts a bunch of grapes and the other a staff of wheat, symbols of the Eucharist. At the right end of the reredos is a statue of St. Raphael with staff and fish; at the left, is a statue of St. Gabriel with lily in one hand.

The altar in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the left of the main altar, is the altar of reposition for the Blessed Sacrament. Both this altar and the one in honor of St. Joseph, to the right of the main altar, are also of white Carrara marble. The altar in honor of St. Joseph also contains the baptismal font. Both of these altars along with the baptismal font were designed by the Barsanti Studios of New York City.

The railings of brass and mahogany which now separate the three altars as well as surround the two statues in the back of the church were the original altar rail which separated the sanctuary from the congregation before the renovation of 1978.

Altogether there are nine statues in the church. There are four statues surrounding the transept at the height of the galleries. These are the statues of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

There are two statues in the sanctuary, the one of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the altar of reposition, and the one of St. Joseph.

In the rear of the church, there are three statues. The one on the north side is St. Anthony of Padua, while the one on the south side is the Sacred Heart. A statue of St. Theresa of Avala stands next to the statue of St. Anthony.

There are three murals in the church: one over each of the side altars and one over the middle of the transept. The one over the St. Joseph altar depicts the death of St. Joseph. The one over the Blessed Virgin Mary altar is the betrothal of Mary to Joseph. There is one other mural, in the ceiling at the center of the transept. This mural is a representation of the Ascension of Jesus. All of these murals were done by Kinkel Studios of New York City.

In the main body of the church, there are twenty major stained glass windows. All of these windows were designed and made in Innsbruck, Austria by Tiroler Glasmalerei and installed by James Dougherty of New York City.

Above the sanctuary there are three stained glass windows; the center panel is the Crucifixion, the one to the right is the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the one to the left is the Assumption of the Blessed Mother.

There are three rose windows: one at either end of the transept and one above the choir loft. The one on the south side of the transept is the gift of the rosary to St. Dominic by the Blessed Virgin Mary; the one on the north is of the Sacred Heart. The rose window over the choir loft is in the form of a Celtic Cross and has pictures of David, Miriam, St. Cecilia, and Pope St. Gregory the Great, all patrons of music.

There are fourteen windows in the main body of the church, seven on each side, each 13 feet high.

These windows depict different events in the life of Christ. Beginning at the altar of reposition on the south side and going around the church, the windows are as follows:

The first conven

t to house the Sisters of Mercy who taught at The Assumption School was formerly the Thomas Wallace home. This picture shows it from the North Main Street side. It was located directly behind the rectory. Thomas Wallace founded in 1848 Wallace & Sons which manufactured wire and rolled metal until it closed in 1895.

This building burned to the ground as its demolition was beginning when workmen were removing piping with an acetylene torch just before the new convent (which is now the rectory) was to open.