Stamford, CT
Stamford, CT
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History of St. John's | Our Staff | [Not] Theology On Tap | The Roof Project
Saint John the
Evangelist Parish was founded 1854 and is the Mother Church of
Stamford. Catholics arrived late in Connecticut because of the
anti-Catholic atmosphere and laws of the Colony. In order to own
property or to have a vote in the Colony of Connecticut, one had to
swear a public oath denouncing the Catholic Church and her tenets.
The celebration of Mass was prohibited by law, as was the presence
of priests. There were, however, a small number of Irish Catholics
within the British colonies prior to the American Revolution,
arriving either as transported criminals or as "redemptioners" –
indentured servants who exchanged passage to the colonies for a
three-year period of servitude. An advertisement in the Stamford
Connecticut Gazette of January 5, 1764, publicized: "Just
Imported from Dublin in the Brig Darby, A Parcel of Irish Servants,
both men + women, + to be sold cheap by Israel Boardman, at
Stamford." By the 1830’s the number of Catholics was rising in
Fairfield County, the largest group were Catholic Irish immigrants
in Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Stamford. Mass was first celebrated in
Stamford in 1842 in the house of Patrick H. Drew by Father James
Smyth of Bridgeport for the three resident Catholic families. The
Irish population rapidly increased in Connecticut during the 1840’s
and 1850’s, primarily because of the Irish Potato Famine, and the
need for workers on the canals and railroads. The Irish Catholic
community of Stamford was first attended to by the priests of Saint
Mary’s Church in Norwalk. By January 1851 was sufficiently numerous
to build a small, clapboard church. By 1854, Saint John’s was
formally established as an independent parish to care for the needs
of Catholics in all of southwest Fairfield County. Since its
foundation, Saint John’s Parish has influenced the lives of citizens
in Stamford and surrounding towns. Every Catholic institution in
Stamford, Greenwich, New Canaan, and Darien, has its roots in Saint
John’s Parish. In 1860 Saint John’s opened the first parish school
in Fairfield County, which continued to educate Catholics and
non-Catholics alike until 1965. The present church was built in
1875. The foundation was dug, and the stone dragged from a local
quarry by the Irish Catholic members of the parish themselves. They
had little cash, but great stores of faith that led them to build
Saint John’s, then the largest stone church in southern Connecticut.
The stained glass windows form one of the largest collections of
American 19th century church stained glass on the east coast, a
lasting artistic treasure. Saint John’s today serves as the
spiritual center for downtown Stamford. The Rectory is another
historic building in the heart of Stamford’s downtown. Built in 1850
as a private home, it was purchased by the parish in 1868 to house
the priests of the parish. It is one of the architectural gems of
Old Stamford, being one of the last and finest local example of the
Greek Revival style. The rectory is believed to have provided a stop
on the Underground Railroad prior to and during the Civil War,
operated by James Daskam, a local greengrocer.
The parish, founded by immigrant Irish Catholics, and built by their faith and sweat, is now home to the largest Catholic community in Stamford, whose members hale from a dozen of countries. Saint John the Evangelist is the spiritual heart of Downtown Stamford, and is open every day for prayer, Mass and confession, or just for a visit to Our Lord and private prayer. All are welcome at Saint John’s, the Mother Church of Stamford.
For more
information on St. John the Evangelist please visit these other
sites:
Pastor
Rev. Msgr. Stephen M. DiGiovanni, H.E.D. telephone: (203) 324-1553, ext. 11 fax: (203) 359-2660 email: STJC@optonline.net
Parochial Vicar
In Residence Organist & Choirmaster Directress of Religious
Education Parish Secretary Parish Financial Records Haitian Catholic Center
[Not]
Theology On Tap When the parish church was completed in 1886, there were no funds to complete the bell tower. Despite being one of the largest stone churches in the State of Connecticut, Saint John’s for decades looked unfinished, until the pastor, Father James C. O’Brien and the people of Saint John’s completed the church structure by building the beautiful Perpendicular Neo-Gothic bell tower—and paid for it during the Great Depression in 1928. An impressive landmark and distinctive part of the downtown cityscape for nearly a century, the tower’s stonework needs restoration. Without launching a new fundraising drive, the parishioners have shown their generosity by donating what they can to preserve the tower, which has called Stamford Catholics to prayer for nearly a century. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, or for more information, please call Monsignor DiGiovanni at 203-324-1553, ext. 11
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