Venerable St. Patrick's Primed for Christmas
 A soft coat of 'Pearly Gates' highlights the stained-glass windows above the altar. |
Now ongoing renovations at St. Patrick's Church are due to be completed before Christmas, including an appropriately named fresh coat of paint selected by the decorating committee.
"When they told me they wanted 'Pearly Gates,' I asked if they had been influenced by the name," said Michael Renzi, owner of Renzi Painting. There are more than 100 shades of white, he said, and Pearly Gates is warm and bright; 50 gallons are needed to cover the walls and ceiling of the church.
The 45-foot turret ceiling is an elegant architectural feature, and though painting it can be a challenging task, Renzi Painting was prepared with the proper equipment. "We used aluminum scaffolding and an aerial 'man lift,'" said Renzi.
The stations of the cross and the unique icon of the crucified Jesus were entrusted to professional artists for aesthetic additions.
The icon plus a statue of St. Raphael, stained-glass windows and a baptism font were transferred to St. Patrick's when St. Raphael's on Cole Avenue was sold after the two parishes merged. Now candleholders for St. Patrick's are being made out of oak wood from St. Raphael's.
Before there was a Catholic church in Williamstown, visiting priests from Vermont, Albany, N.Y., Pittsfield and North Adams would come to town once a month to celebrate Mass in private homes. At one point, Cole's Hall on East Main Street and a rented schoolhouse were used.
In 1863, the priest in North Adams arranged for the purchase of a building to serve as a house of worship in Williamstown. Located on the corner of Park and Main streets, the building originally housed the Williamstown High School Academy and later a post office and a general store.
After 16 years of use as a church, the aging building needed extensive repairs the parish could not afford. A number of Protestants collectively donated a large sum of money for construction of a new building, which became the community's church for more than a dozen years.
Then the Rev. Maurice O'Sullivan sold the church, its land and the parish house to Williams College, apparently without authority of the bishop in Springfield and without consulting parishioners. He was hastily transferred to Deerfield.
O'Sullivan's successor, the Rev. John Fallon, oversaw the construction of a new building, which was completed by February 1897 and formally dedicated as St. Patrick's Church by Bishop Thomas D. Beaven of Springfield in July.
The rectory, at that time, was on a piece of land next to the Southworth Street church. "The rectory was a beautiful three-story building that had a mahogany staircase," said 93-year-old Bernice Rooney, who has been a member of the parish from the age of 3.
In 1971, the present rectory across the street from the church was acquired. The parish center was built in 1985 on the site of the former rectory, which had been razed. In 2010, the parish center underwent renovations, including siding.
Comprehensive changes to St. Patrick's in the 1970s were made in compliance with decrees issued by the Vatican Council regarding Mass. The Communion rail was removed, the tabernacle was relocated and the main altar was repositioned so the priest would face the congregation.
Parishioner Phyllis Norton said that during the Rev. Robert Stafford's pastorate (1971-1981) "gorgeous" statues of the Blessed Virgin and the Sacred Heart were removed from the church, and the stained-glass windows above the altar were boarded up. "I think they wanted the altar not to be busy," Norton opined.
The Rev. Michael Devlin had the stained-glass windows uncovered shortly after he was assigned to the post of pastor in 1985.
Of the 21 priests who have presided over the parish, the Rev. James Teahan served the longest, from 1908 until his death on Dec. 7, 1930.
Rooney remembers Teahan as a compassionate pastor to her father. "My father had a serious stomach ailment and could not fast to receive Communion (without enduring great pain)," she explained, speaking of the days one had to fast beginning at midnight. "Father Teahan told him to come to the rectory door at five after midnight and he would give him Communion."
The Rev. Daniel Daley — pastor from 1949 to 1955 — stands out in Phyllis Norton's memory as he was instrumental in making it possible for her to be married in the church. Her husband, Jerry, was not a Catholic when they fell in love.
"He was uneasy about going for religious instructions, but he was surprised that Father Daley was so wonderful," she said. The couple married in the bride's home parish in Springfield, but since 1951, they have been members of St. Patrick's Church, and their four children were baptized there.
As parish secretary for the last 29 years, Pauline McNicol has worked for six of the priests who presided over the parish: Alfred Graves, Michael Devlin, William Cyr, Richard Kirouac (administrator) Mark Burke (administrator) and the present pastor, the Rev. Wayne Biernat.
Biernat, of West Springfield, came to St. Patrick's at the age of 32 in 2009. "I asked Father [Biernat] if it would be OK if I brought a chair from home and sat on the front porch to watch the (town's July 4th) parade go by the rectory," said McNicol. As it turned out, six "nice rocking chairs" were bought and placed on the porch.
"It is very inviting. People came up to chat with us during the parade," the parish secretary said. "We eat out there in nice weather, and sometimes Father holds meeting on the porch and rocks."
There are approximately 1,200 registered parishioners, which is a higher than when St. Patrick's and St. Raphael's were separate parishes.
In addition to raising funds for the church repairs, parishioners also donate to the Food Pantry, established by Carol De Mayo, which provides groceries those in need, and to their sister parish in Santa Rosa de Mazan, in Peru, which in 2002, Denise and John Sheahan helped initiate in 2002.
Now they are purchasing presents that will fulfill the wishes of families and Turner House veterans they "adopt" for Christmas. On Christmas when renovations completed, St. Patrick's Church will be especially beautiful as the joyous birth of the Christ Child is celebrated.
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