St. Columbanus Church

Phone: 914-737-4705 122 OREGON ROAD CORTLANDT MANOR, NY

PAGE ONE: The History of St. Columbanus Parish The history of St. Columbanus Church was W hen the first Mass was Ground-breaking ceremonies Saint Columbanus dedicated on October 30, celebrated on Ash in December, 1956, were Parish. 1966 by His Eminence Francis W ednesday, February 7, attended by about 300 Cardinal Spellman. In so 1951 the parish included persons. The design called PAGE doing, Cardinal Spellman about 200 Catholic families for eight classrooms, a TW O: must have felt a deep sense and extended from Bear kindergarten, a principal‘s of spiritual satisfaction, for it Mountain Parkway to the north office, a nurses room, a The history of was he who had planted the end of Lake Oscawana. A kitchen, storage facilities and Saint Columbanus. seed for the St. Columbanus distance of over 12 miles. It the bookstore. To provide Church 16 years earlier. became evident that the more ample facilities for mission churches of the North Masses and other religious The history of St. Columbanus American Martyrs, at Lake services, an all purpose Parish, up to the dedication of Peekskill, and St. Paul's Auditorium was included in the new church, is the history Chapel at Lake Oscawana , the plans. It was to seat 400 of four dedicated servants of were a necessary part of the and include a sacristy, God who as pastors served spreading the parish. St. confessionals, and a stage. a vital need as spiritual Columbanus Chapel was Space at the rear of the architects in both the building formally dedicated on October school was available for of souls and a house in which 27, 1951 by his eminence parking and a play area. to worship God. All of this Francis Cardinal Spellman. The school actually cost started on June 27, 1950 Since 1966, when the new St. $385,000. The school was when the Rev. James J. Columbanus Church was formally blessed and W eber was notified that he opened, St. Paul‘s Chapel has dedicated by his eminence was to establish a new parish been closed and the property Francis Cardinal Spellman on in Van Cortlandtville, in the sold. June 14th, 1958 and it was on PAGE town of Cortlandt, north of this day that Father W eber THREE: Peekskill. The name of the was elevated to the rank of parish was to be St. Right Reverend Monsignor. The history of the Columbanus and there were Church of the to be missions in Lake At once, upon coming to St. North American Peekskill and Lake Columbanus, Father Hannafin Martyrs and Saint Oscawana. Until that time, made the completion of the Isaac Jogues. the two missions had been new church's his first concern. in the Yorktown Parish. St. Columbanus Church It was under his direction that the various steps were Father W eber was appointed Father W eber's plans were taken leading to the day of to take charge of St. ambitious from the start. He dedication. The cornerstone Columbanus Church and its realized the spiritual needs of was solemnly blessed and Missions effective as of July 8, the children of the parish had laid by His Excellency the 1950. The church, then called to be met. St. Columbanus Bishop Edward Dargin on St. Columbanus Chapel, was School was one of his dreams April 28, 1966 and was Bishop situated in the old Donnelly and within five years he was Dargin who returned on June house at 123 Oregon Road. able to announce a fund- 27, 1966 for the consecration Father W eber moved into the raising campaign for this of the main altar. These two building to be on hand during project. In 1956, under the milestones passed, Father construction operations. W ith guidance of Father Coleman Hannafin saw the fruition of winter approaching and the as campaign moderator, the long-standing plans which walls of the old building volunteer workers conducted reached their culmination on partially dismantled, Father a door-to-door campaign, Sunday, October 30, 1966 W eber accepted an invitation aided by appeals and earnest when the church itself was to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Emit work on the part of the clergy. solemnly dedicated by His W ahl at Lake Peekskill. Initially, the campaign goal Eminence Francis Cardinal was set for $100,000. Spellman. Saint Columbanus

Saint Columbanus Feast Day: November 23rd Patron Of: Motorcyclists, Against Floods Columbanus was born in appearing, he sent a Columbanus always 543 at W est Leinster, letter advising them to enjoyed being in forests Ireland. hold more synods and to and caves, and as he concern themselves with walked through the woods He studied Scripture more important things birds and squirrels would extensively and wrote a that which rite he used to ride on his shoulders. commentary on the celebrate Easter. The Toward the end of his life Psalms. In the middle dispute over Easter came word that his old age, Columbanus felt a enemies were dead and call to missionary life. his brothers wanted him He travelled to Scotland, to come back north, but England, and then to he declined. Knowing France in 585. that his time was almost Columbanus, to find done, he retired to a cave solitude in prayer, often for solitude and died as lived for long periods in a he had predicted. His cave seven miles from influence continued for the monastery, using a centuries as those he messenger to stay in converted handed on the touch with his brothers. faith, the brothers he taught evangelized untold Problems arose early in numbers more and his the 7th Century. Many brother monks founded Frankish bishops over one hundred objected to a foreign monasteries to protect the missionary with so much continued for years, with learning and spread the influence, to the Celtic Columbanus appealing to faith. He died November practices he brought, multiple popes for help, 21, 615 in a cave in especially those related but was only settled Bobbio, Italy of natural to Easter, and his when Columbanus causes. independence from them. abandoned the Celtic calendar when he moved In 602 he was summoned to Italy. to appear before them for judgment, instead of

The Hands and Voice of Christ The North American Martyrs

SAINTS ISAAC JOGUES JOHN DE BREBEUF, PRIESTS, MARTYRS and COMPANIONS Feast Day: October 19

Saints Isaac Jogues, Johns is outstanding. In the course of be the first Catholic priest to de Brebeuf, Charles Garnier, his labors preaching the Gospel have set foot on Manhattan Anthony Daniel, Gabriel to the Mohawks in Canada, he Island. Lallemant, Noel Chabanel, penetrated to the eastern John de Lalande and Rene entrance of Lake Superior, On a third visit to the Iroquois, Goupil, French Jesuits, were 1000 miles inland and became the Bear clan, which believed among the missionaries to the first European to do so. In that he was a sorcerer, preach the gospel to the Huron 1642, he was taken captive by blamed him for an outbreak and Iroquois Indians in the the Iroquois and imprisoned for of sickness and the failure of United States and Canada. 13 months. During this time, he their crops. Accordingly, in 1647, They were martyred by the underwent cruel tortures and he was seized, tortured and Iroquois Indians in the years ultimately lost the use of his beheaded. 1642, 1648 and 1649. Pope hands. After being rescued by Pius XI beautified them on June the Dutch, he returned to W hen he was 17 Isaac Jogues 21, 1925, and 1930 they were Canada two years later and, in had expressed a desire to be a canonized by the same Pope. 1646, he visited Auriesville, missionary. After his ordination New York, to negotiate peace he was told: —You will go to the St. Isaac Jogues, in particular, with the Iroquois. He is said to New France to die.“ The History of The Indian Church

Founded in 1937 as part of Saint Patrick's Parish, Yorktown, the Church of the North American Martyrs became a Mission of St. Columbanus Church when St. Columbanus Parish was founded in 1950. Father Patrick O'Leary, of Yorktown Heights, later elevated to the rank of Monsignor, was a last guiding spirit in the construction of the Church of North American Martyrs. The building was patterned after a typical meeting house of the Five Nations Tribes. The design of the Church was inspired from the records of The Life of Isaac Jogues by Francis Talbot, S.J. The Church of the North American Martyrs, or Indian Church, reflects the influence of Christian culture upon the Indian tribes. The architecture and the architectural appointments are all symbolic of an era of transition and a gradual infusion of ideas and practices of Christian civilization built into the form or style to which the Indians were accustomed.

St. Paul‘s Chapel, at Lake Oscawana, was named a Mission of St. Columbanus Church when St. Columbanus Parish was formed in 1950. Priests from St. Columbanus served it when it was open for two months each summer. It was permanently closed in July 1966. It would be impossible for the pastor and one assistant to offer the number of Masses required to fill the spiritual needs of the parish. It is only possible through the assistance of the good Friars from Graymoor. This long-standing warm relationship is Church of the North American Martyrs 55 OSCAWANA LAKE ROAD, part of spiritual growth of St. Columbanus. PUTNAM VALLEY, NY Office: 914-737-4705

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