The Building Years

History:
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Introduction
Beginnings
St. Mary, Rockport
Stone Church
Age of the Streetcar
We Become a Parish
New School
Fr. Calvey
Building Traditions
Altar & Rosary
Calvey Club
Main School Bldg
Depression Years
Youth Organizations
War Years
Post-war Years
Parish Cemetery
Building Years
Aspects of Parish Life
Pastorate of Fr. Kelly
Hunger Center
Changing Needs
R.C.I.A.
Pastoral Council
Reaching Out
Parish Staff
Year of Celebration
Parish Leaders
Daughter Parishes

Other sections:
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Scenes
School
Organizations

New plans had to be developed and options were limited. With the Puritas Loop north of the rectory and private residences east of the school, there was no adjacent land available.

The decision was made to retain the 1898 stone church and roughly double its length. The rectory would also be doubled in size.
The church was enlarged in the early 1950s. (Photo: Cleveland Press Collection, Cleveland State University)

The church closed on the Sunday after Easter 1951 and Masses and devotions were moved to the school auditorium. This affected all parish functions. Some, like the Altar and Rosary Society's White Sale, were held in the school basement. Others could not be moved. The Calvey Club staged a minstrel show, the first since before the war, which required the use of the auditorium. For events like this, a temporary repository for the Blessed Sacrament was set up in another room. The church bazaar was moved to the summer months so it could be held outdoors. Sports programs, starting with basketball, disappeared during this time.

These arrangements demanded the cooperation of everyone. Coming late to Mass in the crowded auditorium proved particularly disruptive. On the Sunday of the Turkey Festival, there were just three hours to take down the chairs and altar, erect the booths and stock them. The process was reversed immediately after the festival to prepare for Monday morning Mass. Funerals and weddings were celebrated in Ascension's church - reciprocation for the use of St. Patrick's facilities when Ascension was being built.

Moving the bazaar brought new possibilities for attractions. The first year featured a pony ride and within a few years carnival rides were offered. The Altar and Rosary Society sent baskets down every street in the parish to be filled with donated household supplies. This "Friendship Booth" effort was so successful that three booths were needed.

The parish St. Vincent de Paul Society, which disbanded after the Depression, formed again in April 1951 and poor boxes were placed in the auditorium on June 17.

Rectory built 1912, enlarged and remodeled 1952 Construction stayed on schedule and the enlarged rectory was ready on April 14, 1952. It was now large enough for four priests, a housekeeper and guests. Shortly after adjusting to new quarters, Fr. John Kline, one of the assistants, left for St. Francis de Sales in Parma. A farewell reception was hosted by the Patrician Club, one of their last events before disbanding.

The first Mass in the renovated church was at midnight on Christmas 1952, 54 years to the day after the very first Mass in the stone church. Except for the outside walls, everything about the church was new, including the ceiling, windows, altars and bell tower. The altars were consecrated by Bishop Floyd Begin on Saturday, June 13, 1953. Archbishop Edward F. Hoban dedicated the church the next day.

The next years included more growth and building. People continued to move into the area as new homes were built. To keep pace with this growth, the parish proceeded with plans to enlarge the school. During the next two years the auditorium was converted into eight classrooms, four on each floor, giving the school 20 rooms for over 1,000 students. The summer bazaar of 1956 featured a Cadillac as the grand prize and carnival rides. With proceeds from this event, the parish purchased the property of William and Martha Code on the far side of the Puritas Loop to build a convent. The parish had always been generous to the nuns - Turkey Festival profits were given to them and, later, annual food showers filled their pantry - and the fund-raising campaign for building the convent was so successful that no loan was needed.

Groundbreaking took place in April 1958. While this work was proceeding, Msgr. Thorpe (he had been honored with the title in 1957) presented the next phase to the parish - a second school building. Work began on the Primary Building as soon as the convent was completed.

Bishop Begin dedicated the convent, large enough to accommodate 19 nuns, on May 9, 1959. The chapel's stained glass windows and decorations were designed by the sisters to reflect their theological emphases and their mission. The Primary Building was dedicated by Archbishop Hoban on September 10, 1960.

The Primary Building was cut off from the rest of the parish buildings by the Puritas Loop. That property was purchased in July 1961, and plans were begun to build an auditorium/gym complex. Completed in July 1965, the complex contains a gym, a meeting room, a kitchen and locker rooms. It was used immediately for weekend Masses.

The last phase of parish construction was the transformation of the church basement into a permanent chapel. There were 11 Masses each weekend and three of them were celebrated in the basement. The air-conditioned chapel was completed in October bringing to a close the largest building project in parish history -- even the garage had been enlarged.