24. Pastorate of Msgr. Aloysius Weber 1968-1973
Msgr. Weber was born in 1909 and ordained a priest in 1935. He became pastor of St. Peter's Church in Monticello in 1965. He was appointed Dean of Clergy of Sullivan County and a Monsignor in 1966. He was assigned as pastor to our parish on July 28, 1968. Although he was canonically our pastor until July 23, 1979, after five years, illness prevented him from functioning as pastor. On April 28,1973, Fr. Frank Walsh was appointed Administrator. Although Fr. Walsh did not become the canonical pastor until 1979, he was in reality the pastor since 1973.
1968 was a tumultuous year. It saw the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the Tet offensive in Vietnam, and worldwide student unrest. In the Catholic Church Terrence Cooke is appointed Archbishop of New York and Pope Paul VI issues his encyclical "Humanae Vitae' which prohibits all forms of artificial contraceptive. In St. Mary's, the Christian Brothers, citing lack of personnel, leave St. Mary's School. The new pastor, after only nine months, retires, Fr. James Doyle, after nine years as an assistant pastor is transferred. The new school is being built and the old school is being torn down.
On June 30,1968, The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 goes into effect. Abolishing an earlier quota system that favored Europeans, it now opens the door to immigrants from other nations. People from Southwest Asia, Africa, the Middle East, West Indies, Cuba, Central America and Mexico begin to arrive in increasingly large numbers. The Bracero Program, which allowed contract laborers from Mexico to enter the United States (many received green cards and legal residency), was abolished resulting in many Mexicans entering the United States illegally. Mass in Spanish continued to be celebrated on Sundays in St. Mary's chapel. On July 14, 1968 Dr. Selim Sayegh, a priest (a future auxiliary Bishop) from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, using the Arabic language in the Roman Rite, baptized eleven children in St. Mary's chapel.
From 1968 on, nineteen subsidized housing projects would be built in Southwest Yonkers
On September 1968, classes began in the new school. On its first day, Sister Leonard introduced the new pastor, Msgr. Weber, and asked for his blessing. Despite all the changes that had taken place in the past few years the transition from the old school to the new seemed to have taken place smoothly. If it did, it was mainly through the leadership of Sr. Miriam Leonard Howeiler. A teacher at St. Mary's from 1937 to 1943, she returned as principal in 1963. She remained in that position until 1972. In those pivotal years she was the captain guiding the ship through turbulent waters.
What was it like to be a teacher at that time? In 1996 I asked Anita Hadala to describe those years. Here are her some of her memories:
"In September of 1961, I was hired by Brother George, principal of the Boy's Department, to teach the fourth grade until he could find a permanent teacher. This was to be a temporary thing but God had other plans. I continued teaching and I'm still there.
"The class sizes ranged from 50 -60 boys (the same held true for the Girl's Department). They sat in two's bench-like seats and shared a common desk top. The desk had an inkwell at the top right. Fountain pens were still used in those days. My first class had 53 boys, one of whom was Terence Zaleski, the future Mayor of Yonkers.
"The Faculty and Staff at that time consisted of 17 teachers: 13 religious (4 Brothers and 7 Sisters of Charity, 4 lay teachers, 2 principals (both religious) and a secretary. The secretary was shared by both departments. In the mornings she was in the Girl's Dept. and in the afternoon she was in the Boy's Dept. Many mothers volunteered at this time. The student population in the 60's consisted mostly of Irish and Italian descent with a few Polish, Blacks, Hispanics and Arabs. As years went by more lay teachers became members of the faculty as nuns, brothers and priests left their orders. Some of the lay teachers hired were former religious.
"In the old school there were no restroom facilities for the faculty. Some of us had to come down three flights of stairs and use the facilities on the first floor located in the girl's Department. There was no faculty room. For the first four years we ate our lunches in the classroom. Shortly after, Brother Sylvester and the other Brothers cleaned out a stock room. This became our Faculty Room. It had just enough room for a small table and chairs. We passed our lunch trays over our heads, because once you sat, there was no mobility.
"Fire drills were not welcomed in the school. The metal fire escapes were old and shaky. The teachers' high heels were hazardous. They often got caught in the spaces on the steps. The older grades would take the younger ones by hand and guide them up and then down again. There was one Brother who refused to go down those stairs. He would meet his class outside.
"At holiday times staff parties were held in the large staff room and sometime later they were also held in the convent. The faculty and staff at St. Mary's, no matter who or what years, were like a family. We always shared, helped one another and had good times together.
"The seventh and eighth grade teachers in the two departments departmentalized their schedules. To make this happen within a certain time schedule they had to come though my classroom. This would occur twice a day. My class was unbelievable. Both seventh and eighth grades came and returned. The right back door (which lead to the coat room) and a left side door (which led to the eighth grade) were used. The older children did not utter a sound. I was able to teach and my class was not distracted once they got use to the procedure. Sister Dolores would come and praise them. They were the talk of the school.
"The new school brought many changes. The Brothers left and St. Mary's was now unified under Sister Leonard as the principal. The teachers had a beautiful Faculty Room with ideal facilities. The enrollment was very good. There were two of each grade. The ethnic makeup of the school began slowly to change. I look back on those times with fond memories."
Footnote: In 1968 the enrollment in the school was 722; 586 non-Hispanic Whites, 117 Hispanics, 19 African-Americans.
In 1972 the enrollment in the school was 607; 486 non-Hispanic Whites, 107 Hispanics, 21 African- Americans, 11 other(Asian, Arabs).
One of the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council(1963-1965) was for a greater involvement of the laity in the Catholic Church. The Archdiocese of New York recommended the forming of a Parish Council in every parish. Msgr. Weber had experience as a representative from Sullivan County on the initial New York's Priest Council so he encouraged the formation of St. Mary's Parish Council.
The first meeting of the Parish Council took place on September 22, 1969. Its first elected chairman was John Mastronardi. These first members decided to follow the recommendations of the Archdiocese of New York which significantly increased the numbers on the council. A constitution was drawn up for the "Church of the Immaculate Conception, more commonly known as St. Mary's." There were five committees, each with a representative on the council: administration, religious education, social action, parish activities and liturgy. There were twenty- six members, including one representative from each of the eleven parish organizations (Ladies Auxiliary, Holy Name, Young Adults, Bingo Workers, St. Mary's Players, School Mothers, Ushers, Boy Scout Parents Association, Senior Citizens and Members of CARE.) Ex-officio members were the pastor, priest assistants, two trustees, principal of the school and a representative of the Sisters of Charity. Three "parish- at- large members" were elected by the parishioners.
What was its authority? Not clear. This would present problems in the not so distant future.
The minutes of these Council meetings, including committee reports, have been preserved in our archives. They give us a very good description of what was going on in Msgr. Weber's time.
The great concern was finances, especially the financial situation of the school. With the defeat of efforts to repeal the Blame Amendment (no financial aid to private or religious schools), the future of Catholic schools was bleak. Tuition had to be raised but by how much? It was $200 per family when the new school opened. An Education Committee report on April 18, 1971 by Ed Condon painted a troubled financial future.
The Social Action committee reported a meeting with Housing authorities about the possibility of St. Mary's sponsoring middle income housing on Jackson St. Nothing came of this.
The Liturgy Committee discussed the type of bread to be used at Mass, Holy Communion under both species, women as commentators, a Folk Mass for adults and many other concerns.
The Parish Activities Committee was the most active. It tried to be fair in dealing with all the demands for the use of the Parish Hall. Of particular concern was "The St. Mary's Players." A very competent group, they performed Broadway shows four times a year (four nights each) and needed time in the Hall for performances and rehearsals. As Bingo nights increased it was difficult to find enough time and space for both of them. (Guess who won that battle?).
The Parish Hall building dated back to 1848 and was always in need of repairs. The roof of the Parish Hall was replaced, lavatories increased in size, and air conditioning was installed. This latter was against the advice of the Chancery office ("you don't have the money") but Msgr. Weber went ahead anyway. "It is needed for the summer Bingo players."
There were significant changes in personnel. Fr. Edward O'Donnell, after serving eleven years (1954-56, 1961-1970) at St. Mary's, was made pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church in Manhattan (where Fr. Dan Berrigan, an anti-war activist, had recently hid from the FBI.) A young priest, Fr. Raymond Kovachs arrived in 1969 and served St. Mary's parish for seven years. Sr. Leonard stepped down as principal of the school in June of 1972 and became Director of Mary the Queen Convent on Vark Ave. Sr. Nancy McNamara then became the new principal of St. Mary's school.
By 1973 Msgr. Weber had become increasingly ill and was in and out of the hospital. He asked the Chancery for help in administering the parish. Fr. Francis Walsh was assigned as Administrator in April 28, 1973. Although Msgr. Weber was canonically the pastor (and still resided in the rectory and celebrated Mass), the parish was administered by Fr. Walsh. Msgr. Weber retired officially at the age of seventy on July 23, 1979. He died on July 3, 1981 and was buried in St. Raymond's cemetery.