A BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. BRIDGET'SSt. Bridget's was a small neighborhood Irish parish whose membership grew as the city of Rochester did. Its new and much larger building was dedicated on April 12, 1875. This remained the home of St. Bridget's for the next one hundred and twenty-two years. St. Bridget's, with its distinct Romanesque bell tower, has always been a landmark in Rochester history. At one time, the property housed a church, school, rectory, and convent, all in separate buildings. A hero of the Civil War, Colonel Patrick O'Rorke, who fell at the battle of Gettysburg, was a member of the parish. His wife was the church organist. A fire caused damage to the church building in 1937, and various renovations were made to the church, beginning in 1961. Even though membership declined over the following years from as many as 2,300 parishioners, St. Bridget's continued to be a force in Rochester's downtown. Where once the community was all Irish and Italian, the community surrounding St. Bridget's today is truly multicultural. The spring of 1997 saw the now much smaller parish faced with the difficult decision of whether to attempt an astronomical reconstruction to its home, or whether to purchase a newer building that the diocese was going to close in June. After much deliberation and emotion, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to take over the former St. Theresa's church, located just over a mile from St. Bridget's. September 7, 1997 saw the the final mass at St. Bridget's, ending another chapter in the parish's rich history. After over 3 years of lying dormant, Rochester Christian Church Ministries acquired St. Bridget's and the enormous responsibility of restoring the 130 year-old landmark. The first step was making the building safe. In the summer of 2002, after much painstaking consideration and a partial collapse, the entire bell-tower enclosure was removed. Since then, much work has taken place all leading up to what will be a complete restoration of this glorious cathedral. Plans are underway to replace the bell tower with a icon which will respect St. Bridget's history while representing its future. RCCM is thrilled to now be a part of St. Bridget's rich history. As rich as it's history is, we believe that its greatest chapter is yet to be written. |
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