By TAMI QUIGLEY Staff Writer
“From a Carriage House to a Cathedral” is the tagline for the centennial year of the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena, which this year is celebrating a century of faith in the West End of Allentown.
Much was happening in 1919. The Treaty of Versailles formally ended World War I. The U.S. Congress formed Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Jack Dempsey was crowned heavyweight boxing champion.
And in a northern corner of what was then the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, St. Catharine of Siena Parish was officially established by Cardinal Dennis Dougherty on Oct. 8, 1919, later to be designated the Cathedral of the new Diocese of Allentown in 1961.
“From a carriage house to a Cathedral. Remember, Rejoice, Believe. This is our theme for the 100th anniversary of the parish of St. Catharine of Siena,” said Monsignor Francis Schoenauer, pastor since 2015.
“Remember. This is the past. Remember the challenges, the efforts, the programs, the failures, the disappointments, the blessings. Above all, remember the people, the priests and the parishioners who built this parish. Remember their faith.
“This is where they built their church; this is where they came together as a faith community to worship. We stand today on the foundation of their faith. The Lord was with them.
“Rejoice. This is the now, the present. This is the time for all the people of our parish to rejoice in the blessings and accomplishments of the past. This is a time for rejoicing. We recognize the accomplishments of the past generations and are very grateful for all they have done. We know that we are the beneficiaries of what was. And we know that the Lord is still with us.
“Believe. This is the future; what is not yet but, with the Lord’s help, will be. We now go forward with the confident assurance that our Lord Jesus will be with us.
“There will continue to be challenges, problems, difficulties and even disappointments. But there will also be dreams. There will also be faith. We know that the Lord Jesus is always faithful. He will be with us in all we do. This is our faith. ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain’ (Ps 727). Our parish is the Lord’s house.”
A Mass and Gala Anniversary Dinner are slated for Sunday, Oct. 6. The celebration will begin with a 3 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Alfred Schlert, followed by the gala at DeSales University Center, Center Valley.
“Catharine of Siena: A Woman for our Time,” a one-woman performance by Adrian Dominican (OP) Sister Nancy Murray, will be presented free of charge Sunday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Walson Center.
Anniversary rosaries and prayer cards are available at the Cathedral office, and there are anniversary banners in the church. A book chronicling the history of the parish will be distributed at the dinner, and a new photo directory of parishioners was published this year.
Father John Phelan was the first pastor of the parish.
Under his leadership, property was acquired from Mrs. Leonard Sefring and converted into a rectory and chapel. By spring 1920 parishioners began converting a stable into a chapel.
The lovely chapel, which was carved from a stable and carriage house, served St. Catharine’s parishioners until 1927.
Construction of a combination church, school and convent began in June 1926. St. Catharine of Siena School (now St. John Vianney Regional School) opened Sept. 4, 1928, with 65 pupils and a faculty of four Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJ), who served until 1997.
A brick, colonial-style church building was completed in 1953.
Due to expanding enrollment, the Annex of the school was built in 1958 at the corner of 18th and Emmet streets. In 1964 the Annex was renovated.
1961 was a banner year. Bishop Joseph McShea was installed as the new Diocese’s first Bishop and named St. Catharine of Siena as the Diocesan Cathedral. The Cathedral Choir was established under the direction of Father Angelo della Picca.
Following Father della Picca, Donald Winzer served more than 30 years as director of music for the Cathedral. Beverly McDevitt assumed the position after Winzer’s retirement.
The parish was now moving into the years of Vatican II and many changes were evident. The first “Mass in English” was celebrated March 7, 1965.
On Feb. 7, 1965 a closed circuit and educational TV was installed at the Cathedral School, which permitted the children to televise their own programs and witness historic events such as inaugurations and space flights.
Channel 39, the public television channel of the Lehigh Valley, sponsored both public and diocesan funds, and supplemented classroom lessons in English, science, history and other subjects. St. Catharine’s school was the first of any grammar school in Allentown, and any Catholic school in the state, to launch this educational technology.
The Cathedral celebrated its 50th anniversary as a parish in 1969. Three years later Bishop McShea initiated major renovations.
Bishop McShea rededicated the Cathedral April 29, 1981, the feast of St. Catharine of Siena, in the presence of Archbishop Pio Laghi, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
A five-point parish revitalization project was initiated in 1999: the Walson Multi-Purpose Center, upgrading the Parish Activity Center, more off-street parking, main school renovations and school annex renovations.
Renovations to the Cathedral occurred under Bishop Edward Cullen in 2005.
The Cathedral School merged with St. Francis of Assisi School and St. Paul School, Allentown, to form St. John Vianney Regional School at the Cathedral site in 2010.
The Women’s Alliance, Cathedral Golden Agers, Knights of Columbus and St. Catharine of Siena Defenders of Life are among the groups contributing to a vibrant parish life.
The 100th Anniversary Committee is comprised of Honorary Chairman William Scharle, Deb Dougher, Julie Weir, Jeanne Treadwell, Tracey Carbonetto, Charles Carbonetto, Charles Gergits, Marge Brogan, Kathy Sagl, Cheryl Dano, Kathy Fridirici, Carol Yeager, Cindy Kelly, Rita Kreibel and Monsignor Schoenauer.
What is a Cathedral?
A Cathedral is the chief Church of a Diocese, in which the Bishop has his throne (cathedra); it is, properly speaking, the Bishop’s Church, wherein he presides, teaches and conducts workshop for the whole Christian community.
The word is derived from the Greek “kathedra” through the Latin “cathedra,” throne, elevated seat. In early ecclesiastical literature it always conveyed the idea of authority.
Christ himself spoke of the scribes and Pharisees as seated on the chair of Moses (Matthew 23:2), and it suffices to recall the two feasts of the Chair of St. Peter (at Antioch and Rome) to show that, in the language of the Fathers, as well as among the monuments of antiquity, the cathedra was the principal symbol of authority.
St. Catharine of Siena was designated the Diocesan Cathedral when the new Diocese was formed from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by the order of Pope St. John XXIII Jan. 28, 1961.
