We walked over to Kathy’s today expecting to find her garden in first gear. Her Lenten Roses were in bloom and the daffodils were almost open. Kayakers and fishing boats were out on the bay and the temperature was headed toward seventy. We walked by the new townhouses on Culver, the ones that chased Matthew and Louise out of the neighborhood. I miss them and St. Salome’s, the church they tore down to build the townhouses (you can see one of them behind the sign above). The church was looking pretty run down. I always like that they advertised the “Sacrament of Penance.”
St. Cecilia’s, further down Culver, still has one weekly mass but no parish priests, no school and no bingo. They sold most of their property to a senior living facility. According to the Diocese of Rochester website, Rochester had 54,500 Catholics when the diocese was formed in 1868. The average Catholic then was socio-economically poor and they gathered according to their ethnic background in 35 parish churches (and 29 mission churches.) By 1966 there were 155 parishes (and 36 mission churches.) Each had parish priests and two or three daily masses. Today they are closing shop all over town. There are so many alternatives. Spiritualism was founded in the city of Rochester by the Fox sisters. The Mormon faith originated in Palmyra, just east of Rochester.
2 Comments
Interesting quote on the Spiritualist movement from your wiki-link.
“In 1888, Margaretta confessed that their rappings had been a hoax and publicly demonstrated their method.[2][3] Despite their confession, the Spiritualism movement continued to grow in popularity”
I’m pretty sure the Catholics would admit the miracles involved a parlor trick as well.