Church of St. Martin de Porres (Poughkeepsie, New York)

The Church of St. Martin de Porres
General information
Architectural style	Postmodern (for present church)
Town or city	Poughkeepsie, New York
Country	United States
Construction started	1852 (first church)[1] 1853 (first school and rectory)[1] 1859 (second church)[1]
Completed	1878-1879 (steeple and organ added to 1859 church)[1]
Cost	$4,500 (for 1859 church)[1]
Design and construction
Client	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York

The Church of St. Martin de Porres is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York.

History

The parish was established in 1852 as the Church of the Nativity for the German community of Poughkeepsie, who previously were attended to in St. Peter's Church by New York City German priests.^[1] That same year, the first church was started and a cornerstone laid.^[1] The first pastor was the Rev. Joseph Schaeffer, who had served the community previously at St. Peter's, and he swiftly raised the capital to erect a rectory and school.^[1] The congregation swelled so much that by 1859 a new church was erected at a cost of $4,500.^[1] Partly due to its isolated nature, there was a quick succession of pastors. Among those the Rev. Dr. George Schrader (pastor from 1878 to 1879) purchased the cemetery, installed an organ, and added a steeple.^[1]

The church was rededicated to St. Martin de Porres in 1962. The current pastor is the Msgr. James Sullivan.^[2]

Description

The present church is a large gable-fronted cruciform-on-plan Postmodern structure with a four-stage pyramidal-capped bell tower, surrounded by a parking lot and dense wooded areas to its rear. The interior features a wide array of modern stained glass with less traditional and more recently canonized or beatified Catholic figures.

Pastors

• Rev. Joseph Schaeffer (1852-1853)^[1]
• Rev. John Tanzer (1853-1855)^[1]
• Rev. James Roesch (1855-1859)^[1]
• Rev. Joseph Tuboly (1859-1861)^[1]
• Rev. Jose Volpe (1861-1864)^[1]
• Rev. Caspar John Metzler (1864-1873)^[1]
• Rev. Franz Hundhausen (1874-1878)^[1]
• Rev. Dr. George Schrader (1878-1879)^[1]
• Rev. Callus Bruder (1879-1911)^[1]
• Rev. James Roesch (1911-)^[1]
• Msgr. James Sullivan (present)^[2]

St. Martin de Porres School

The parish school is located on 122 Cedar Valley Road.^[3] The first school was founded out of the parish around 1853 by the Rev. Joseph Schaeffer.^[1] The Rev. Franz Hundhausen (pastor from 1874 to 1878) introduced the Franciscan Sisters from Peekskill, New York as teachers of the school.^[1]

Calvary Cemetery

The church is associated with Calvary Cemetery at 62 LaGrange Avenue, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12603.^[4] The cemetery was purchased by the Rev. Dr. George Schrader (pastor from 1878 to 1879).^[1]

External sites

• Official Website

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w} Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women.. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.427-428.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Letters to the editor — 3/11", Poughkeepsie Journal, 10 March 2011 (Retrieved 12 April 2011).
3. ^ St. Martin de Porres School Webpage Copyright © 2005-2010 St. Martin de Porres School. All rights reserved. (Accessed 12 April 2011)
4. ^ Calvary Cemetery, Poughkeepsie © 1999-2008 St. Martin de Porres Church, Poughkeepsie, NY. All Rights Reserved. Web Site maintenance by Deacon Frank Hung; Web Site design by Jeanette Tully Baker. (Accessed 12 April 2011)