St. Agnes Cathedral

St. Agnes Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Rockville Centre, New York, on Long Island. It is the cathedral for the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The bishop who presides there is Bishop Murphy.

History

The Parish of St. Agnes was founded in 1887, when the first mass was celebrated at Walter Johnson's Blacksmith shop with an anvil as the Altar. By 1890, the blacksmith shop could no longer accommodate the parishioners so a group of parishioners rented Gildersleeve's Hall in the Institute Building. In 1905, a white marble stone church was built. In 1935 the current building was completed and in 1957, Pope Pius XII assigned the Diocese of Rockville Centre to the Cathedral and appointed Most Rev. Walter P. Kellenberg to be its Bishop. 1981 saw a major facelift for the aging building and while the Cathedral was being renovated, Mass was celebrated in the Church of the Episcopal Ascension built temporarily to serve the parish. In 1986, Mother Theresa visited the Cathedral and spoke at a prayer service. In 2007, the Cathedral will participate in a year-long celebration for the 50th Anniversary of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. St. Agnes also has a Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, Cathedral Junior & Senior Girls Choirs and the Cathedral Chorale. The choirs are under the direction of Michael L. Bower and Michael Wustrow. St. Agnes also has a parish school, under the guidance of Sr. Kathy V. Carlin O.P. and Miss Helen Newman.

2001 organ installation and Parish Center

For 19 years, St. Agnes Cathedral did not have a major pipe organ in the cathedral proper. The original pipe organ from the 1930s was built by the Wurlitzer Company and remained in use until 1972. The rector of that time (Monsignor Edward Melton)was concerned with maintaining the parish schools so an electronic organ was temporarily installed. A small Moeller pipe organ was located in the 1960s and 70s near the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and later moved to the Lower Church. The previous church building of 1904 contained a Midmer pipe organ which was enlarged by a Rockville Centre pipe organ builder when a larger rear gallery was built in the "Marble Church." To mark the Jubilee Year of 2000 plans were made to build a new pipe organ for St. Agnes Cathedral Parish. The organ is located in 3 locations in the cathedral to serve the congregation, choirs, and other ministers. (In 2001, The Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois, installed the organ. Also, in 2004, the St Agnes Parish Center celebrated its grand opening. It has served for parish activities ever since.

Recent parish activity

In May 2007, Msgr. Robert Guglielmone was named the new Rector, replacing Msgr. James Kelly. He was formally installed on September 23, 2007

External links

* [http://www.stagnescathedral.org St. Agnes Cathedral]