Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Churubusco vandalized

May 11—CHURUBUSCO — The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Churubusco was vandalized recently.

Former parishioners and community members are outraged and saddened about the destruction within their beloved ancestral church.

'HEALING, RECONCILIATION, RESTORATION'

The Rev. Tojo Chacko, HGN, pastor of St. Bernard's and St. Edmund's Parish, issued the following statement:

"On Sunday, April 16, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Churubusco was broken into. The involved individuals entered the church and proceeded to commit acts of vandalism. Fire extinguishers were discharged throughout the interior and damage was done to contents of the building. The incident was reported to the New York State Police.

"The investigation is ongoing, and we continue to cooperate with law enforcement. Consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, our goal throughout this process is healing, reconciliation and restoration, both for the church building, to the extent that is possible, and for the involved individuals.

"The parish carries insurance on the building, and a claim has been filed with the insurance company.

"Because the investigation into this matter is ongoing, the parish will make no further comment."

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The native-stone edifice was built in 1888 under the stewardship of Father Jeremiah Patrick Murphy, who based the church's design on one he had seen in Ireland. It is one of four such churches in the world, according to a document in SUNY Plattsburgh's Special Collections.

The contract to build the church was awarded to master builder, Isaac Johnson, who escaped slavery in Kentucky and fought with the 102nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment in Michigan during the Civil War, according to Isaac Johnson biographer and scholar, Dr. Cornel "Corky" Reinhart of Cumberland Head.

Johnson's mother, Jane, was stolen from Madagascar by his Irish grandfather, Griffin Yeager, a trans-Atlantic slave trader in partnership with his brothers.

His father, Richard Yeager, was a Kentucky farmer and a scoundrel, who sold his consort and children into slavery.

In 1897, Johnson fell while cutting stone in Cornwall, Ontario. His injury ended his construction career, and he began writing and subsequently published his memoir, "Slavery Days in Old Kentucky. A True Story of a Father Who Sold His Wife and Four Children. By One of the Children," in Ogdensburg in 1901.

He died on December 4, 1905, and his funeral was at St. Mary's Cathedral and attended by mourners from the local G.A.R. Post and the Stone Masons Union in Ogdensburg, where he is buried.

MASTER WORKS

Johnson's oeuvre includes erecting architectural masterpieces in Canada and throughout the North Country including the Waddington Town Hall, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

He worked on the New York State Psychiatric Center in Ogdensburg as well as an expansion of the City Hospital and Orphanage, according to Richard White in a Dec. 10, 2018 "Adirondack Almanack."

Johnson supervised a crew of 11 men, all white, to build the church in Churubusco, which has been eligible for the National Register of Historic Places since 2017.

The parish was closed in 2010, following the death of its last priest, the Rev. Howard P. McCasland.

'PRIDE OF THIS COMMUNITY'

Churubusco Heritage Preservation (CHP) — a group of former parishioners, community members, past and present, and other concerned individuals and nonprofits — are trying to preserve the church as a community/outreach center and museum with support from Adirondack Architectural Heritage and the Clinton County Historical Association.

The vandalism of the church is a painful and costly setback.

"A wave of shock and sadness was felt by all of us when we heard of the vandalism," Chris Todoruk, who leads CHP, wrote in a statement.

"It is appalling that the vandals were (allegedly) teens, who live near the church and is beyond disrespectful. Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church represents the pride of this community from years gone by."

Todoruk, a Canadian, summered at her family's country home in Churubusco and attended the church.

"Now it is up to Bishop LaValley (Diocese of Ogdensburg), the Town of Clinton, St. Edmund's parish (the owner of the property), and our community to clearly demonstrate that this is not acceptable behavior and choose a proper form of accountability," she wrote.

MAD AS HELL

Born and raised in Churubusco, Geri Favreau made her First Communion and Confirmation at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, where her mother was a member of the Altar and Rosary Society.

"Someone sent me a note that it had been vandalized," Favreau, president of the Clinton County Historical Association, said.

"How do I feel about it? I'm angry that they would do that to that church, that anybody would do it. For these people, it doesn't have to be kids to do these things, that they think it's okay for them to go in there and do that.

"I'm very concerned about the future of the church because they did that. The last time I saw it last summer, it was in very good condition. But, here what they've done? I was really concerned about the art, and I was really concerned about the windows. The walls, they can be cleaned and the carpets and stuff and the pews. But the art and the windows, it's different. They aren't as easily taken care of."

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

Twelve stained-glass windows of Long Island opalescent glass and stations of the cross were paid for by parishioners. Four of the windows are in memory of James and Honora Bray, Thomas and Honora Heffernan, Mrs. Honora Campbell and Mr. and Mrs. John Sweeney.

A cluster of windows were gifted by the Young Men's Society of 1892 and the Young Ladies of Parish. Three others were gifted by the League of the Sacred Heart, The Knights of Columbus 1903, and Mrs. A. Gagnier. The window depicting St. Elizabeth of Hungary was the gift of Elizabeth A. Looby.

The round window, representing the Visitation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, over the main altar was the gift of Bishop Edgar P. Wadhams.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church's walls are adorned with the ecclesiastical paintings by Professor Angelo Gabiele Metallo, according to research by Mick Jarvis, a member of the Town of Chateaugay Historical Society.

Born December 20, 1878 in Calitri, Avellino, Italy, Metallo was a popular ecclesiastical painter working in New England, North Country, and Canada as well as his native Italy.

Metallo returned to Italy to enlist in the Army in World War I. At the end of the war, he designed a monument to "The Great War" soldiers in his hometown. Because of his service and efforts to recognize veterans, he was awarded the Cross of Cavaliere by King Victor Emmanuel of Italy.

"I'm hoping that they will make these people accountable for what they did because if they're not, they're just going to keep doing it," Favreau said.

"They broke a door to get in. Did you see where one of the vandals defecated in a drawer in the sacristy? I mean, come on. What's the matter with people, you know? Sure they thought, it's just an old, abandoned building. Who cares? But, we do care. We care a lot about it."

Email: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com

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