Printed in ICC Parish Bulletin June 23, 2019.
“ST. ANTHONY’S CHURCH HISTORY
Dear Friends;
I recently came upon a small booklet printed on the occasion of St. Anthony’s Church Anniversary of 25 years. St. Anthony was founded as a parish in 1958 (four years after I was born) and this booklet was dated in 1983. The Pastor was Father Thomas Scanlon.
In looking at the early years of establishing a Catholic presence in Pine Plains, it is interesting to see the direct connections between the emerging Church in Pine Plains and the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Amenia.
In 1870, several Irish Catholic families settled in Pine Plains. They traveled by train to Millbrook to attend Mass. As time went by, a priest came from Amenia to celebrate Mass in Pine Plains in a private home.
In 1913, Father Francis Lavelle (who was Pastor in Amenia for over 40 years and has our street named after him) decided that Pine Plains should have a Church of its own. After a Church was built, Father Lavelle came to say Mass on Sundays. Other priests from Amenia also helped and, according to the booklet, a priest was sent from Amenia to be Administration of the Church in Pine Plains.
In the spring of 1958, the people of St. Anthony’s requested a parish be established in Pine Plains. Cardinal Spellman agreed and made Father Vincent McCambley the first Pastor.
The booklet blesses us with some extra facts. Father Lavelle was brought to Pine Plains by parishioners by horse and buggy (“A distance of 15 miles” – for me it is 18 miles). Friends purchased him a fur coat for winter travel.
Apparently a priest named Fr. Joseph Cacella came to say Mass. He came on Saturday and stayed overnight with Mr. & Mrs. Henry Cahill.
It is fascinating to think that life goes in circles. St. Anthony started with the help of Immaculate Conception and now we are back together, helping each other. We are now one parish and one family again.
Fr. Wilson
For more information see Immaculate Conception Parish History.