St. Michael anchored Wooster Square

Yes, the church remains, but the complex that once was there represented the aspirations of the church community to provide opportunities for the residents to fully participate in a religious experience that also encompassed a strong social component.

There were no cherry trees in Wooster Square park when I was growing up. It was just an oasis in the midst of our heavily populated neighborhood, a place to visit occasionally or just to admire as you walked by. One can only imagine how elegant it must have been to have lived in one of the grand houses that surround the park during its heyday as a bastion of Yankee wealth. For us, it was something to be grateful for, all the trees and grass, things that were at a premium in our lives.

Facing the park, on Wooster Place is St. Michael Church, which had originally been built by a group of Baptists. It was not built in the more ornate style of the time, but rather with a simple stucco exterior, whose most imposing feature is the belfry.

When it was subsumed by the Scalabrini Order at the turn of the 20th century and transformed into a Roman Catholic house of worship, the change signaled the beginning of an ambitious effort to provide a complete religious experience to the growing number of immigrant families that were quickly populating the neighborhood. You see, this was designated a national church by the diocese, for those of Italian origin. A rectory was added alongside the church to house the priests who were transferred to New Haven from Italy. The church basement was utilized for meetings and religious education.

But at some point in the third decade, a decision was made to build a separate building that would serve as a social center for the church. It was known as St. Michael Hall, on the corner of Green and Chestnut streets. It must have been considered a great accomplishment to have raised the funds necessary to bring that to fruition.

The building, brick and stone, with a beautiful image of Christ at the top, had meeting rooms and an auditorium in the basement that also doubled as a gym and, over time, kitchen facilities were added.

The hall was used for numerous parish dinners, testimonials and bingo games, and the stage was used for many musical performances and even as a makeshift movie theater, where Italian-language movies were shown. I can remember participating in a Christmas play on that stage when I was in the seventh grade.

During the height of the Catholic Youth Organization movement, many youth dances took place there, as well. The upper level housed a nursery and day-care center, which was organized by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. This was a place where a working mother could enroll a young child for an all-day preschool or after-school program. Its most distinctive feature was the rooftop playground, reminiscent of what you see in some New York schools, where unused space is utilized for a needed activity. The children were served a hot lunch and there were many opportunities for singing around the piano. This program allowed many women to add necessary financial resources to the home by working in one of the local factories.

In 1940, a school was built during the period when parishes throughout the area were promoting the benefits of a religious education. St. Michael School was a grade 1 through 8 facility, and the sisters who taught there lived across the street in the big convent overlooking the green. Again, it was an active and valued addition to the parish and the building, with its limestone exterior and Art Deco embellishments was considered to be an enhancement to the neighborhood. It flourished for nearly 50 years until enrollment dwindled and it was closed. The school had an active group of parents who supported the sisters and it was also the site of religious education for all of the public school children who needed to be prepared for the sacraments of First Communion and confirmation.

When the Sacred Heart order decided to relocate their mother house to Hamden, the old convent was sold and the sisters who were assigned to St. Michael needed housing, so a new convent was built to accommodate them, right next to the school. It was a very impressive complex: church, parish center, school and convent, a true testament to the importance of the church in the lives of so many of the residents. How proud they must have been.

Recently, I noticed reports of the sale of those buildings to a developer who plans to transform them into housing units. I have seen photos of the renovations taking place and I can’t help but feel some pangs of sentimentality at the dissolution of these last vestiges from my childhood there. I was a student at St. Michael School, and I participated in numerous activities in St. Michael Hall, and often wondered what the inside of the convent looked like as I passed it on the street.

These changes mark the end of a very important chapter in the history of Wooster Square. Yes, the church remains, but the complex that once was there represented the aspirations of the church community to provide opportunities for the residents to fully participate in a religious experience that also encompassed a strong social component. It further marked the church as an integral source of support for an immigrant population learning to become part of the mainstream community.

We owe them all a debt of gratitude, the priests and sisters who dedicated themselves to accomplishing their mission of service to the Italian population who were strangers to a new land.

On another note, May is when we observe Mother’s Day, and in the neighborhood that meant pink carnations would be distributed at all the Masses in honor of our mothers, with a white flower for a deceased mom, proudly worn by one and all. A corsage would usually be in order, worn to church and throughout the day. My mother would still cook the dinner on that day, but she appreciated all the gifts and cards she received from her loving family. Mary the universal mother of the Catholic Church would also be honored with a May crowning, involving all the girls and young women of the parish, including my sisters. The church would be filled for this moving ceremony, which usually took place at twilight, and we all felt connected through our shared faith.