Cdr John J. Shea Grammar School
All of the following text was written for the 100th Annivesary of the Parish, in 1973.
The Changing Times
In looking back into the pages of history, one I indeed feels the blessings of God's light for having bestowed in our midst the "living endowments" offered by the many Sisters and priests who have come to help throughout the years and have remained as an indelible part of the life of our parish community.
In the 1920's, St. Cecilia's was blessed in the acquisition of a new Community of Religious. This historical event is a very bright page in the annals of our parish. The Sisters of the Atonement of Graymoor began their noble work here, occupying the building which used to be known as the Lyceum. Their abilities and missionary spirit showed in many different ways, helping to assuage the problems of a neighborhood just beginning to show, the earliest signs of a transition that was about to remake the face of New York City.
During the years of 1935-1939, there was a rapid immigration into the parish of Spanish-speaking people, especially from Puerto Rico, and soon it became obvious that what the parish now needed were priests familiar with the language. Like a true Apostle, Monsignor Lennon resigned his pastorship to solve the problem, and was succeeded by the Reverend John Hosey, C.SS.R., who inaugurated the administration of the parish by the Redemptorist for a while so as to assist in this transition. This account, from The Catholic News, November 13, 1948, relates the events that followed:
"A long experience with the Spanish people in Puerto Rico equipped the new pastor and his assistants in a special way for this work. The constant interest and encouragement of Cardinal Spellman made this unique pastoral arrangement most effective.
"The new pastor, Father Hosey, after many successful years in Puerto Rico and in Tampa, Florida, where he erected a new church, was then made rector of the Redemptorists House in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. It was from Ephrata that he was sent to take over as the new pastor of St. Cecilia's. He labored for over five years here, during which, time the number of children in the school reached 1 400.
Commander John J. Shea
"Cardinal Spellman purchased a former Jewish school on East One Hundred and Eleventh Street, and had it renovated. It was blessed and dedicated by His Eminence on Sept. 27, 1943, and called the Commander John J. Shea School (annex of St. Cecilia's) in honor of the heroic Commander who gave his life in the late war. Within a short time 1,000 children occupied the school making 2.400 the total number of children in both schools. The children have as teachers the Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers of Ireland.
"The Redemptorists are here to help the Spanish parishioners. More than half the children in the schools are Spanish. The "padres" are always at the service of the people who wish to preserve the Faith of their ancestors. They have special Masses for those who do not understand English, sermons in Spanish, devotions to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, different societies and social activities. The people are most appreciative and cooperate wonderfully with the padres . . . ."
The Schools of St. Cecilia's
Arrangements had been made for four hundred children for opening day of the Commander John J. Shea Memorial School. Six hundred "stormed the portals." All were taken in, although few spoke English, and those who did, did so with Castillan accent. It is said that the Sisters and Brothers went in for sign language and lip reading, with startling results rewarding their ingenuity.
Due to a vast increase of pupils, especially boys, Monsignor Lennon had found it necessary, in 1939, to procure a larger teaching staff and so the Christian Brothers of Ireland became a very welcome community in St. Cecilia's Parish. It was fortunate that Monsignor Lennon had chosen these teachers whose fame was wide. The wonderful work accomplished by them in the Archdiocese was an assurance of the success they were to achieve here at St. Cecilia's. Equipped in every way, intellectually and spiritually, they attained results that merited the highest commendation of our community and our country, showing wisdom, prudence, and untiring interest. And the keen, bright-eyed youngsters they helped, fresh off the boat or plane from San Juan or Palo Alto or the sugar canefields of Puerto Rico, were beginning to acquire the first real vestiges of American citizenship.
In 1940, when the Redemptorists took over. An incomplete census showed there were about eighteen thousand Catholics in the parish. The estimated number in 1948 was about thirty-five thousand. The number of baptisms in 1940 was three hundred and fifty-two; in 1947 there were six hundred and ninety-one. The children in the parochial school in 1939 numbered six hundred; in 1948, two thousand and four hundred were enrolled. The world, recovering from the most disastrous war in history, was on the move. The new working class of New York City were the Blacks and Puerto Ricans, who had discovered a mobility previously denied them.