“We establish the seat of the new diocese in the Village of Rockville Centre and accordingly we raise this village to the dignity of an episcopal city; we fix the Chair of the Bishop in the parochial church dedicated to Saint Agnes, situated in the same village, which we therefore raise to the rank and dignity of a Cathedral Church.”
These words were taken from the decree by Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, Titular Archbishop of Laodicea in Phrygia and Apostolic Delegate of Pope Pius XII to the United States announcing the creation of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, May 25, 1957.
The year 2007 is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and to the parishioners of St. Agnes it marks 50 years of our parish church serving as a cathedral. 1957 represented the fulfillment of a dream of Msgr. Peter Quealy, who served as pastor of St. Agnes and later as Cathedral administrator from 1905 until 1959 . By 1933, the marble church that had served the parish of St. Agnes since 1905 was no longer adequate to serve the rapidly growing Catholic population.
Msgr. Quealy lived long enough to see his dream come true. On Sunday afternoon, May 26, 1957 a ten car motorcade escorted by two New York City motorcycle police began at the home of Bishop Kellenberg’s mother on Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx. They made their way through the Bronx and across Queens to the Nassau County Border. Here the Bishop’s entourage was met by various civic and community leaders including Nassau County Executive A. Holly Paterson and continued on to Rockville Centre with a Nassau police escort. Along the way the Bishop stopped at the parishes of Blessed Sacrament and Holy Name of Mary in Valley Stream, Our Lady of Peace in Lynbrook and St. Raymond in East Rockaway. Finally reaching Rockville Centre, Bishop Kellenberg was met by Msgr. Joseph Smith, marshal of the parade and chairman of the arrangements committee. Bishop Kellenberg and Msgr. Smith sitting in an open car were escorted from Maine Avenue and Peninsula Boulevard to Quealy Place.
The afternoon of May 26th would see the beginning St. Agnes’ dual role as parish church and seat of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
Below will take you to pictures and information that record the events of May 26th and May 27th, 1957.
Sunday, May 25, 1957
Church Hierarchy
Pope Pius XII reigned as the 260th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958.
Pope Pius XII was well aware of the rapid growth occurring in the Diocese of Brooklyn particularly in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The Brooklyn Diocese was established in 1853, when the four counties of Long Island where craved from the Archdiocese of New York. As Cardinal Pacelli, Pius was familiar with Long Island having frequently stayed at an estate in Manhasset while he served as the Vatican’s Secretary of State. On April 6, 1957, 7 months after the death of Brooklyn’s Bishop, Thomas E. Molloy, he issued a formal declaration which separated Nassau and Suffolk Counties from Kings and Queens county thus creating the Dioecesis Petropolitana In Insula Longa which is Latin for Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island.
1957 also saw the creation of two other American Dioceses, New Ulm, Minnesota, and Gary, Indiana.
Francis Cardinal Spellman, served as the ninth bishop and sixth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1939 until his death in 1967.
As head of the Metropolitan See of the Ecclesiastical Province in which Rockville Centre lies, it was Cardinal Spellman’s role to preside at the installation of Bishop Kellenberg as the first bishop of Rockville Centre.
Bishop Walter P. Kellenberg, first Bishop of Rockville Centre and Suffragan Bishop of New York.
Bishop Kellenberg was a native New Yorker, born in New York City in 1901. He was ordained a priest by Patrick Cardinal Hayes in St. Patrick’s Cathedral on June 2, 1928. He was made an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of New York in 1953 and in 1954 he was appointed as the Bishop of Ogdensburg in upstate New York.
Bishop Kellenberg was appointed Bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Rockville Centre on April 16, 1957 and formally installed on May 27, 1957. He served as diocesan bishop of Rockville Centre until May 3, 1976 and as Bishop Emeritus until his death on January 11, 1986.
Cathedral Visit
A crowd estimated at 15,000 thronged to the streets surrounding St. Agnes to greet the new bishop. Quealy Place, College Place, Clinton Avenue, and Front Street were filled with spectators.
The crowd waited patiently as Bishop Kellenberg entered St. Agnes Cathedral for a brief visit and prayer.
Bishop Kellenberg prays before the high altar on his first visit.
Bishop Kellenberg prepares to leave the cathedral.
Bishop Kellenberg is escorted from the cathedral by parishioner and Knight of Malta Mr. Benjamin Dowd.
Bishop Kellenberg and Mr. Dowd outside the cathedral.
Bishop Kellenberg seen walking toward the reviewing stand to view the parade that had escorted him from the western border of the village to the cathedral. Fr. Francis Williams (later Msgr. and Cathedral Rector) is seen to the left of the bishop. Fr. Williams, a curate at St. Agnes, represented Msgr. Quealy during the installation of Bishop Kellenberg.
Canonical Possession
Decree from Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate declaring Bishop Kellenberg’s right to assume canonical possession of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, May 25, 1957.
Before entering the Cathedral, to assume canonical possession of the new Diocese of Rockville Centre, Bishop Kellenberg first visited Msgr. Quealy in the rectory. The 92 year old pastor of St. Agnes had viewed the new Bishop’s arrival from a second floor window in the rectory. Bishop Kellenberg requested Msgr. Quealy’s blessing and in return bestowed his own episcopal blessing upon Msgr. Quealy. After meeting with Msgr. Quealy, Bishop Kellenberg presented a Papal Bull to Msgr. Edward P. Hoar, administrator of the Diocese of Brooklyn. At that time the Diocese of Brooklyn was awaiting its own new bishop, Bryan J. McEntegart who had been named to replace Bishop Thomas Molloy, who had died in 1956. Bishop McEntegart was installed as Bishop of Brooklyn in June of 1957.
Having taken possession of the new diocese Fourth Degree members of the Knights of Columbus escort Bishop Kellenberg, seen here on the steps of the rectory, to the Cathedral for a brief prayer.
Reviewing Stand
A reviewing stand was erected at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Front Street for the Bishop and various members of the clergy, parish and local government. Fr. Williams can be seen standing in back of the Bishop.
Marchers assembled in the parking lot opposite the Cathedral to await their turn in the line of march.
Rockville Centre Mayor W. Harry Lister presents Bishop Kellenberg with the key to the village as well as Scroll of Citizenship. After the presentation Bishop Kellenberg responded “What I would like to earn is what Msgr. Quealy has, the key to your hearts. I wish to forge one myself as he did with hard work and love and devotion.”
Parade
The pictures below were taken in front of the Cathedral facing west as the parade passed by. The original St. Agnes Elementary School on the site of the current rectory can be seen in the background of most of these pictures. The front porch of the old rectory, which was set back from the street, can be seen in several of the pictures. The old rectory occupied the open area between the current rectory and the cathedral. Finally, in some of the pictures the upper floors of St. Agnes Academic High School can be seen behind the elementary school and rectory. The Parish Activity Center currently occupies the site of the High School. Click on each photo below to enlarge.
Monday, May 26, 1957
Installation
On Monday, May 27, 1957, Walter P. Kellenberg was formally installed as the first Bishop of Rockville Centre during a 3 hour service which included a procession on Quealy Place and Bishop Kellenberg’s first solemn pontifical mass in the newly designated St. Agnes Cathedral.
The installation was presided over by Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. In addition to Cardinal Spellman, the installation was attended by three archbishops, twenty-five bishops, one hundred monsignors, four hundred priests and one hundred nuns.
Those attending included:
Among the priests assisting at the installation were Fr. Edward Kellenberg, the new bishop’s brother and two priests who would go on to be a part of the life of St. Agnes. Fr. John McGann who would eventually become the second bishop of Rockville Centre and Fr. Robert Mulligan who would one day become cathedral rector.
Installation Program
Click on each photo to enlarge.
Following the installation a luncheon was held at the Garden City Hotel.
