Mary, Mother of Our Savior Parish is the result of the merger of two parishes that have become one.
The Unification Process
Prior to the pandemic, a group of each parish’s lay leaders was convened by Father Salerno to create a plan of moving forward. The group had to consider the current priest situation and what the two parishes had accomplished together in the prior four years.
The conclusion, which was presented to Bishop Douglas J. Lucia in January, 2021, was to merge the two parishes and create a new, unified parish.
Bishop Lucia accepted the recommendation to unify Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Our Lady of the Rosary Church as one parish, with a new name, Mary Mother of Our Savior Parish.
Bishop Lucia believes the new name is representative of the theological background contained in the individual titles of both parishes. Father Salerno continues as Pastor of Mary, Mother of Our Savior, with the mission of revealing the compassionate Face of God.
The individual histories of the two parishes can be found below.
Our Lady of the Rosary Parish
- 1942
- Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in New Hartford, New York can trace its roots directly to World War II. In 1942, with the war raging, the US Army selected a 175-acre farm on Burrstone Road as a site for a new hospital to treat wounded soldiers. Rhodes General Army Hospital opened in August 1943 with 180 buildings, 1,950 beds, 15 miles of corridors, its own post office, railroad & fire department, and an interdenominational chapel called St. Thomas Moore Chapel. There was also a housing complex called Rhodes Village for the service men & women, workers, and their families to live. When the war ended, the hospital was closed, and the buildings used as a college for veterans on the GI Bill. It was called Mohawk College.
- 1947
- In September 1947, the Rev .Alfred J. Holdredge was appointed chaplain of Mohawk College and an infant Utica College with pastoral privileges to serve the servicemen and women and their families in Rhodes Village.
- 1949
- Father Holdredge bought the Army Chapel from the US government for $1,250 and in the spring of 1949, it was moved across Burrstone Road to its present site. On July 22, 1949, the Chapel was named “The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary.” In 1960 two wings were added to the church to accommodate the growing congregation.
- 1951-1955
- In 1951 the rectory was built and in 1955 two army barracks from Rhodes Hospital were moved to parish grounds and joined to form a Faith Formation Center.
- Nowadays
- Today the parish boasts over 900 active families and one of the largest Faith Formation and Youth Programs in the area. We are closely linked to Notre Dame Jr-Sr High School. Our Faith Formation classes are held there on Sundays and the school uses our church for Masses, retreats, fundraisers, and parking. Former pastors following Fr. Holdredge include: Rev. Peter Paige, Rev. James Riley, Rev. James Fallon, Rev. Felix Colosimo and Rev. Thomas Honold. At the present time we have Father Joe Salerno as our Priest/Administrator.