Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Church (LaGrangeville, New York) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

located in Lagrangeville,

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organ ...

, under the authority of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the borough ...

. It was established as a mission of

St. Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

in Hopewell Junction in 1998 before being elevated to parish status in 2002. The church was built 2006–2008.

Present church

Cardinal Edward Egan Edward Michael Egan (April 2, 1932 – March 5, 2015) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut from 1988 to 2000 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York i ...

instructed a new church to be built "that would be a standard and model for future churches built in the Archdiocese of New York." The church was built between 2006 and 2008. Cardinal Egan among others dedicated the church on Sunday, November 23, 2008.Parish History of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
/ref> Donald Swartz was chosen as the architect of the new churches after several design proposals were considered in 2002. The engineering firm was The DiSalvo Engineering Group. The main altar contains a relic of Saint

Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Catholic saint and virgin who was an Algonquin–Mohawk. Born in the Mohawk village of O ...

. The church contains significant items from two important

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

churches that had been recently closed. The tabernacle is from Our Lady of Vilnius in Manhattan, and the stained-glass windows by the prominent Bavarian firm of

Mayers of Munich Franz Mayer of Munich is a German stained glass design and manufacturing company, based in Munich, Germany and a major exponent of the Munich-style stained glass, Munich style of stained glass, that has been active throughout most of the world ...

(stained glass makers to the Holy See) were transferred from the Harlem Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Harlem, New York, (1907) installed in 2007. Both closed churches faced lengthy preservation debates to forestall their demolition and architectural details dispersal. Rohlf's Stained Glass Studios of Mt. Vernon, New York completely restored the 100 year old Mayer windows. The

Rose Window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

is also by Rohlf."Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church LaGrangeville, NY", J. Sussman, Inc.
/ref> Rocks containing the names of the parishioners in 2007 were placed under the altar stone. The Rosary Garden was an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

project by Spencer Coffin and many parishioners. The

mission cross A mission cross (german: Missionskreuz) commemorates a "people's mission" (german: Volksmissionen) that has taken place in a parish. These were common throughout Europe prior to the 20th century, and the tradition continues. The cross is usually i ...

built by John McFadden. The former church was transformed into a Faith Formation Center in 2008 and a Parish Office wing was added along with the construction of a new Priest's Residence.

References

External links

Saint Kateri homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha's Church (Lagrangeville, New York) Roman Catholic churches completed in 2008 Postmodern architecture in New York (state) Christian organizations established in 1998 Roman Catholic churches in New York (state) Churches in Dutchess County, New York 21st-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States