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Church History

"The Church of The Transfiguration is built as the new buildings around it are built.  It means to say that the Gospel, ever told, is also ever new." So said the Most Reverend Bartholomew J. Eustace, Bishop of Camden, at the laying of the cornerstone of the first contemporary church in the Camden Diocese.

A church is the focal point of a parish, but it is the people who constitute a parish.  So, on the fiftieth anniversay of Transfiguation parish, this is a brief record of some of the people who built, served, worshipped, were baptized, married, buried, laughed, cried, argued and agreed in affirmation that the Gospel is ever new in West Collingswood.

IN THE BEGINNING

In the days when cars were a luxury for a few and the churches in Collingswood and Fairview were a long walk from West Collingswood, attendance at even a Sunday Mass was an expedition undertaken by the hardy. The residents of this growing section of South Jersey worked, prayed and constantly petitioned the Bishop for another church.  With the construction of the Parkview Apartments, the need for a church became urgent.

In 1949, St. John's Parish in Collingswood purchased the property at White Horse Pike and Magill Avenues as a site for a church to be erected in the future. Pressure on the Bishop increased.

On February 1, 1950, the Most Reverend Bartholomew J. Eustace, Bishop of Camden, established a new parish in West Collingswood composed of [art pf the parishes of St. John's, Collingswood and St. John of Arc, Fairview.
The Reverend Daniel J. McGill, longtime assistant as founding pastor. Hugh P. McIntyre and Edward J. Fitzgerald, Sr.
were names as lay trustees. Subsequent would include Edward Brennan, Dr. Alex Introcaso, Marie Introcaso, Michael Brennan and Frank Law.

The Bishop's former residence at 500 Browning Road became the Rectory and center of the parish for Masses, meetings,
and planning sessions and other activities.

THE CHURCH

Ground was broken for the church on Sunday, May 18, 1950 by the Right Reverened Monsignor Augustine T. Mozier, Vicar General of the Diocese. Construction commenced.

As the building rose from the ground and started to take shape, it became an attraction. Visitors included not only locals and those who passed by on their way to Philadelphia or shore points, but also architects and builders from many states. This was a "modern church unlike anything of the past", intended to be "characteristic of the post-world war II era yet conformable to its' surroundings in 1950 and the 20th century" according to newspapers of the time. Many visited
the site (like the author and her Mother) were welcomed and invited to become part of the parish by Fr. Magil.

The Church was designed by Paul C. Reily, New York archetect, who also designed Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden.
The most outstanding feature of the building was consisted to be the row of eleven windows, each consisting of sixty-four artistically placed colored panes, tewnty-five feet high from floor to roof, along the Magil Avenue side. These windows were placed at angles so that the light shines directly upon the altar, iluminating the main body of the Church as it passes over the shoulders of the congregation.

The windows on the other side are the same except that they do not rise from the floor. The original plans provided for the addition of an auditorium along the outer wall of the NArthex (vestibule) eliminating the possibility of windows along the lower side of the wall. Thus the windows were placed above the level to the future auditorium roof.

The main entrance to the Church was placed on the right side, not in the center of the Church, so that it would become the entrance to both Church and auditorium, being in the center of the two buildings. (Construction of the school hall in 1963 did not conform to the original architect's plan.)

When the Church was completed, it was described by writers as the time as "an edifice of unusual archetecture","a blend of beauty in cypress and glass" and "one of the most modern and attractive churches in the area because of its' unique design."

Final cost of the Church, including furnishings, was $275,000.

On Sunday, May 20, 1951, the cornerstone was laid by the Most Reverend Bartholomew J. Eustace at a ceremony attended by forty priests and approximately four hundred parishioners. The cornerstone, located under the "choir loft" includes four bricks from the Holy Year door.

The first Mass was celebrated, in the incomplete Church, on Sunday, July 15, 1951. Actually, Fr. McGill celebrated two Masses that day, attended by more than 1100 parishioners, as the Church could accommodate onnly 600 at a time.
That day was also the occasion of the first of many social activities of the Men's Club as they "officially" welcomed Fr. McGill at a dinner attended by 235 club members and guests.

The Church was dedicated formally on November 10, 1951 by Revered Augustine T. Mozier.

Air-conditioning was added in 1985 when Vincent Avellino donated the system in memory of his deceased wife, Ann.

THE MEN

The first of many groups of parishioners, the Men's Club was formed in January 1951 for social and fund-raising purposes.  The charter members included ninety-eight men. Temporary officers were Joseph Widua, president, George J. Morhauser, vice-president, C. Richard Smith, secretary, Joseph Taylor, threasurer. The Executive Committee consisted of Edward J. Fitzgerald, Sr., George Dooley, Sr. and Francis J. Lynch, Jr. Of the charter members, Frank Halbe and Frank Law
remain active in the parish today.

The men formed a second group in October 1951, the Holy Name Society, to promote the religious mission of the Church with the appointment of Edward J. Fitzgerald, Sr. as president, George Gerhard, vice-president, Joseph Ulascewicz, secretary, and Frank Halbe, treasurer.

The Holy Name Society initiated the practice of receipt of communion by the men as a group at 9:15 Sunday Masses as "an inspiring sight and one of the strongest ways- to support out Church" according to then president, Glendin Koster.

By 1955, when they held their first Annual Communion breakfast at the Parkview Restaurant, the Society consisted of ninety-seven members. Officers then were: Frank Law, president, Thomas Pacca, vice-president, Leon Cybulski, treasurer, Christopher Reitze, secretary and Frank Castellani, marshal.

Eventually, many of the Holy Name Society members became Knights of Columbus when a group left the Fairview Council to form the Father McGill Council.

THE WOMEN

Starting in 1951, the women of the new parish conducted on-going fund-raising events. Card parties were held at St. John's Collingswood, and at private homes with the proceeds going to the "building fund." Altar linens were made by Joanne Lorince. Florence Purcell oversaw the upkeep of church and altar, and regularly called upon parishioners for flower donations from their gardens.

In 1952, the women formed the Altar and Rosary Society, under president Eva Halbe, for the purpose of promoting recitation of the rosary and care of the sanctuary and sacristy of the Church. They started their tradition of Annual Communion breakfasts and continued and increased their fundraising activities.

There were cake sales after each Mass, covered dish luncheons, and card parties ($2 donation). They met on the same days as the Holy Name Society for Benediction at 8PM followed by separate business meetings and joint social activities. Over the years they conducted retreats at Pius X Retreat House in Blackwood, trips to Washington, DC, Bucks County, and Rockefeller Center Christmas Shows, string band concerts, Chinese New Year dinners at Lem's Tea House in Cherry Hill, and Dinner and Fashion Shows. Peg Brennan initiated and chaired Lawn Fetes the first Saturdays of June. Starting in 1966, Forence Purcell introduced and for many years chaired Christmas Bazaars in December.

The financial goals of the Society remained the same and every event produced a profit to be used for the maintenance of the altar and sacristy.

In 1977, the Society celebrated their 25th anniversary with 215 members attending Mass followed by cocktails and dinner in the school hall.

THE PARISH COUNCIL

The first elected Parish Council was installed on April 24, 1970 with Bishop Schad presiding.The chairpersons were:
Edward A. Brennan, chairman, Glen Koster, vice-chairman,
Josephine Bak, secretary, Anne Karper, senior citizens,
Edward Morris, ways and means, Theresa Klausner, religious
education, William Kelly, liturgical, Paul Wallace,
maintenance, James Dolan, Youth, Frank Law, school, James
Noon,community and ecumenical, and Rod Reardon, finance.

The Council became dormant during the late seventies, was
reactivated in 1992, and reformatted in 1999.

THE CHILDREN

Sponsored by the Holy Name Society, on February 27, 1955,
the charter for Boy Scout Tropp 86 and Cub Pack 86 was
presented to Frank Halbe and 15 committee members. The
first cub master was John Adams, first scout master
 William Kelly, first Den mothers, Eleanore Toussaint,
Elizabeth Shields, Catherine McGrath, and Gwenevere Pavulak.

Initially there were eleven scouts and nineteen cubs in three dens. The scouts and their leaders met on the fourth Monday of each month, September through May, with an outdoor picnic for families and boys in June.

The packs remained active for a number of years, participating in trips to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, airport Bulletin newspaper plant, and the Annual Klondike derbies at the Pine Hill Scout reservation.

Fr. A. Robert Cairone started CYO and CCD programs in the late fifties, the latter of which continues to be active.

Children were prepared for First Communion and Confirmation, from the beginning of the parish, by the priests and parishioners. The first First Communion service was conducted on November 4, 1951.

When the mortgage for the Church was paid off, the parishioners decided it was time to establish a Catholic school on the premises.

Ground was broken for a school on June 29, 1962 during a heavy downpour of rain. A new architect was selected, Armand J. Nasuti. Work on the eight classroom school building and auditorium social hall proceeded rapidly. The cornerstone was laid and the building dedicated on March 9, 1963 by Archbishop Celestine J. Damiano.

Classes commenced in September 1963 staffed by Sisters of St. Dominic from Blauvelt, NY and six full-time lay teachers. Sr. Rosarita Duggan was the principal and taught fourth grade. The first eighth grade graduation for twenty-one students was held on June 8, 1968. A PTA was introduced in 1970 by Fr. Aherne and then principal, Sr. Teresa Bernard Connolly.

By June 1972, the number of sisters was only four and these
were withdrawn for other assignments. Two members of the
Daughters of Our Lady of Sacred Heart transferred from
St. Francis de Sales, Barrington, in 1972 and together with
 seven full-time lay teachers taught two hundred and ten
first to eighth graders. Sr. Regina Lafferty became principal.
1974 saw the introduction of the first kindergarten class.

Attendance by parish children declined over the years and
the school closed in June 1994.

THE PRIESTS

The founding Pastor was the Reverend Daniel J. McGill, well
 know and loved by parishioners during his years at St.,
John's Collingswood/ He undertook the construction of the
 Church and the establishment of active groups of
parishioners for spiritual and fund-raising purposes. His
sudden death in 1955 left a large vacancy in the hearts of
his flock. When the Knights of Columbus formed their own
Council 5113, they dedicated it to Fr. McGill and named it
for him. A Memorial fund drive financed the purchase of an
altar in memory of Fr. McGill-the altar on which Mass is
now celebrated in the church.

There followed six pastors or administrators and
twenty-eight priests.

The second pastor was the Reverend Edmund M. Aherne who
arrived at the rectory at 500 Browning Road on a Saturday
evening in August 1955. With good-humored zeal, he took on
the new church and its' "fat" mortgage. A reception to
welcome him was held on December 4, 1955 at the Embers in
Pennsauken with a luncheon for more than 200 parishioners.
He was officially welcomed by Frank. J. Suttill on behalf
of all parishioners, by Frank Law for the Holy Name
Society, and Florence Purcell for the Altar and Rosary
Society.

During his tenure in the parish, he presided over the
"mortgage burning" in 1959, the construction of the school
and hall in 1962-96, and the completion of the Rectory in
1969. He was the founding member and founding chaplain of
the Fr. McGill Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Fr. Aherne fostered and supported fund-raisers and parties
 always a dance and a dispensation to eat meat on
St. Patrick's Day (mid-Lent) and a party on New Year's Eve
with over-flowing attendance--as well as "country fairs" and
 Christmas Bazaars.

He celebrated his Silver Jubilee (25th) anniversary as a
priest on April 21, 1968 with Solemn High Mass at 12:30,
a reception in the school hall, and a dinner at Kenny's
Suburban House together with his parents and 400 parishioners.

When sisters arrived to staff the school,  he turned the
Rectory at 500 Browning Road into a Convent and moved into
the Parkview Apartments for a year. Then he lived for six
years in a converted classroom until the present Rectory
was completed in 1969.

In 1975 he transferred to Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Woodlynne. That too was celebrated with a dinner and
reception in the school hall over the course of two days.

Monsignor Edward J. Kennedy arrived in February 1975 to
lead this large parish and school and direct the spiritual
life of the parish. He too inherited a "fat mortgage" and
what would gradually become a group of buildings "showing
their age". His good management skills gave the parish
seventeen years of peaceful continuity during a time when
 much in the world was changing drastically.

He celebrated his Silver Jubilee (25th) anniversary as a
priest on September 23, 1984 with a dinner at The Woodbine
Inn attended by 348 parishioners and guests. His transfer
 to St. Patrick's Woodbury was marked by a Farewell Dinner
at Tavistock County Club on February 23, 1992.

Reverend Donald Trinkle's tenure was brief due to failing
health. He did complete changed inside the Church as
mandated by Vatican II and brought a "new look" with plants,
 flowers and even balloons. He revived the Parish Council
and made tough financial decisions that resulted in the
closing of the school.

The stories of many priests, the two administrators, and
the current pastor, Reverend Richard J. Lodge, who
contributed to the spiritual and temporal life of the
Parish would fill more space than we could fit into this
brief "history". Their names are recorded on a separate
page as well as in the hearts of past and current
parishioners on this the fiftieth anniversary of Transfiguration Parish.