St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Convent, Rectory, and School


St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Convent, Rectory, and School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


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Location	239 Oxford St, Providence, Rhode Island
Coordinates	41°48′06″N 71°24′52″W / 41.801700°N 71.414424°W / 41.801700; -71.414424
Architect	Martin and Hall, basement church Murphy, Hindale and Wright, church superstructure^[2]
Architectural style	Late Gothic Revival
Website	www.saintmichaelprovidence.org/static.html
NRHP reference No.	77000006^[1]
Added to NRHP	March 25, 1977

St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Convent, Rectory, and School is an historic Roman Catholic church complex at 251 Oxford Street in Providence, Rhode Island within the Diocese of Providence.

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Description

The main church building is a large structure of red brick with red-sandstone trim. The Lower (basement) Church was designed by Martin & Hall. The Upper Church (nave and tower) was designed by Ambrose J. Murphy. The complete structure was built over a 25-year period ending in 1915. The rectory, located east of the church, was designed by Ambrose Murphy and built in 1924–25, and is also faced in red brick. The convent stands west of the church; it is a 3+1⁄2-story red-brick structure also designed by Murphy and built in 1929. Behind the convent stands the school building, which faces Gordon Avenue. It is a two-story red-brick building.^[3] The first church building built for St Michael's parish was completed in 1868. It was designed by Ambrose Murphy's uncle, James Murphy (architect). After completion of the new church, it became the Parish Hall. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by an arson fire in the 1970s.

The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.^[1]

Congregation

The congregation was founded in 1859, and served mostly Irish immigrants on the South Side of Providence.^[4] In the 1960s, the neighborhood transformed as white residents moved away to the suburbs and newcomers of various ethnicities moved in.^[4]

In the 1970's, St. Michaels became known as a multicultural parish with a support for progressive organizations and policies.^[4] Social justice activist Sister Ann Keefe and members of the church helped found various progressive causes and hosted meetings for progressive organizations.^[4] As more immigrants arrived, the church hosted masses in English, Hmong, Spanish, Haitian Creoloe, and Kirundi, a language spoken in Rwanda and Burundi.^[4] The church welcomed Catholics who disagreed with the Catholic Church’s teachings on issues such as gay rights and abortion.^[4]

In 2020, Sister Joyce Flowers and pastor Father Robert Paul Perron died, and the church was put under new, more conservative, leadership.^[4] Many congregants saw the new leadership as less inclusive and lacking the previous commitment to social justice.^[4] The Providence Journal reported in 2023 that "at least 100 people have left St. Michael’s since 2020".^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System – (#77000006)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ Norton, Paul F. (2001). Rhode Island Stained Glass An Historical Guide. Dover, New Hampshire: William L. Bauhan. p. 119.
^ "NRHP nomination for St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, Convent, Rectory, and School" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Farzan, Antonia Noori (14 June 2023). "Former parishioners say iconic Providence church has strayed from its social justice roots". Providence, Rhode Island: The Providence Journal. Retrieved 18 June 2023.

External links

Official site of the Holy See

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
Bishops	Ordinaries Thomas Francis Hendricken Matthew Harkins William A. Hickey Francis Patrick Keough Russell McVinney Louis Edward Gelineau Robert Edward Mulvee Thomas Joseph Tobin Richard G. Henning Auxiliaries Thomas Francis Doran Denis Matthew Lowney Thomas Francis Maloney Bernard Matthew Kelly Kenneth Anthony Angell Robert Joseph McManus Robert C. Evans
Churches	List List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence Cathedral Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Parish churches St. Joseph Church, Central Falls St. Matthew's Church, Central Falls Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, Coventry St. Paul Church, Cranston St. Mary's Church, Crompton St. Joseph's Church, Cumberland St. Mary's Church, Newport St. John the Baptist Church, Pawtucket St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception, Pawtucket Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Providence St. Adalbert's Church, Providence St. Joseph's Church, Providence St. Michael's Church, Providence St. Casimir Church, Warren Church of the Precious Blood, Woonsocket St. Ann's Church, Woonsocket St. Charles Borromeo Church, Woonsocket St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Woonsocket Former parish churches Holy Trinity Church, Central Falls Trinity Church, Pawtucket Immaculate Conception Church, Westerly
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Hospitals	Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Providence St. Joseph's Hospital, Providence
Priests	Ernest Bertrand Boland Austin Dowling Salvatore Ronald Matano Daniel Patrick Reilly Francis Xavier Roque William Stang
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