Acknowledgements

About St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church was incorporated July 24, 1874, with a mandate to meet the spiritual needs of the members of the Faith living in North Kingstown and much of the eastern half of neighboring Exeter. The Right Reverend Thomas F. Hendricken, first Bishop of the Diocese of Providence, dedicated the church on July 4, 1875, and administered the Sacrament of Confirmation here for the first time.

The Early Beginnings

The settlers who followed him to the area found the soil wonderfully fertile, albeit very rocky. By the 1700's, families were buying large tracts of land for raising crops and animals. Through the harbor at Wickford, they marketed live animals such as dairy cattle, sheep, hogs, and horses, including the famous Narragansett Pacers. Crops of wheat, rye, barley, corn and oats were also raised for export.

It was not until 1808 that the Diocese of Boston was created, encompassing all of New England. The Diocese of Hartford was established for Connecticut and Rhode Island in 1844. There are conflicting reports about the year the Diocese of Providence was established but the earliest records are dated 1837. At that time, there were twenty five parishes in Rhode Island, but none in this area, then known as "Narragansett Country." Another fifteen years went by before a parish was created in East Greenwich. In 1852, the Church of Holy Name of Jesus, known later as Our Lady of Mercy Church, was established in East Greenwich. Our Lady of Mercy was built in 1869. The pastor in those times, the Reverend William Halligan, also built St. Catherine Church at Apponaug, and renovated St. Francis Church, Wakefield.

The parish lines of Our Lady of Mercy extended from Hillsgrove to the north and south to Hope Valley and Point Judith. Masses for the Wickford parish, or mission, were held in the homes of residents, the Saunderstown school house, and even the North Kingstown Town Hall, then on West Main Street. Father Halligan would travel the sixteen miles from Our Lady of Mercy to Wickford to say Mass in one of these improvised meeting places.

With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the population began to change. Mills sprang up at Lafayette, Hamilton, Annaquatucket, Davisville, Bellville and Shady Lea for the manufacture of cottons, woolens, yarns, webbing, doeskin and jeans. These mills attracted large numbers of Irish and French-Canadian workers who had escaped problems in their homelands and needed work. The town, at 6 a.m. daily, resounded with mill whistles to awaken the workers. There were also noon and shutting-down whistle signals.

Many in this growing population were Catholic, but aside from the Wickford Mission there was no Catholic Church here to respond to their religious needs. Many of their descendants are parishioners in the present day. These descendants tell of their ancestors paying $1.50 per week rent and at some factories, if there was a shutdown, no rent was charged. Weekly wages and food prices were correspondingly low. In addition to these mill workers the parish had many local merchants, particularly general store owners, doctors and lawyers, artisans and craftsmen. Many had brought their skills from their birthplaces overseas.

As the Catholic population grew to a point that it could support a church, Father Halligan bought one-half acre of land for two hundred fifty dollars from Thomas G. and Susan Holloway on June 1, 1874. The deed is on file at the North Kingstown Town Hall. The central part of the present church was then built at a cost of six thousand dollars, with many parishioners contributing materials and labor. The church was dedicated on July 4, 1875 by the Right Reverend Thomas E. Hendricken, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Providence. It is noted that, at that time, the town population had grown to 3,505.

Either Father Halligan or his pastoral predecessors, curates and supplies, often travelled by horse and buggy, some perhaps owned by the pastor or hired from local liveries or provided by early parishioners. It can be safely assumed that they also took advantage of the Providence-Stonington Railroad and transferred to the Newport and Wickford Railroad branch line at Wickford Junction. This line, according to an 1885 timetable, boasted seven trains daily with a Friday night special, all connecting with the Newport boat at Wickford. The priests would have alighted at Belleville Station - once located about 2000 feet from the church - be met by a parishioner, and given meals and shelter. It was a fact of life in those times that when travelling by any local conveyance the dirt roads were often quagmires of mud or made impassable by deep snows; there was no Mass under these conditions.

The Stories of History

Providence College, over the years, sent from its classrooms and the Order of Preachers many learned men, some with a great sense of humor. One in particular rode a red Indian motorcycle to Wickford Saturday nights. He would read a couple of Masses on a summer Sunday, zip through the last one in the minimum time allowed by church law and, within minutes, be in civvies and roaring off to the beach on his motorcycle.

Another more serious and equally devout member of the cloth who was here for many years was an extremely nervous man. Latecomers to Mass would cause him to halt Mass and demand that the tardy take seats down front. A very devout lady who attended Mass daily finally got the answer. The clergyman was being tipped off to late arrivals by a squeaky church front door. One morning she brought an oil can with her and oiled the hinges. No more squeaks. On another occasion, a girl was sent home from Catechism because her kneecaps were exposed between high black stockings and skirt. Her mother promptly sent her back, this time dressed appropriately.

There was one early pastor who did not drive a car and each Monday morning he headed for Providence - hitchhiking. He was known to stop members of other faiths and ask for a ride. But undoubtedly the bravest priest we had as a curate was a Father Norman. His full name does not appear in the records of the 1930's. Father Norman was totally blind. He did it all - except to give the announcements and preach.

On the lighter side, it could be said that St. Bernard Church's properties were built on cakes, hundreds of them, miles of aprons, and tons of food, all made and sold by the ladies of each generation. The men raffled Indian blankets, tons of chocolates and an ocean of soda at lawn parties, fairs, plays and festivals to raise money. This was long before bingo appeared and that game did not linger here too many years although there were staunch financial supporters.

When The Century Was Young

A major contribution to the parish took place in 1913 when Father McKenna had electric lights installed in both the Church and the rectory. This change was surely anticipated, since the electric-powered Sea Yiew trolleys, connecting at East Greenwich for Providence, had been operating from East Greenwich, through Wickford, to Narragansett Pier and Wakefield as early as 1899. When you consider that our parish in those days extended the full length of North Kingstown from the East Greenwich town line at the north to the Narragansett town line at the south, those trolleys must have provided good transportation for the parishioners. There were often "specials" that were run from Hamilton to Wickford for evening services and missions - by lamplight.

Father McKenna's records contain many interesting comments. Because a snow storm was so severe only he, the altar boy and one parishioner "made" one Sunday Mass. Another item: "Sexton let the (church) fire go out," on a particularly cold Sunday. Father McKenna, in 1905, succeeded in having a portion of Elm Grove Cemetery set aside for use of Catholics. One of the first funeral Masses was for a Civil War veteran. In the four wars to follow many of our young men and women served our country and some made the supreme sacrifice with their lives.

The Reverend Joseph P. Gibbons was assigned as pastor by Bishop Matthew Harkins in 1915. Father Gibbons, in 1917, had two wings added to the church; one a sacristy. The other, for baptisms, was also used to alleviate overcrowding caused by summer parishioners. In 1919, Father Gibbons obtained permission from the Bishop to add a front porch to the church, not to exceed thirteen hundred and sixty dollars. This is now the vestibule. In those times there was but one front door and two side aisles. Father Gibbons was later to be elevated to Monsignor. While in Wickford he became the first pastor to get an automobile. The horse and carriage sheds were moved to the rear of the church, and a driveway was installed. He was way ahead of his time in the then unknown ecumenical movement. He spread his quick wit and charm across the town, winning many non-Catholic friends when they were needed because times were troublesome.

"Priests are men chosen from among men. In no respect are they different from any other men. They are weak, sinful, with hereditary faults and limited talents - men in need of God's mercy.

"Such are the men chosen by God to be servants of the altar in our holy community.

"We priests are Christians, baptized, confirmed and ordained to eternal life. We are Christians who must daily eat the bread of the Lord as sustenance for our pilgrimage through life. We will ultimately stand before the judgment of Jesus Christ with no appeal to dignity or to off ce but only to His gracious mercy.

"In the end we are still only your brothers."

. . . Karl Rahner

Into The Twenties

In 1928, Reverend John L. Cooney was appointed pastor by the Most Reverend William A. Hickey. Father Cooney made the most radical changes at our church since the days of Father McKenna. He lengthened the church twenty feet, extending the vestibule and nave, moved the altar rail forward, the choir loft back. The St. Bernard window was moved to the sacristy and a new one, eight feet wide, placed over the sacristy. The entire interior of the church was refinished and a new pipe organ installed. Outside, new walks were laid and landscaping done. He bought more land below and east of the church and had the present hall built at a cost of eight thousand dollars. The interior of the rectory was also refurbished. Father Cooney had a forceful manner of exhorting his parishioners to work even harder, but he was also modest. Not many were aware that while he was with us, to fill a vacancy caused by a staff death at the Cathedral, he was named by the bishop as diocesan attorney. At St. Bernard, he too relied on lawn parties for some income and held weekly benefit whist parties in the rectory. He also arranged to transport nuns from a summer retreat at Grace Haven to our Masses.

"Let your light shine before men, in order that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5. 16

The Forties

It was during Father Murphy's pastorate that the Naval bases at Quonset and Davisville were built. Quonset had its Dixie Kiefer Memorial Chapel with its revolving altars to serve all faiths. There was a great coming and going there of Naval Chaplains, of course, and no lack of confessors. Nonetheless, St. Bernard Church ranks were swollen as dozens of Civil Service workers and Navy personnel attended our services. Many are still with us today, with a few still playing leading roles in parish life. Father Murphy ran clothing drives for war sufferers overseas. Because of food rationing in the United States the church's public suppers were cancelled, but the pastor did not eliminate the children's Christmas parties at the hall. In 1944 he got permission to use five town schools for a Catholic summer school. Father Murphy was a very kindly, devout man who was "toiling in the vineyard of the Lord" as he often said from the altar.

The Reverend Edward J. Gately came to us upon his appointment by Bishop Keough in 1944. He won almost immediate favor with the congregation because of his affable manner. One radical departure he attempted was, instead of a lawn party, to run a week-long carnival, complete with rides and fireworks, on the athletic fields of the Wickford Naval Housing Project (a development that was only vacated in early 1974).

Father Gately had the rectory painted and made other repairs to the property but major capital improvements were out of the question because of war-caused shortages of not only food but gasoline, clothing, building materials, etc. Father Gately was a jovial soul who made a host of friends in the town; it was unfortunate that his pastoral tenure was a relatively short one.

Our seventh pastor, the Reverend Cornelius Collins, was appointed in 1947 by Bishop Keough. New religious history lay ahead for St. Bernard Church through this pastorate and those to follow up to the present. Father Collins was a devout and serious man who, the same as some of his predecessors, had a number of unusual ideas. He was deep into the education field when he arrived in Wickford from previous university posts, and was to become the first chairman of the governor-appointed State Board of Regents that controls Rhode Island's institutions of higher learning, a post he held for several years and filled with great honor.

The pastor hired a man who can best be described as an itinerant artist. For nearly two years the artist's scaffolding remained in the main church as this artist created, in several oil colors, on walls and ceiling, a great variety of figures mindful of the Sistine Chapel and the Renaissance. The finished works brought no verbal complaints of record in this colonial village and, by the same token, no great plaudits. The next pastor had the art work painted over.

Father Collins made further religious history by opening our first parochial school in the basement of the hall. He brought here our first nuns, the Sisters of the Cross and Passion. These first half-dozen nuns had successors and all won the love and affection of the people and the children.

The school opened January 1, 1950, with four grades and an enrollment of 185 students. The new, modern brick school was built in 1956, at a cost of sixty-five thousand dollars, after Father Collins bought the former Denicourt property where Father McKenna had first lived. The same year he added four classrooms, giving the school eight full grades, with an enrollment that reached three hundred and thirty. The Mother Superiors, who also were on the faculty were Sisters Jean Marie, Berenice, St. Gerard, Gabriel, Josephine, Assumpta, Elizabeth Ann, and Michael Vincent. Sisters Jean Marie, Berenice, Vincent, Mary and Michael Vincent, were successive school principals.

Earlier, Father Collins bought the so-called Sherman property and had the dwelling removed south of the church; this today is our second parking lot by the church. He later added a wing to the convent, giving the nuns their much-needed private chapel. The school was closed in 1970 and only a few of the nuns remained in the area, some serving at the Prout School near Wakefield.

Times of Change

With approval of the Bishop, North Kingstown was divided nearly in half in 1969, with the north end becoming St. Francis de Sales Parish. Masses were first held in a nearby fire station and the new church opened July 25, 1970. The first pastor was the Reverend Francis Driscoll. The second pastor was Reverend Thomas H. Driscoll (no relation to first pastor) a former curate at St. Bernard Church. In 1974 St. Francis de Sales served six hundred and fifty-six families, and St. Bernard Church, nearly seven hundred. Simple arithmetic indicated that without our sister church and good neighbor to the north, our own church would have had to have been doubled in size, Masses, and staff. In the interim we also lost some of our summer parishioners, all of whom have been very generous benefactors over the decades, when the new diocesan-owned St. Veronica's Chapel was built on Boston Neck Road, Bonnet Shores. Originally open only during the summer season, the Chapel is now serving the community year 'round. It operates under the jurisdiction of St. Thomas More Church, Narragansett.

All of this occurred during Father Degnan's pastorate at Wickford. It was his saddened duty to close the parochial school because of the rising and prohibitive operational costs. Meanwhile, he continued making capital improvements on the church property, and for the first time the sacristy was supplied with running water. Father Degnan had the interior of the church refinished and acoustical tiles installed in the ceiling. A sound system was also installed and the pipe organ was replaced by a new electric organ.

Father Degnan presided over major changes to the parish during his time at the helm. After fourteen years of dedicated service, he was designated Pastor Emeritus in 1971.

The End of the Century

It was to the youth of the parish that Father Fountain turned much of his early attention. Religious classes, of course, were continued, but it was not long before he organized the then famous, Indian-costumed (as befits this Narragansett Indian country) St. Bernard Braves Drum and Bugle Corps. The Corps won many awards for its appearances in parades in the state under the guidelines set for this pastor's previous bands, who were participants in the annual St. Patrick's Day march down New York's famed Fifth Avenue.

For the adults, a Social Club was organized and many entertainments and socials were held in the hall and elsewhere. Thev ran the Twenty-Five Week Club, Parish Appreciation Night, dinner dances and a variety show. For the young people of the church, he organized girls and boys baseball, basketball, and softball teams. Other activities included ski trips, roller skating parties, and boat trips to Block Island, Father Fountain's first assignment after ordination. To provide transportation for these activities, Father acquired a school bus, had it painted blue, and drove it himself.

A new sound system was installed in the church. After the passage of several years, the continuing growth of the town created the need for a larger church. Father rose to this challenge. The side walls were removed and the church expanded in width to provide about thirty percent more seating. The choir loft was also redesigned to accommodate more people. Pews, carpeting, and stained glass windows were replaced, and a "crying room" provided where parents with young children could attend Mass without distracting the congregation. During the renovation period, Mass was held in the church hall. Other capital improvements to the church in the 1970s included repainting the main building, and the addition of vinyl siding on the rectory.

Father Fountain had not been in town for very long before he was accorded the singular honor of being named the first chaplain in the history of the North Kingstown Police Department. He was deeply involved locally in the ecumenical movement, and introduced, with the cooperation of other clergy in town, the annual summertime Blessing of the Fleet at the town dock.

Father Fountain served as a Chaplain in the United States Air Force in the European Theater. Besides being Chaplain of the North Kingstown Police, he was also Department Chaplain of the American Legion, Chaplain of the National Council of Catholic Women, Wing Chaplain of the Rhode Island Civil Air Patrol, Board Director of the Monsignor Matthew F. Clarke Regional School, and Diocesan Dean of Washington County North.

In 1985, after a very active pastorate, Father's health declined. Named "Pastor Emeritus," he retired to a rest home for priests. He died June 19, 1994, leaving a number of friends who remember his many contributions to our parish and to the community at large.

Reverend Robert F. Caul was appointed as administrator pro tem of St. Bernard Parish by the Most Reverend Louis E. Gelineau in 1985. His assignment was to relieve Father Fountain of the pressing day-to-day duties of running a parish as his health began to fail, and then to remain in that position until another pastor had been appointed.

Slnce both the church and the hall had been remodeled during Father Fountain's pastorale, there was no immediate need to make capital improvements to the property. Furthermore. due to the temporary nature of Father Caul's assignment, substantial proiects seemed out of the question. Instead, Father Caul channeled his energies into updating parishioners on the theology of the Eucharist and the prayer tradition of the Church, areas in which he had special interest and background.

To assist in accomplishing these goals, Father sought and trained lay ministers of the Eucharist, instituted the use of a cantor at Mass, and widened the selection of rectors for the Liturgy of the Word. During Lent, he scheduled "Evenings of Prayer" which utilized various forms of prayer such as Praying the Scripture and other traditional types of prayer.

Father was also an excellent homilist. Even in his short homilies on weekday mornings, he seemed to be able to set forth an idea that everyone could assimilate and use. This ability was greatly valued.

Reverend Frederick J. Halloran was appointed pastor of St. Bernard Parish on May 15, 1987 by the Most Reverend Louis E. Gelineau. Father came to us from St. Teresa Parish in Providence where he had been Pastor for six years.

One of Father Halloran's first projects was to renovate the interior of the rectory. He followed that with a renovation of the church hall. To complete the new look, the Women's Guild provided new draperies for the windows. In his memory as well as in appreciation for all the work he had accomplished there, the hall has since been designated "Father Halloran Hall."

Father devoted a great deal of time and attention to the program of religious education for the children of the parish and showed fitting appreciation for the work of catechists in carrying out this program. Appreclation dinners were sponsored for teachers and for parishioners who devoted time and energy fulfilling lay roles in the Church. A scholarship fund was supported by money raisers such as raffling off quilts made by members of the Women's Guild and running pancake breakfasts. Many young people have been helped by these scholarships to continue their education.

Father had a very special talent for remembering people's names and soon knew almost everyone in the parish. This and his Irish wit made him many friends.

Father Halloran had relatives in Ireland that he enjoyed visiting. In the summer of 1993 he went to Ireland to perform the wedding ceremony for one of these relatives. He often joked that he would like to die in Ireland. Strangely enough, while on this visit, he actually did, quite suddenly, on the nineteenth of July. His many relatives and friends, both here and on the "auld sod," were deeply saddened bv his passing.

Reverend Gerard O. Sabourin was appointed pastor of St. Bernard Parish in August 1993 by the Most Reverend Louis E. Gelineau. This appointment was added to Father's two previous appointments: one with the handicapped and the other with the Kateri Tekakwitha Mission in Exeter.

In 1968 Father Sabourin accepted a special designation as Director of the Diocesan Apostolate for the Handicapped. In this role, he was part of an ecumenical pastoral team planning for and integrating people with handicaps into parish life. Father's Sabourin's second challenge came in 1982 when the Bishop appointed him assistant pastor of St. Bernard Parish and assigned him the task of starting a mission in Exeter, the only town in Rhode Island that had no Catholic church within its boundaries. This assignment was the fulfillment of a dream for Father Sabourin - he later said, "I remember wanting to be a priest when I was very young and the kind of priest I wanted to be was a missionary priest."

The Diocese of Providence had the possibility of a mission in mind when the Gardner property in Exeter was purchased. "A mission," a diocesan official explained, "is like a 'branch office' of an existing church," in this case, St. Bernard Church. The relationship appears to be the same as that which existed between Catholics in our area and Our Lady of Mercy Parish in East Greenwich during the years 1869 to 1904.

Father Sabourin added many eucharistic ministers and rectors, and divided the parish into ten communities to which were assigned lay eucharistic ministers to make weekly visits the sick in those communities. It was also during Father Sabourin's tenure that girls, for the first time, joined boys as altar servers.

Capital improvements to the parish facilities continued, most notably with the old school building as a Parish Center, which is in use today. Many changes in the layout of the church itself were made, the most obvious being the transfer of the choir to the front of the church, behind the altar.

The New Millennium

Father Reardon has firmly established his position as a dynamic and engaged leader of the parish, giving his imprimatur to a sweeping analysis of the needs of parishioners and how these can best be met with both existing and future physical assets of the parish. He has set in motion a comprehensive effort to redefine the mission and goals of St. Bernard's, which will set its course for the 21st century.