St. Rose of Lima Church (Newtown, Connecticut)
| St. Rose of Lima Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | 46 Church Hill Road Newtown, Connecticut |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Founded | 1859 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Hartford |
| Diocese | Bridgeport |
| Parish | Saint Rose of Lima |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Henry Joseph Mansell |
| Bishop(s) | Frank J. Caggiano |
| Vicar(s) | [The Rev.] Luke Suarez |
| Pastor(s) | The Rev. Msgr. Robert E. Weiss |
| Deacon(s) | The Rev. Messers. Norman Roos, Jr., Richard Scinto and Daniel J. O'Connor, Sr. |
St. Rose of Lima Church is a Roman Catholic parish church at 46 Church Hill Road in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. It is under the authority of the Diocese of Bridgeport, and was founded under the patronage of St. Rose of Lima, the first person born in the Americas to be canonized by the Catholic Church.
History
The first Catholic Mass in Fairfield County, where it is located, was celebrated in Newtown in 1781. The parish was founded in 1859, the first in that region of the county, originally serving 11 towns in the northern part.[1]
The modern Colonial Revival-style church dates from the early 1960s.
School
St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, located at 40 Church Hill Road, provides education to children in preschool through eighth grade.[2] In 2009, the school won the Blue Ribbon Award.
Relation to Sandy Hook shooting
On 14 December 2012, a 20-year-old man, Adam Lanza, killed 26 people at a local elementary school in a tragedy which gained international attention. The dead included twenty children and six members of the school staff. Additionally, the shooter's own mother, whom taught at Sandy Hook Elementary, was found shot to death in her home elsewhere in the town.[3] Initial reports indicated that Lanza might have attended middle school there.[4]
That evening, a candle-light vigil was held at St. Rose Church, at which various religious leaders of the town and the Governor of Connecticut, Dan Malloy, addressed the assembled crowd. The parish offered a special Mass that same evening and the church remained open throughout the night, in order to provide a place of comfort for the people of the town.[5]
On Sunday, 16 December, around noon, someone called the parish office and said, “I’m going to kill everyone there. My friend didn’t finish the job”. Parish officials tried to keep the caller on the line, asking him to repeat himself. He did so, making the same threat in the same words. Churchgoers quickly evacuated church. Police in SWAT gear arrived at the church to check out the area.[6]
References
- ^ "Our Pastor & Parish Staff". St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ "Welcome to St. Rose of Lima School". St. Rose of Lima School. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ^ "Adam Lanza Shot Himself As 1st Responders Closed In, Gov. Dannel Malloy Says". Huffington Post. 16 December 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ Miller, John. "The Brief, Enigmatic Life of Mass-Murderer Adam Lanza". CBS News. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ^ "Home". St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
- ^ Duggan, Paul; Fahrenthold, David A.; Vogel, Steve (17 December 2012). "Obama once again cast in role of comforter-in-chief". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- Roman Catholic churches in Connecticut
- Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut
- Roman Catholic parishes of Diocese of Bridgeport
- Buildings and structures in Newtown, Connecticut
- Churches in Fairfield County, Connecticut
- 1859 establishments in the United States
- Roman Catholic churches completed in the 1960s
- 1960s architecture in the United States