By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville celebrates the 150th anniversary of its inception this year.
To coincide with the anniversary, the parish’s resident historian Kelly Ann Kelly has written a new book on the Roman Catholic church’s history.
“It seems like a good time to look back on our history and celebrate the people who founded the church and have maintained it all of this time,” Kelly said.
The parish started in August 1869 when Irish immigrant Father James O’Reilly arrived in the village and became its first pastor.
The construction of the original church, located at 103 South Manlius St., began three months later. The church’s first-ever mass took place on Christmas in 1870.
“When the church started in 1869, this was a very rural, agricultural and a little bit industrial area because of the Erie Canal and the natural resources,” Kelly said. “It was hard to understand what was going on in the church without understanding what was going on in the community or in the country.”
Kelly inherited the findings of her predecessor in the role of parish historian, Mary Fietta, who spent decades alongside assistant pastors and other female parishioners pouring through church documents, looking at sacramental records and collecting information from neighboring churches like St. James Roman Catholic Church in Cazenovia.
Fietta eventually crafted a book about Immaculate Conception’s 125th anniversary.
Kelly, who has served as the historian in an official capacity since 2007, said she has spent the past three years “working in earnest” on her updated and expanded history.
Kelly had the advantage of the internet on her side when it came to research.
She also surfed through the Fayetteville Free Library’s newspaper databases and examined such archival discoveries as parish council minutes, financial records and rare 19th century photographs.
Through her research on the church and the surrounding area, Kelly came across new storylines that rendered previously published details misleading or fully erroneous.
For example, Father Bartholomew Stack had been portrayed in preceding histories as “tight-fisted with the church’s money” in his time as pastor from 1915 to 1923, according to Kelly.
She said he had been described as unwilling to spend money on coal during the cold months, opting to preach in a tasseled hat and winter coat.
However, Kelly found out that a fuel famine had impacted the area during his tenure, part of which fell during World War I.
“He probably couldn’t have spent more money on the coal if he wanted to, and I think that puts his legacy in a little different light,” Kelly said.
The 150th anniversary festivities included a day of volunteer service throughout the community, the return of former pastors to celebrate liturgy during Lent and historical displays at the church.
The year-round celebration also takes note of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the current Immaculate Conception Church at 400 Salt Springs Road, which underwent a renovation project completed in 2017.
The relocation to Salt Springs Road occurred to avoid the expenses of a century-old building and accommodate the increase in parishioners caused by the baby boom and post-World War II movement to the suburbs.
The original church was demolished in August 1969, and Merchant’s National Bank bought the lot.
A Mass of Blessing and Rededication for the modernized church has been planned for Dec. 8.
“For 150 years, the Catholics of Fayetteville, Manlius, and the surrounding villages have worshipped, received sacraments, celebrated joyous occasions, and sought solace in hard times at the Church of the Immaculate Conception,” Kelly said. “We can draw hope and inspiration from the stories of those who came before us—and those still among us—who overcame great challenges and shared great blessings to practice their faith.”
The book will be available for purchase in December, but Wednesday, Oct. 16 is the last day orders will be taken.
Place an order by calling 315-637-9846 or visiting the parish’s main office at 400 Salt Springs Road in Fayetteville.
Kelly said 75 to 100 copies will likely remain on hand for those who have not ordered.
The book, which is about 180 pages long, costs $30. Because of the cost of printing, the church will not be making profits from purchases of the book, Kelly said.
Kelly has also served as the editor-in-chief of the parish’s quarterly newspaper, the I.C. Good News, since 2002.
