Cornerstone laid at the Chapel and Convent of Saint Joseph on Farmington Avenue

1. The crowd size was estimated at between 12,000 and 15,000 people.

• According to the reporter, about 9,000 of the attendees were Catholics.

2. Francis McFarland wore the “full robes of his sacred office.”
3. The clergy wore “their canonicals.”
4. Members of the various church organizations wore “their rich regalias and bore banners.”
5. The Children of Mary were “dressed in white and made a very pretty appearance.”
6. The two bands from the procession provided music during the ceremony.

1. On August 6, 1872, the Courant reported that Francis McFarland had acquired the old Morgan property as the location for a new cathedral.
2. Work on the convent and chapel had been underway since “spring opened.”

1. This morning, Francis McFarland confirmed “nearly 400 children” at a mass at Saint Peter’s Catholic Church.
2. The convent's foundation walls were in place.
3. A portion of the front and side walls of the convent had been constructed.

1. It was anticipated that the chapel would be ready around Christmas.
2. Ground would be broken on May 11, 1874, for a new residence for Francis McFarland.

1. The design of the buildings under construction would match the design of the cathedral.
2. According to Francis McFarland, “of the 980 children born in the city during the last year, 713 were baptised in the two Catholic churches.”

1. “The weather yesterday was in every aspect favorable to the corner-stone laying of the chapel and convent of St. Joseph, near the corner of Farmington avenue and Sigourney street, and a great crowd assembled both of Catholics and Protestants.”
2. “The situation is one of the most desirable sections of Hartford and will especially accommodate the bishop of the diocese, who occupies a residence on Woodland Street.”
3. From Lawrence Walsh’s announcement about the collection: “He said there ought to be $10,000 raised, but he had no doubt that if one-half of that amount should be taken, the bishop would go home singing Te Deum Laudamus (applause).”
4. From Francis McFarland’s remarks

• The convent “will also be a school where your daughters will receive an education, not merely in literature, but also in virtue, a training not only of the head, but of the heart.”
• “The chapel will serve as a church for the Catholics of this part of the city: here they will be trained in the principles of the faith, receive the consultations of their religion, and thus, as in the ages of faith, religion and science will go hand in hand, and the school will grow up beneath the shadow of the sanctuary.”
• “What peculiar interest is associated with the erection of this chapel? It is to serve as the pro-cathedral of your diocese, and will be to the diocese of Hartford what the chair of Peter is to the Catholic world – the center of unity and of authority.”

1. Saint Peter’s Catholic Church, now closed, is located at `60 Main Street.
2. Patrick Keely designed the convent.
3. The convent would be the home of the Sisters of Mercy.
4. Although the article called the building the “chapel and convent,” it was in fact just the convent. Its auditorium would serve as a church and pro-cathedral until the cathedral was constructed next door.
5. The article described “Latin form” as setting forth “in general terms the facts concerning the ceremony, and named the chief executive officers of the city of Hartford, the state of Connecticut, and the United States”.
6. Lawrence (possibly Laurence) Walsh was the pastor at Saint Peter’s Catholic Church.
7. Donations received:

• Saint Patrick’s Benevolent Society: $1,000
• Saint Peter’s Temperance Society: $311.25
• The Children of Mary of Saint Peter’s: $105.86
• Saint John’s Sick and Burial Society: $83
• Saint Peter’s Cadets of Temperance: $81.99
• From among the crowd: between $4,000 and $5,000

8. The total amount donated by the societies was $1,582.10, which would be equivalent to $40,478.82 in 2023.
9. The amount collected in the crowd would be equivalent to between $102,342 and $127,927.50 in 2023.

Unattributed.  “St. Joseph’s Convent and Chapel,” Hartford Daily Courant, May 19, 1873, page 2.

Unattributed.  “The Catholic cathedral,” Hartford Daily Courant, May 6, 1873, page 2.