Parish/Church
Our Shared History
With its twin towers rising over 100 feet, the Church of the Most Holy Rosary has been one of Syracuse’s west-side landmarks for nearly 70 years. The parish was formed in 1913 to serve the rapidly growing Bellevue Heights and Strathmore neighborhoods. A temporary wooden church was completed that year. By 1915, the present brick school on Bellevue was finished and it also included a new space for church services.
In 1927, ground was broken for the present church. Napoleon LaVaute and Joseph Mulranen of Syracuse were the architects. The building is framed in structural steel, covered with brick, concrete and composition stone. The style is inspired by the ancient Roman basilica form. The window and door openings are all rounded Romanesque arches. The interior finishing took several years to complete as the parish worked to raise funds for various elements. Syracuse architect Paul Hueber is credited with most of the interior design.
The main nave seats 1200 and the arched ceiling rises 55 feet overhead. The eye is immediately drawn to the bronze “Baldachin” canopy above the main altar, installed in 1952. Above that is a hemispheric domed ceiling which contains a c. 1950 mural representing the coronation of Christ’s mother, Mary, as Queen of Heaven. She is the central figure. Her parents, husband and her nephew are to her left (St. Anne, St. Joachim, St. Joseph and John the Baptist, respectively.) To her right are St. Pius V, St. Catherine Laboure, St. Bernadette, and St. Dominick (l-r); individuals chosen to spread devotion to Mary. In the foreground are the three children of Fatima, Portugal. Catholic Church teachings hold that Christ’s mother, Mary, appeared to the three in 1917.
On either side of the sanctuary are special altars, one dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, consecrated in 1951, and the other erected to commemorate the Miraculous Medal of Mary, consecrated in 1940. Above each are the “nun’s balconies,” used when the parish had a large contingent of resident sisters (most of whom were of Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary order.) Look closely and note their columns contain detail formed by dolphins, indigenous to the waters around Sicily where the original Syracuse is located. Not visible from the pews is the building’s cornerstone, set within an interior wall to the left of the main altar but behind a supporting column. This cornerstone was cut from a boulder obtained on Manlius’ Indian Hill, which tradition once held as the site of the first Catholic Mass in the county, celebrated by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century.
On the wall opposite the sanctuary, high above the main entrance and balcony, is a circular or rose window installed in 1948 and dedicated as the Veteran’s Memorial Window. World War I veterans of the parish raised the initial funds in 1936. It was not completed until 1947, however, when it was dedicated to all parish veterans killed in war. The 12 apostles are represented along with 25 gold stars for the parish’s dead and missing of World War II.
The stained glass windows along the nave wall date primarily from the 1950’s. The upper of clearstory windows represent the mysteries of the Rosary. The lower ones depict a variety of saints, alternating between male and female.
There is a complete lower church beneath the main floor. It was used for service until the upper church was sufficiently completed. It now functions as a parish auditorium. At the southeast corner of the church, and accessible through its own entrance, is the St. Joseph Chapel. It is used for smaller ceremonies and for round the clock adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The chapel windows depict events in the life of Christ and are outstanding examples of the work of Syracuse’s Keck Stained Glass Studio. They were produced c. 1928-30, and are primarily the work of Keck artist Thomas Porter.
Editorial credit: Dennis Connors and the Onondaga Historical Association