St. Philip Neri Church
Westport, New York
A Short History
Land was first acquired for a Roman Catholic church in the town of Westport in 1856 with a purchase from the Eli Wood property. At that time the Westport area was still part of the diocese of Albany.
St. Philip Neri church was incorporated on October 19, 1874 by Rev. H.J. Shields not long after the diocese of Ogdensburg was formed. The first trustees were Michael Flinn and Peter Bacon.
The first church building was dedicated in 1876 by Bishop Edgar P. Wadhams. In 1884 the first resident pastor, Rev. Michael Holland, was appointed.
The Catholic community in the Westport area was served by several other parishes before having its own pastor. Between 1849 and 1884 it was served at various times by Immaculate Conception church in Keeseville, St. Patrick's in Port Henry, and St. Elizabeth's in Elizabethtown. The parish had its own pastor continuously from 1884 to 1999. Since 1999 St. Philip Neri has been linked with St. Elizabeth's in Elizabethtown.
Source: Sister Mary Christine Taylor, SSJ, A History of Catholicism in the North Country, p. 246f.
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