The Second Sowing
(1954-1976) Rt. Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Waterson
Fourth Pastor of Incarnation
As the closing years of the first half century of Incarnation's existence approached, his Eminence chose Rt.
Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Waterson, Secretary of Education, to be the fourth pastor of Incarnation.
Monsignor Waterson was born in New York City on August 1, 1901. He attended Blessed Sacrament
Grammar School, Cathedral College and St. Joseph's Seminary at Dunwoodie. After two years of
philosophy in the Seminary he was sent to North American College in Rome. This famous seminary,
established almost one hundred years ago for the training of young men from the United States, has been
the alma mater of all four pastors of Incarnation. After his ordination to the priesthood in the Cathedral of
St. John Lateran on April 16, 1927, Father Waterson returned to the United States.
After a year and a half of parish work in Staten Island and at Holy Rosary Church in Manhattan, he was
appointed to the faculty of Cathedral College, the minor seminary of the Archdiocese. Here he began his
long association with Catholic education. Father Waterson taught Latin for sixteen years at Cathedral
College, becoming the head of the department in 1941. In 1944, Archbishop Spellman named him
Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools.
The next ten years found Incarnation's future pastor playing a large role in the direction of New York's
educational system. From his post as Superintendent of Schools, he was named Principal of Cardinal
Hayes High School and then called back to the Curia of the archdiocese to become the Cardinal's Secretary
for Education in 1952. It was during his seven years at Hayes that Monsignor Waterson, a papal
chamberlain since 1945, was raised to the rank of domestic prelate at the request of His Eminence.
Incarnation School
Rather naturally after so many years in the work of education, Monsignor's first thoughts were for
Incarnation's school. In 1954, he wrote in the parish bulletin concerning his new plans for Incarnation's
children and their education.
Each year 1500 children were being enrolled at Incarnation's parochial school. A greater spirit of
parental interest was being fostered in the school as the program of parent-teacher meetings opened in
1955 for the mothers and fathers of the seventh and eighth graders. With so great a population of
Catholics in the area of the parish (52,000 people) event the one and a half thousand children who are
being taught in the parochial school do not approach the number in Catholic families. Because of this a
released time program for public school children was begun in the parish in 1944. These children come
from two public schools, ps 115 and ps 132 and from ps 169, 173 and 187. They are assigned to twenty
one different classes according to their age, grade and previous instruction.
The Chapel
The Christmas collections for several years have reached $10,000 as the Easter collections as well. Aided
by this generous support the pastor was able to transform the sanctuary of the lower church into a
memorial of his predecessor. The sanctuary was an example of thirteenth century architecture. The
sanctuary lamp is of Venetian origin and is more than 250 years old.
The New Bridge Approach
The present period can be called an era of transition for Incarnation Parish and for the neighborhood of
Washington Heights. There are two factors involved in this undercurrent of change. First the Port
Authority project to construct a new approach to the George Washington Bridge, and the second, is the
continuing change in the nationality and cultural background of the area. The Port Authority's plan calls
for the demolition of an area stretching from river to river between 178th and 179th Streets. When the
people of the neighborhood learned the full extent of the project for the bridge approach in 1955, the
immediate reaction was one of stunned protest. Many of the thousands of the people to be evacuated had
lived in the neighborhood for years. Two square blocks east of St. Nicholas Avenue, heavily populated
with Catholics will surely have an effect on the parish's future.
Monsignor Waterson answered the appeals of many of the residents and carried a campaign to have the
plans for the new bridge approach altered in favor of the people. Letters exchanged and meetings with the
members of the Port Authority Commission, congressmen and senators produced much sympathy but no
immediate change and in the summer of 1957 the final go ahead was made. The Port Authority expressed
its willingness to find other homes within the area for these people, and proposals for housing projects to be
built over the approach once it was completed were made.
(1954-1976) Rt. Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Waterson
Fourth Pastor of Incarnation
As the closing years of the first half century of Incarnation's existence approached, his Eminence chose Rt.
Reverend Monsignor Edward J. Waterson, Secretary of Education, to be the fourth pastor of Incarnation.
Monsignor Waterson was born in New York City on August 1, 1901. He attended Blessed Sacrament
Grammar School, Cathedral College and St. Joseph's Seminary at Dunwoodie. After two years of
philosophy in the Seminary he was sent to North American College in Rome. This famous seminary,
established almost one hundred years ago for the training of young men from the United States, has been
the alma mater of all four pastors of Incarnation. After his ordination to the priesthood in the Cathedral of
St. John Lateran on April 16, 1927, Father Waterson returned to the United States.
After a year and a half of parish work in Staten Island and at Holy Rosary Church in Manhattan, he was
appointed to the faculty of Cathedral College, the minor seminary of the Archdiocese. Here he began his
long association with Catholic education. Father Waterson taught Latin for sixteen years at Cathedral
College, becoming the head of the department in 1941. In 1944, Archbishop Spellman named him
Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools.
The next ten years found Incarnation's future pastor playing a large role in the direction of New York's
educational system. From his post as Superintendent of Schools, he was named Principal of Cardinal
Hayes High School and then called back to the Curia of the archdiocese to become the Cardinal's Secretary
for Education in 1952. It was during his seven years at Hayes that Monsignor Waterson, a papal
chamberlain since 1945, was raised to the rank of domestic prelate at the request of His Eminence.
Incarnation School
Rather naturally after so many years in the work of education, Monsignor's first thoughts were for
Incarnation's school. In 1954, he wrote in the parish bulletin concerning his new plans for Incarnation's
children and their education.
Each year 1500 children were being enrolled at Incarnation's parochial school. A greater spirit of
parental interest was being fostered in the school as the program of parent-teacher meetings opened in
1955 for the mothers and fathers of the seventh and eighth graders. With so great a population of
Catholics in the area of the parish (52,000 people) event the one and a half thousand children who are
being taught in the parochial school do not approach the number in Catholic families. Because of this a
released time program for public school children was begun in the parish in 1944. These children come
from two public schools, ps 115 and ps 132 and from ps 169, 173 and 187. They are assigned to twenty
one different classes according to their age, grade and previous instruction.
The Chapel
The Christmas collections for several years have reached $10,000 as the Easter collections as well. Aided
by this generous support the pastor was able to transform the sanctuary of the lower church into a
memorial of his predecessor. The sanctuary was an example of thirteenth century architecture. The
sanctuary lamp is of Venetian origin and is more than 250 years old.
The New Bridge Approach
The present period can be called an era of transition for Incarnation Parish and for the neighborhood of
Washington Heights. There are two factors involved in this undercurrent of change. First the Port
Authority project to construct a new approach to the George Washington Bridge, and the second, is the
continuing change in the nationality and cultural background of the area. The Port Authority's plan calls
for the demolition of an area stretching from river to river between 178th and 179th Streets. When the
people of the neighborhood learned the full extent of the project for the bridge approach in 1955, the
immediate reaction was one of stunned protest. Many of the thousands of the people to be evacuated had
lived in the neighborhood for years. Two square blocks east of St. Nicholas Avenue, heavily populated
with Catholics will surely have an effect on the parish's future.
Monsignor Waterson answered the appeals of many of the residents and carried a campaign to have the
plans for the new bridge approach altered in favor of the people. Letters exchanged and meetings with the
members of the Port Authority Commission, congressmen and senators produced much sympathy but no
immediate change and in the summer of 1957 the final go ahead was made. The Port Authority expressed
its willingness to find other homes within the area for these people, and proposals for housing projects to be
built over the approach once it was completed were made.
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Church of the Incarnation 1290 St. Nicholas Avenue New York, New York 10033 212-927-7474 |
Celebrating 100 years of Prayer and Service 1908-2008
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Rt. Rev. Msgr. Waterson,
Fourth Pastor of Incarnation
Fourth Pastor of Incarnation
Emigration and the New Immigrants
It is somewhat to be expected that the transportation system should also
be the key to the neighborhood's decline. The displacement of so many
thousands of residents, means the loss of these people to the parish but
the acceleration of another, more fundamental change to Washington
Heights, the constant migration of Spanish-speaking people into the
neighborhood.
The tendency to emigrate from the parish is still present among the
Island or New Jersey especially now that they are forced to move. On
the other side of the coin, there is the increasing number of
Spanish-speaking families moving into the neighborhood. Incarnation
has made great strides in making these newcomers welcome. In the
autumn of 1956, a series of conferences, culminating in a "parish fiesta"
sought to incorporate the new neighbors fully into parish life. One of the
parochial Masses every Sunday has the sermon and prayers in Spanish,
and the parish received a full-time Spanish-speaking assistant familiar
with the problems of the Puerto Ricans when Father Raymond Smith
joined the staff of Incarnation after a year of pastoral work in Puerto
Rico.
Nevertheless, the byproduct of transition is a certain lack of stability in
the neighborhood. The sudden outbreaks of juvenile delinquency which
plagued the area in the summer of 1957 set the nerves of Washington
Heights' residents of edge. Rival gangs of young boys and girls
threatened to disrupt the peace of the community by their sometimes
violent streetfights. Racial and nationality background were often the
unifying force in the gang and the reason for hostility to other gangs.
It is somewhat to be expected that the transportation system should also
be the key to the neighborhood's decline. The displacement of so many
thousands of residents, means the loss of these people to the parish but
the acceleration of another, more fundamental change to Washington
Heights, the constant migration of Spanish-speaking people into the
neighborhood.
The tendency to emigrate from the parish is still present among the
Island or New Jersey especially now that they are forced to move. On
the other side of the coin, there is the increasing number of
Spanish-speaking families moving into the neighborhood. Incarnation
has made great strides in making these newcomers welcome. In the
autumn of 1956, a series of conferences, culminating in a "parish fiesta"
sought to incorporate the new neighbors fully into parish life. One of the
parochial Masses every Sunday has the sermon and prayers in Spanish,
and the parish received a full-time Spanish-speaking assistant familiar
with the problems of the Puerto Ricans when Father Raymond Smith
joined the staff of Incarnation after a year of pastoral work in Puerto
Rico.
Nevertheless, the byproduct of transition is a certain lack of stability in
the neighborhood. The sudden outbreaks of juvenile delinquency which
plagued the area in the summer of 1957 set the nerves of Washington
Heights' residents of edge. Rival gangs of young boys and girls
threatened to disrupt the peace of the community by their sometimes
violent streetfights. Racial and nationality background were often the
unifying force in the gang and the reason for hostility to other gangs.
The story of Incarnation's fifty years is the
record of the contributions of many priests
the people placed under their care.
Although it is often merely the recital of
remembered dates, it has some
importance if for the human story it
presents.
The narrative of fifty years can be most
fittingly concluded by pointing out one
factor in the character of this parish and
that is the vocations that with God's grace
have issued from among its people these
first fifty years. Priests, brothers, and
sisters in extraordinary numbers
constitute the full and rich flowering of
the tranquil, secure, deep and abiding
faith of the truly Catholic people of the
Parish of the Incarnation.
record of the contributions of many priests
the people placed under their care.
Although it is often merely the recital of
remembered dates, it has some
importance if for the human story it
presents.
The narrative of fifty years can be most
fittingly concluded by pointing out one
factor in the character of this parish and
that is the vocations that with God's grace
have issued from among its people these
first fifty years. Priests, brothers, and
sisters in extraordinary numbers
constitute the full and rich flowering of
the tranquil, secure, deep and abiding
faith of the truly Catholic people of the
Parish of the Incarnation.
Msgr. Waterson celebrates Mass during Lent
note the beauty of the temporary altar used for the occasion.
note the beauty of the temporary altar used for the occasion.
Msgr. Waterson and Pope Pius XII
"Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown. He who has ears let him hear." Matthew 13
times what was sown. He who has ears let him hear." Matthew 13
Incarnation Church in 1958,
note the altar and railing which are no longer present.
note the altar and railing which are no longer present.
Rev. Raymond Smith
The Incarnation School children Class of 1958
Christmas 1958
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| The Church of the Incarnation A Roman Catholic Church | New York City |