In the early 1900s the Italian population of the city of Poughkeepsie had increased substantially, and Rev. Joseph F. Sheahan, pastor of St. Peter's recognized that these parishioners would be better served by a priest who spoke their own language and was familiar with the communities customs. Sheahan arranged for an Italian priest to come in and celebrate a separate mass for the Italians in the lower church. Unfortunately, this was interpreted by many in the Italian community as the Irish having relegated them to the cellar. This was a contributing factor in the Italian community organizing to build their own church. The parish was incorporated on February 19, 1908 out of the parish of St. Peter's, Poughkeepsie. Property was purchased June 1909 for the church from John I. Platt on the west side of Cataract Place, on what is now Mount Carmel Place. and ground was broken the following March. The cornerstone was laid May 1, 1910 by Bishop Cusack and the church was dedicated on October 12, 1910 by the Mgr. Lavelle, V.G.. A rectory was built November 1913. The parish was built for the Italian population on Poughkeepsie and had 245 families of about 1,700 souls. The first pastor was the Rev. N. Pavone, who was born at Trivento, Italy, on August 18, 1878, ordained at a seminary there December 23, 1901, and studied at La Minerva University in Rome. From 1903 to 1904, he was a bishop's secretary in Trevienta, then he taught at the seminary at Larino before arriving in New York on December 20, 1905 where he was assigned to St. Peter's in Poughkeepsie. In 1932 Father Joseph Maria Pernicone was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 1935 Father Pernacone established Our Lady of Mount Carmel School. The school closed in 2007 due to declining enrollment. Two years later, the school building was reopened under the direction of Astor Services and now functions as a school for special-needs students. In 1965, the congregation moved into the former St. Peter's Church at 97 Mill Street, when St. Peter's parish re-located to Hyde Park, NY. Astor Services also occupies the original Church building on Mount Carmel Place. Many second and third generation Italians who grew up in the Mount Carmel neighborhood, moved into the Town of Poughkeepsie but continued to return to Mount Carmel as their neighborhood church. The area has been home to many of Poughkeepsie's new immigrant populations, starting with the Irish, later the Italians. Still home to several Italian restaurants and bakeries, the area is widely referred to as Poughkeepsie's Little Italy.
Description
"It is a brick and marble structure, in the Roman style, and seats 400." Parish tradition holds that much of the brick for the church was actually acquired by the Italian laborers working on the railroad, although it unclear whether this is true and if so, if the bricks were left over, thrown away bricks, or bricks that were supposed to be used for a job.
