‘Extraordinary’ Find at Historic Chapel

Eucharistic vessels given to Cold Spring church

When the Rev. Thomas Lutz of Our Lady of Loretto in Cold Spring received a call from Stephen Hutcheson, a board member at the Chapel Restoration, offering to give the church two items, the priest expected nothing remarkable.

But when Hutcheson brought an antique wooden box to the Fair Street church and opened it, Lutz’s reaction was far more animated. “Oh my gosh,” he said. “That’s extraordinary!”

The custom box contained vessels used in the celebrating the Eucharist — including a chalice, paten, plate and two cruets — that are likely nearly 200 years old. (A small round compartment in the box is empty, and Lutz is unsure of what it held.)

“It’s a French-style chalice,” Lutz said, adding that “it makes sense” that the set was given to Cold Spring’s first Catholic church by the Right Rev. Bishop John Dubois of New York when he dedicated the Chapel of Our Lady on Sept. 21, 1834. (Dubois, who was French, served as bishop of New York from 1826 until his death in 1842.)

The chapel had been built on the riverfront in 1833. Abandoned in 1906 when the congregation moved to its new church on Fair Street, the building deteriorated over the decades before being restored in the 1970s. Now known as the Chapel Restoration, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a venue for community and cultural events.

Lutz said he was told the vessels were found in a trunk in the choir loft. He said it was also extraordinary that they survived. “The place had been in ruins,” he said. “There were fires down there.”

The chalice and other items needed polish but are in good condition otherwise. They have no markings, but Lutz plans to have them examined and appraised by a chalice manufacturer in hopes of determining their history and who crafted them.

The set was displayed during Mass on Oct. 22 and “without question” will now be used at Christmas, Easter and other special occasions, Lutz said.

The Chapel Restoration also presented Our Lady of Loretto with a wooden kneeler that had been kept at Boscobel in recent years. Dating to the 1870s and in need of refurbishing, it was used at the original riverfront chapel.