Transfer Of Father Bradley's "Jubilee Bell"

This week, a bit of history was made when the "Jubilee Bell" was removed from the present church tower, and was placed in the new church tower. It is called the "Jubilee Bell" because it was presented to the Reverend James Bradley on the occasion of his "Golden Jubilee," his fiftieth anniversary of Priesthood. Father Bradley was the second resident pastor of Saint Patrick's Church in Newry. He was born in Ireland and came to this country as a young student. He completed his studies at Mount Saint Mary's, Emmitsburg, Maryland and was ordained a priest in Sacred Heart Church, Conewago, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1830. He was ordained by Bishop Francis Kenrick. Years later, Father Bradley wrote: "I offered my first Holy Mass in the mission at Bedford and drove the same day thirty miles to Newry, where I said my second Mass. I then drove to Loretto, and after spending a few days with the Rev. Dr. Gallitzin, (now the Servant of God) I took charge of the Ebensburg congregation." He remained there two years. During that time, he built the first church in Johnstown, Saint John Gaulbert's. Father Bradley came to Newry in 1832. Although Father Bradley took up residence in Newry, he was able to say Mass there at the beginning of his tenure only one Sunday of the month. He was called to serve Saint Mary's, Hollidaysburg, where he built the present church; Saint Luke's , Sinking Valley (only a cemetery remains there), Holy Trinity, Huntingdon, and Saint Mary's, Shade Gap. For a brief time, he had care of the Bedford church, when the resident priest was assigned to Saint Paul's, Pittsburgh. The first task was to complete the unfinished church. Bishop Kenrick blessed the church August 11, 1833. This is the present church that is still in use. The Newry pastor had an eye on the spiritual needs of the entire area. When the railroad was carved out of the Blair county hills in the 1840's and 1850's, the construction crews were composed in the main of young Irishmen, who had fled a country scourged by famine. To provide for their spiritual comfort, Father Bradley built the first church in Altoona in 1851-1852. The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament now occupies the site. It was a simple building, 65 feet in length by 35 feet in width. He said Mass there occasionally, until the Reverend John Tuigg was appointed resident pastor in 1853. Father Bradley registered his first Baptism December 15, 1832, John, son of John and Elizabeth Gowan. The last baptismal record over his name is April 14, 1879. By that time his sight was failing and he relinquished the work to others. Across the years of 47 years of active duty, he had baptized 1,805 persons. The parish records show 456 Marriages officiated by Father Bradley. When it became evident that Father Bradley was permanently incapacitated, the Reverend Richard Browne was assigned as Administrator. In the History of the Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, published in 1880 this account of the Newry parish is given. "When Bishop O'Conner visited the parish in 1847, it numbered, as he states in his notes, about 400 souls. The congregation has continued for many years, as it will in the future, gradually to increase. The people are mostly Irish, or of Irish parentage. They have grown up around their common father, who has Baptized nearly all, and has watched over them and guided them with a father's care; and they, in turn, as it is but right, entertain for him sentiments of filial affection." Father Bradley died April 13, 1883. He is buried in the nearby cemetery with the grave marked by an imposing monument.