Waterbury’s Town Plot neighborhood was bustling with food and celebration from July 14th to July 18th during the 73rd Annual Mt. Carmel Feast and Procession, which honored the patron saint of Mt. Carmel Church. Tremendous Italian food, singing and dancing were the story of the evenings, but on Sunday, July 18th, a special mass was followed by a long procession through the neighborhoods of Town Plot, a strong Italian enclave in Waterbury.

Statue of St. Ann

   Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel Parish History – Italian immigrants to Waterbury’s Town Plot, Brooklyn, and other West End neighborhoods originally attended Our Lady of Lourdes Church. On June 26, 1923, Bishop John J. Nilan appointed Father Michael J. Lynch first pastor of a new parish named at first Saint Philip Neri. Father Lynch became responsible for the spiritual needs of about 4,500 people, for whom he offered Mass in the basement of Saint Patrick Church until April 1924. Father Lynch was busy supervising the construction of a basement church on the land secured at the corner of Highland Avenue and America Street. On April 13, 1924, Bishop Nilan dedicated the basement church, renaming the parish at this time to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 1939, plans were set in motion for constructing the church superstructure in the Lombard Romanesque style. On July 14, 1940, then Bishop Henry J. O’Brien officiated at cornerstone ceremonies. The formal dedication took place on December 8, 1940. On September 8, 1957, the parish plant was rounded out with the dedication of a new Congress Avenue school and convent, founded by then pastor Monsignor Patrick W. Flynn. The school and convent were originally staffed by the Daughters of Wisdom from Litchfield, CT.

A large and spirited group of girls involved in youth sports at the church.

Elected officials in Waterbury, led by Mayor Mike Jarjura, acknowledged the crowds along the procession.

Members of the Vinci Band from Middletown, CT, led the procession.

Parishioners delicately remove a statute of St. Ann from the back of a pick-up truck at the conclusion of the procession. St. Anne was the mother of Virgin Mary, and the grandmother of Jesus. A colorful contingent from the St. Ann Society at Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel followed the statue all along the procession route.