It was 1905, and five orthodox Jewish men from Pawtucket signed incorporation papers for a synagogue to be called The Congregation Ohawe Shalom. The only problem was that they had no money for a building, so they were forced to worship in a variety of buildings in the city. By 1918 they had raised $80,000 to buy land on which to build a synagogue. The congregation had grown to more than 350 families, most living in Central Falls and Pawtucket. The land for the new synagogue, at the corner of High and Jackson Streets, was less than a block from the border with Central Falls.

However, before construction could begin, an old theater on the site was razed, and a three-story tenement house was moved to the back of the property. It became the venue for the congregation’s social events. The Ohawe Shalom Synagogue was dedicated in 1921, and for decades, it was the only one in the two cities. The two buildings became the lodestar for the immigrant Jewish families in the neighborhood, many of whom had arrived in this country from Eastern Europe and Russia, with no money, few skills, and little education.

The synagogue is still there, but the building behind it is gone. As the Jews migrated to the suburbs, membership sharply declined. The synagogue finally closed in the late 1970s, and today it houses the Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church.

A few blocks from the synagogue, along Central Street in Central Falls, were small stores--delis, grocery stores, even junk shops--owned by the Jewish immigrants in the neighborhood. Drive down this narrow street to see a few remaining shops, although they are no longer owned by Jews. Or you could have walked the half a mile to downtown Pawtucket to shop at Shartenberg’s, the largest department store, which was at the corner of Main Street and Park Place. The business was founded by Jacob Shartenberg, a German Jew, in the late 1800’s as The New Idea Store.

Soon after the turn of the century, it became Shartenberg’s, and for decades it remained one of the most popular and prosperous businesses downtown.

By the end of the 20th century, the building had been demolished and replaced by a parking garage. But for more than a century, Mr. Shartenberg and other Jews who emigrated from Germany in the mid-to-late 1800’s played an important role in the business life of downtown Pawtucket.

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Solomon Treital is believed to be the first Jew to settle in Woonsocket. This scholarly and deeply religious man arrived in 1866, and soon established himself as a clothier in the downtown Market Square.

Treital’s brother, Max, arrived two years later, and a few more Jews followed, but it wasn’t until the big migration of Europeans to American shores in the 1880s that a Jewish community began to take shape in Woonsocket.

By 1894, the city directory recorded 28 Jewish names, and by 1900, there were at least 65 Jews living among the 28,204 people in the growing textile-mill city.

According to the “History of Congregation B’nai Israel,” the first Jewish congregation organized in 1883 as Congregation of the Lovers of Peace. Most of the congregants were laborers, craftsmen, peddlers and merchants, and Solomon Treital was their first president.

Although they were devout, the Lovers of Peace were not wealthy, and they could not afford their own synagogue. They first worshipped in a loft over a store near Market Square, and then in a building on Main Street, and then went “from loft to loft, from meeting hall to meeting hall for one and half decades.”

At the start of the 20th century, the young congregation had grown enough in numbers and solvency for Treital to declare that the time had come to found their own house of worship.

The “History of Congregation B’nai Israel” reports that “through tremendous self-sacrifice on the part of each congregant,” the congregation in 1904 was able to purchase a vacant Presbyterian church at 200 Greene Street, giving Woonsocket’s Jewish community its first home.

The squat Queen Anne at the corner of Greene and Bernon streets had, among its selling points, a cavernous room suitable for a sanctuary and just enough room on its tiny lot to build a sukkah, or hut, for the holiday of Sukkot.

The Jewish community, newly renamed Congregation B’nai Israel, mustered its meager resources and set about remodeling the old church into a synagogue. And so it was fitting, when consecration ceremonies were held on July 31, 1904, that “citizens of all faiths were in attendance.”

By 1913, the congregation had grown to 85 members, and by 1914, the city had a very active YMHA (Young Men’s Hebrew Association) and YWHA (Young Women’s Hebrew Association). By 1917, CBI was able to hire its first ordained rabbi.

The congregation continued to grow, albeit slowly, over the following decades, and the Greene Street synagogue thrived. The building wasn’t big enough to host all the events that the Jewish community held, so halls and homes were frequently used for social activities, but the temple was the focal point.

“It was a vibrant Jewish congregation,” said Irwin Shorr, who was among the last boys to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in the building, on Oct. 21, 1961. “I think at the height of its existence, there were at least 200 Jewish families in Woonsocket.”

Shorr, who now lives in Olney, Maryland, said services were held in the sanctuary on the main floor, while the downstairs held a kitchen and rooms that were used for junior congregation, parties, holiday events and receptions.

Life for Woonsocket’s Jews “revolved around Jewish life when I was a kid,” Shorr said. “My Bar Mitzvah was the most important event of my life. Period.”

In 1962, Woonsocket’s Jewish community proudly dedicated its magnificent and architecturally important synagogue on Prospect Street. This new building had more than enough space to consolidate Jewish life under one roof, with room for everything from a Hebrew School to a Judaica museum.

As for the old Queen Anne, for the next 40 years or so, it was sometimes vacant and sometimes the home of religious groups, until a theater company took it over. And then, around 2000, Pastor Mike Kropman purchased the building for $30,000 for his Church of the Acts.

Kropman describes his church as non denominational. Which is why the Star of David carved into the wall above the bimah, the plaque honoring members of the 1904 “Committee on Building,” and the frame of a sturdy sukkah still stand as testament to Woonsocket’s first synagogue.

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This brick structure, with pedimented portico supported by four columns, was built in 1954 as the home of Congregation Beth David, a Conservative Jewish congregation founded in 1892 that previously worshipped on nearby Chalkstone Boulevard. The building was designed by Thomas Russillo, an architect of some repute responsible for many Rhode Island institutional buildings and private homes, and is sited in a residential neighborhood whose large, substantially built three-decker houses are typical of the Smith Hill area. Jewish immigrants began arriving in Providence in the late 1860s, first from Germany and then from eastern Europe, particularly Poland, Lithuania and Russia. Providence was prosperous in that period and jobs were plentiful. They settled in Smith Hill, one of Providence’s most affordable areas, living peacefully among the Irish immigrants already there. Members of both groups became shopkeepers, tailors, bakers, machinists, and soon lawyers and doctors, as well as workers in the textile, jewelry and rubber industries, drivers of Providence’s then-flourishing economy.   In 1970 the Beth David congregation merged with Anshei Kovno Congregation (founded at the turn of the century by immigrants from Kovno, Lithuania). The merged congregation, called Beth David-Anshei Kovno congregation, left Providence in 1980 to join with the Beth Am congregation in Warwick. This building was then first rented and ultimately purchased by a new church, the Gospel Tabernacle Outreach Ministries (GTOM), whose home it remains today. GTOM’s missions and ministries respond to the area’s current population, largely African American and Hispanic. GTOM sponsors a Hispanic Heritage Month and works to promote education in the community with a scholarship fund and recognition awards for successful students. The organization also offers instruction in life skills such as literacy, financial responsibility, employment, and entrepreneurship. They also host a Men’s Ministry, and they run a food pantry and a food kitchen open to all. In many ways, the spirit of the original Congregation Beth David as a place of worship for new immigrants lives on in GTOM.

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An increasing Irish-Catholic immigrant population occupying Providence in the 1840s necessitated the need of both a parish and school. Saint Patrick’s Church was established in 1841 and, within two years, the school followed. Opened on November 1, 1843, as a Sunday School, the original building was constructed behind the church and fully furnished at a cost of five hundred dollars. Soon after construction, the structure went through several changes. In 1845, the building was moved from Smith Street to Davis Street and enlarged to two rooms “capable of containing 300 children each, with yards and outhouses, separate for boys and girls.” In 1848, St. Patrick’s became a day school for 35 boys with tuition at $1 per quarter, followed a few years later by a school for girls run by Sisters of Mercy. By 1871, the original building was replaced with a new structure to meet the demands of the continually growing community. Built on Davis Street in Providence, this new building, larger than the original to meet expected attendance demands, was a brick structure with eight classrooms and a large hall for school assemblies and parish activities. It served as a Grammar School until 1923 when it became Saint Patrick’s High School. While the school maintained its presence on Davis Street, another change was coming to Saint Patrick’s. Reverend Martin F. Reddy decided that the school needed to once more go back to Smith Street and continue to serve the needs and education of the children. Believing that a modern building, larger and more suitable to the needs of the community and children, was needed, Reverend Reddy moved forward with his plans. After purchasing Jones Lot on Smith Street, the new structure served as an elementary school upon completion in 1928 and continued to educate the children of Smith Hill until the first major significant change in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1960s, Smith Hill underwent a rapid transformation. Urban redevelopment, the completion of Route 95, and declining populations in the area resulted in diminishing parishioners to Saint Patrick’s Church. Along with these changes, high operating costs, and lack of enrollment the building closed its doors in 1971. Then, one year later, the school found itself in full operation once again. In collaboration with the Word of God Community, it reopened as Saint Patrick’s Word of God School. As part of the Charismatic Renewal Movement, the Word of God Community held weekly prayer meetings within the community. Students attended day classes, while parents enrolled in an eight-week “Life in the Spirit” seminar to understand the Christian way of life. With these methods in place, Saint Patrick’s reopened, continuing to teach school children over the next thirty years. In 2003, Saint Patrick’s School experienced another potential closing because of financial problems and declining enrollment. Despite passionate pleas and generous donations, the elementary school closed in 2008 in favor of a Catholic high school. On August 24, 2009, Saint Patrick’s School was changed to Saint Patrick’s Academy, focusing on a high school curriculum with a religious based faith. Today, the school thrives as it prepares students for college. St. Patrick’s Academy is selective, only accepting 25 freshman every year. Once students are accepted and enrolled, they are provided support as they pursue college. Through the Explore Club, St. Patrick’s students work with Providence College to determine their long-term goals, while parents receive assistance with FAFSA forms. Its graduating class averages fifteen students, all college bound towards promising futures.

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La Iglesia Bautista el Calvario ha servido en la Ciudad de Providence por más de 150 años. En el año 1902, la iglesia abrió sus puertas a la comunidad en un tiempo severo de insuficiencia de carbón. Pero sus servicios continúan: Una puede entrar a la iglesia cualquier domingo y escuchar voces cantando y rezando, algunas veces en inglés y algunas veces en español; los servicios son alegres y permanecen por más tiempo del horario fijo. El edificio de estilo neogótico de la iglesia da la bienvenida a una congregación extremadamente diverso, con miembros procedentes de Ghana, Haití, Costa de Marfil (Ivory Coast), Jamaica, Laos, Liberia y que asisten a los servicios de idiomas en inglés, mientras que los latinos tienen sus propios servicios en español. A veces todos se combinan en la adoración.

Ya existían dos Congregaciones Pentecostales Hispanas en Providence en el principio de los años 70 y los Bautistas americanos estaban ansiosos por no quedarse atrás. El Reverendo Pedro Ortiz, un Bautista Cubano con mucha energía, exploró el área y encontró un domicilio en la Iglesia Bautista El Calvario, quien abrió sus puertas a los congregantes hispanos en el año 1974. El Reverendo J. Francisco Litardo, de Ecuador, se convirtió en un sacerdote por tiempo complete en marzo del año 1974, aunque la Iglesia Metodista Unida pagaba parte de su salario. Una segunda Iglesia Bautista Hispana abrió en la ciudad de Pawtucket en el 1977. Y ahora hay docenas de iglesias.

El Reverendo Litardo recuerda “Cuando estaba aquí, algunas veces éramos 200, 250, algunas veces 150, 180 porque la gente va y viene, especialmente en Rhode Island porque es muy pequeño…”

La congregación de Litardo abarcaba a guatemaltecos, dominicanos y puertorriqueños, y él trataba de unirlos en una familia  por medio de un fuerte sentido de la cultura latina y la organización de servicios dinámicos y emocionantes.

Así como los periódicos y la comida nativa ayudaba a los nuevos inmigrantes de Rhode Island, los servicios religiosos conducidos en español también los ayudaban sentirse en casa, pero en una forma espiritual. El Reverendo Juan Francisco Jr. de la Iglesia Puerta de Refugio, o the Door of Refuge Church, en la calle Valley en Providence, visualiza las iglesias hispanas cumpliendo dos metas; ellos son “el punto de asimilación y el mantenimiento de la identidad”.

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Calvary Baptist has served South Providence for over 150 years. In 1902, the church opened its doors to the community at a time of severe coal shortage. Their service continues: walk into the church any Sunday and you will hear voices singing and praying, sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish; the services are joyful and loud and often go on longer than the scheduled hour. The church’s Late Gothic Revival-style building welcomes an extremely diverse congregation, with members from Ghana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Laos, and Liberia attending the English language services, while the Latinos have their own. Sometimes they combine in worship.  Already in the early 1970s there were two Hispanic Pentecostal congregations in Providence, and the American Baptists were anxious to not be left out.  An energetic Cuban Baptist, the Rev. Pedro Ortiz, scouted the area and found a welcoming home at Calvary Baptist Church, which opened its doors to Spanish-speaking congregants in 1974. Rev. J. Francisco Litardo, from Ecuador, became the full-time pastor of Iglesia Hispana “El Calvario” in March 1974, though the United Methodist Church paid part of his salary. A second Latino Baptist church opened in Pawtucket in 1977. Now there are dozens.  The Rev. Litardo recalled "When I was here sometimes we were 200, 250, sometimes 150, 180, because people are coming and leaving, especially in Rhode Island because it's small…"  Litardo's congregation included Guatemalans, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, and he tried to bring them all together in one family by instilling a strong sense of Latino culture and organizing dynamic and exciting services.  Just as home-town newspapers and familiar food helped the new immigrants feel at home in Rhode Island, so did Spanish language services of worship help them to feel spiritually at home. The Rev. Juan Francisco Jr. of the Iglesia Puerta de Refugio, or Door of Refuge Church, on Valley Street in Providence, sees Hispanic churches as serving two important goals; “they are a point of assimilation and of keeping identity."  

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New Bedford was a city of smokestacks. The coal-fired boilers that powered the textile mills left a layer of gritty soot that seemed to cover everything. This legacy of industrialization is still visible on the darkened redstone exterior of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, which has served the North End’s French Canadian and immigrant populations since 1912. By 1900, first- and second-generation immigrants made up 70% of New Bedford’s population, and 33% of the city’s foreign-born residents were French Canadian. In 1912 alone, more than 12,241 French Canadian immigrants moved to New Bedford, helping to swell the city’s population to more than 96,000 people. In the late 19th century, most French-speaking Catholics attended Sacred Heart Church, a considerable distance from the North End where many French Canadians worked in textile mills and lived in three-decker tenements. In 1895, the newly-formed parish of St. Anthony of Padua met in North Union Hall, a block away from the current location of the church. The following year, the parish built a new wood-frame church, a three-story brick rectory, and a grammar school, followed two years later by a convent to house the school’s ordained teachers. Simultaneously, the parish began to raise funds for a substantial stone cathedral, and construction began in 1903. On the afternoon of September 20, 1904, a loud rumble and cloud of dust filled the air at the building site.  A fifty-foot high masonry wall had collapsed, killing two workers, Gilbert Tremblay and Joseph Rondeau, and injuring five others. The architect, Joseph Venne of Montreal, arrived two days later to inspect the damage, but was unable to determine a cause of the failure. Construction continued under the supervision of Fall River architect and French Canadian immigrant Louis G. Destremps, and the church was dedicated in November 1912. When parishioners passed through the massive front doors, they left behind the soot of the city and entered a sanctuary of divine beauty. 5,500 electric light bulbs—still a novelty in 1912—illuminated a 65-foot high vaulted ceiling. The rows of pews could accommodate 1,840 worshippers, watched over by thirty-two sculpted angels by Italian artist Giovanni Castagnoli. The Great Vision of Saint Anthony, a grouping of sculptures by Castagnoli, soars sixty feet behind the main altar, and 117 stained glass windows surround worshippers, including a triptych window of 370 square feet. Outside, the main steeple rises 256 feet and is visible from most parts of the city. Reflecting the demographics of its parishioners, St. Anthony’s first three pastors were born in Quebec, and the first six were of French Canadian descent. Today, St. Anthony’s offers a weekly mass in Spanish, serving its parishioners from Central America, the most recent group of immigrants seeking a better life in New Bedford.

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