MONTICELLO  — Founded in 1874, St. Peters Church on Broadway will be celebrating their 150th anniversary this summer.

The anniversary will kick-off with a campaign in which the church will produce a commemorative journal, garnering support for the celebration, according to St. Peter’s Church parishioner, Edward Cooke.

The date for the celebration is set to be July 14, with Cardinal Timothy Dolan set to attend a special Mass which will be followed by a reception.

“There have been changes over the years, I can go back to my great-grandfather,” recalled Edward Cooke. “Our family has been through this. You can see the change from their time in the late 1800s when they were members.”

Cooke recalled that his great-grandfather was from Ireland and was a member of the Church. He said a lot of people that came and started the church were Irish priests.

“[There was] my great grandfather and his family, then my father and his family, and now me and my family.”

He noted that, since the nearby school was closed in 1970, Monticello didn’t have the population that they currently have today.

“People went to high school here, then went out to make their earnings and livings in other parts of the world,” said Cooke, “but we still have a good, strong church here. It’s just that we’re hoping we can keep more young people here as is the case with the whole county.”

Cooke also noted the diverse community within the new church community, such as Spanish-speaking individuals, as well as European people that come to the church, emphasizing the “particularly strong” Polish community that attends the church.

“We are now hoping that we can use that [new community] to propel us to our two-hundredth [anniversary.]”

“It’s a milestone occasion for the Parish,” said Father Bob Porpora, Pastor of St. Peter’s. “150 years is a long time. It’s a great occasion to come together as a Parish to celebrate our history, and look forward to the future of the Parish as well.”