A tiny chapel in Norwich has received a big honor. Members of Norwich’s Cape Verdean community joined city, religious and community officials at Saint Anthony’s Chapel, in back of Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Greeneville, to unveil a new Legends and Lore Roadside Marker that has been erected outside the chapel.

The chapel, whose interior measures only 16 feet long, and 9 feet wide, is a replica of a religious shrine built by Cape Verdean native Joseph Delgado. He immigrated to the United States at the age of 26 in 1908, moving to Norwich four years later. The carpenter’s assistant had hopes of becoming a priest, but his family couldn’t afford to send him to the seminary.

Delgado’s descendants say he believed that everyone of the Catholic faith should do something to please God. The family history says Delgado had a daydream of building a chapel and then undertook the project over several years, using his own money and manual labor.

He kept the goal of his project a secret from his wife and children, who thought he was building a play house for them. Delgado worked as a barber at the time, and cut down the barber pole from his business, painted it white, affixed a crucifix on top, and placed it inside the chapel, along with other religious icons, statues and pictures of Saints around a small altar.

The Tallman Street chapel was consecrated on Independence Day 1926, and was dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, the Patron Saint of Portugal, a particular favorite of Delgado’s.

An inscription over the door of the chapel, written in Portuguese, said “A Chapel to Saint Anthony, baptized 4th day of July, 1926.”

The chapel soon became an ethnic and spiritual center for the Norwich Cape Verdean community. Its door was never locked to the public, and remained that way until Delgado’s death in 1967.

The chapel began falling into disrepair in the 1970s, prompting a 1977 renovation project by the Norwich Cape Verdean Santiago Society. It was listed on the State Register of Historic Places in 2003, but by 2004 had fallen into disrepair again and was demolished.

A non-profit group was then formed to build a replica of the chapel, with Saint Mary’s Church offering to locate it on its property. The replica was opened in April 2006.

The new chapel has now become the first attraction to be honored in Connecticut with a Legends and Lore marker. The program was established in 2015 by the Syracuse, New York-based William G. Pomeroy Foundation to “promote cultural tourism and celebrate meaningful local stories,” according to a letter from Foundation Trustee Deryn Pomeroy read at the marker unveiling ceremony at the chapel.

“The markers help educate the public, and encourage pride of place,” said the letter. More than 1,400 grants in 11 states for roadside markers and plaques have been awarded by the organization.

Norwich mayor Peter Nystrom welcomed the new sign, noting the Cape Verdean community has contributed greatly to the City of Norwich. “To put another wonderful legend on the map, that’s a great thing we can continue to do in Norwich.”, he said. “I hope to see people from other communities and other states stop by and be a part of what’s here. We want to share it with everyone.”

Descendants of Joseph Delgado were on hand to witness the unveiling. City resident Roberta Vincent has been a driving force in preserving her grandfather’s memory, and choked up when she saw the new sign for the first time. “I loved my grandfather,” she said. “He’s in my heart always. It’s an honor to now see his name on a monument marker, because it means other people will now see it, and know about his history and the chapel’s history. It belongs to everyone.”

She admits she didn’t know him too well while he was alive. He died when Vincent was 22. She says her feelings for him, though, developed later, especially after the original chapel was razed in 2004. “That night, I was on my knees praying to him, saying you must be disappointed in us,” she said. “But I have experienced the patience and perseverance he felt in building the original chapel with the building of the new one. I have walked in his footsteps.”

Charles W. Groce III is the First Justice of the Westfield, Massachusetts District Court, and a great-grandson of Delgado’s. He returned to his hometown roots to witness the ceremony, and was so happy to be back, he invited an African-American youth who was in the neighborhood to join him.

“I invited this young man,” he said. “We need him, to pass the future on to him, the next generation. That’s how it’s supposed to work. We’re supposed to pass on the love.”

Groce also noted the struggles his great-grandfather and others in the Cape Verdean community faced.

“It’s not just the ethnicity, it’s also about the race,” he explained. “My family was Black, so they not only had to deal with being from a different country, a different culture, a different language. They also had to deal with the skin color issue that America gave them. They didn’t bring it with them when they came off the ship.

“I’m so grateful, and honored for my family,” he added.

The chapel is only open for scheduled events, but private tours can be arranged by calling Vincent at 860-705-3176.

Vincent says plans are in the works to note the chapel’s 100th anniversary in 2026.

Kevin Gorden lives in Norwich.