Potential Mergers

The November 9, 2024, issue of The Tablet includes on page 8 a news story by Bill Miller, senior reporter, titled Diocese Engages Parishioners in Dialogue over Potential Mergers. I list only the proposed mergers in the borough of Brooklyn.

1) Mary Queen of Heaven in Flatlands and St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Bergen Beach, 1 mile apart. St. Bernard attendance Nov. 3 was 980.

2) St. Brendan in Midwood, Avenue O, and St. Edmund in Sheepshead Bay, Avenue t, 1.3 miles further south. Long blocks caused trolleys to be geared for higher speeds on Ocean  Avenue. 

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On November 16 & 17, the Mass attendance at St. Brendan was 545. Another Catholic mission of the Byzantine Rite (Stamford eparchy) also celebrates the Divine Liturgy the church. That mission is named Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On November 16 and 15, the collections at the three Masses at St. Edmund totaled $1,719. Many Masses had no stipend. St. Edmund's church is winthin the school, which runs K-12.

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3) St. Bernadette in Dyker Heights and St. Frances Cabrini in Bensonhurst, 0.6 mile apart. At a brief glance, St. Bernadette appears to be the more attended of the two. Also, St. Bernardette has a school with a teaching staff pre-k to 8th grade of about 25.

4) In Sunset Park, St. Michael and St Agatha, 0.9 mile apart. Each  parish has a full schedule of Masses, St. Michael  in English and Spanish, St. Agatha in Chinese (Mandarin or  Cantonese?), Spanish, and English).

5) In Bay Ridge, St. Anselm and Our Lady of Angels, 0.7 mile apart. On November 10, St. Anselm had an attendance of 485. The same weekend, Our Lady of Angels had an attendance of 1,079.  The parish school, Bay Ridge Catholic Academy, is at St. Anselm. Seats are available in each grade.

6) Already accomplished, in Park Slope, St. Augustine and St. Francis Xavier, 0.3 mile apart. Please see the website of the merged parishes https://sasfx.org/

At St. Augustine, the only Mass each week is noon on Sunday. At St. Francis Xavier, there is a 9 a.m. Mass Monday to Thursday, 5 p.m. on Saturday, 9:30 a. m. on Sunday.

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In 2020, the average Mass attendance in the diocese was 124,031, of 1.5 million  identified as Catholic. That is 8%.

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The distances given above are church-to-church, but some parishioners may live on the far fringe.

Two prolific school architects

 I am writing this post lest I lose the names of two men who designed school buildings in New York. One is James W. Norton, who designed many public schools in the City of Brooklyn between 1879 and 1898, when Brooklyn became merely one borough of five. Please see this article, which describes his work and happens to mention Colored schools and one Catholic school.

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A few years later, Charles B. J. Snyder oversaw the construction of many public schools in the five boroughs, including Wadleigh High School, which my mother attended. He chose mid-block sites, away from the more trafficked avenues. The schools had an H design, providing courtyards and good lighting in each tall classroom. 

St. John the Baptist

from the Brooklyn Tablet website, not in print

Link HERE. 

St. Catherine of Genoa - St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Academy to close

Sad to relate, St. Catherine of Genoa - St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Academy at 4410 Avenue D in East Flatbush will close at the end of this school year, June, 2024.

Spectrum News

Salve Regina Catholic Academy to close

Salve Regina Catholic Academy is located at 237 Jerome Street in East New York. It is the renamed St Michael parish school. Sad to relate, it will close in June, 2024.

Spectrum News

St. Patrick, Kent Avenue, demolished

In early January of 2024, wrecking crews attacked the church of St. Patrick on Kent Avenue, corner of Willoughby Avenue. Please see the article on the BKReader linked here. The church, designed by Patrick Keely, was built in 1856. Even after the merger with St. Lucy  parish, it apparently had low attendance. The diocese of Brooklyn or one of its entities received $9,250,000 from the sale. Adjacent lots added to that price.

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An article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of November 5 1854, describes the laying of the cornerstone. The article gives the architect's name as James J. Lyons.

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Also see a Patch article HERE.

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Please see more of my posts about this church on Kent Avenue. They are linked HERE.

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It seems that the closest Catholic church with daily Mass is Sacred Heart at 32 Clermont Avenue, a mile northwest of St. Patrick's. See Mass schedule.

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As to what will be built on the northwest corner, replacing the demolished church: maybe apartments similar to those on the northeast corner, with provisions for sukkah or sukkot.

Elementary school supplement

At the link below, The Tablet offers an excellent guide to the Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens. There are two improvements this year: a disclosure of basic tuition rates, which vary considerably by neighborhood; and excellent maps.

Please see https://thetablet.org/back-to-school-2023/