Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Catholic academies, list of March, 2012

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio has followed up the alignment decree effective May 17, 2011, with a second decree effective March 26, 2012.  The decrees assign the parish staff (apparently only the ordained) to the spiritual care of the students in the newly-formed Catholic academies, formerly parish elementary schools.  For further explanation, please read the new decree here.
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The first alignment decree signed by Bishop DiMarzio and effective May 17, 2011 is linked here.
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Below, I use the new decree to provide a list of academies in Brooklyn.  I begin with those that have only one parish aligned with the academy and therefore more resemble a parish school.

The decree is a list of some Catholic Academies (that is, parish or regional elementary schools renamed as Catholic Academies with a two-level board in charge). With each academy on the list are the parishes whose priests are responsible for the pastoral care of the students in the academies. It seems to be largely aimed at the provision of Mass and the sacrament of Reconciliation. Please read the document.
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My interest is in the geographical assignment of parishes to academies. These are the Brooklyn schools on the list:
St. Brigid Catholic Academy, Bushwick, aligned with St. Brigid parish, its school being the academy.
St. Saviour Catholic Academy, Park Slope, aligned with St. Saviour parish, its school being the academy.
St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Academy, Bushwick, aligned with St. Joseph Patron (site of academy).
Pope John Paul II Family Academy, Bushwick, aligned with St. Barbara parish, whose school is the site of the academy.
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St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy, Greenpoint, aligned with St. Stanislaus Kostka parish (site of academy), Sts. Cyril and Methodius, St. Anthony - St. Alphonsus, and Our Lady of Consolation parishes.
Sts. Joseph and Dominic, Williamsburg, aligned with Most Holy Trinity (site of academy), Our Lady of Pompeii, Sts. Peter and Paul, and Transfiguration.
Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy, Williamsburg, aligned with Divine Mercy parish (3 parishes in 1), Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and Annunciation.
Holy Angels Catholic Academy, Bay Ridge, aligned with Holy Angels parish and St. Andrew the Apostle parish.
Midwood Catholic Academy, Midwood, aligned with St. Thomas Aquinas parish (the site of the academy), St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Columba, and Our Lady Help of Christians.
St. Mary, Mother of Jesus - St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Academy, Bensonhurst, aligned with St. Mary, Mother of Jesus parish (site of academy), St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. Finbar, St. Dominic, and Most Precious Blood parishes.
Our Lady of Trust, Canarsie, aligned with St. Jude parish, Our Lady of Miracles (two sites of the academy), St. Laurence (Van Siclen and Flatlands Aves.), and Holy Family (Canarsie).
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St. Catherine of Genoa - St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Academy, East Flatbush, aligned with St. Therese (site of academy), St. Catherine, and Our Lady of Refuge.
Salve Regina Catholic Academy, East New York, aligned with St. Michael (site of academy), St. Malachy (merged into St. Michael), Mary Mother of the Church (a combination of three parishes), Our Lady of the Presentation/Our Lady of Loreto, St. Rita, St. Sylvester, and St. Fortunata.
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy, aligned with St. Francis of Assisi parish (site of academy), St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Joseph (Pacific Street).
St. Gregory the Great Catholic Academy, aligned with Holy Cross (Flatbush, current site of academy), St. Matthew (which includes the church of St. Gregory the Great, Crown Heights), and Holy Innocents.
St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Academy, Windsor Terrace, aligned with Holy Name of Jesus (site of academy), and Immaculate Heart of Mary parish.
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Maybe someplace else there is an explanation of who will prepare the students for first Confession, first Communion, and Confirmation.  Will students of the Catholic Academies be prepared by the staff of the Academy, and where will they "make" these sacraments?  Or will the students have to attend additional classes in their own parishes? I suspect that this problem is not new and that the most appropriate answers are local, with consultation of the parents and staff.









Monday, April 9, 2012

Sacred Heart, Fort Greene





Sacred Heart church stands on Clermont Avenue between Park Avenue (to the left and south) and Flushing Avenue (to the right, with the Navy Yard).  The parish was established in 1871 and this church completed in 1877.  About 2008 Bishop Dimarzio renamed the parish Mary of Nazareth parish, with the absorption of St. Michael - St. Edward parish, later closed.    His decree dated 11.12.2010 suppressed the parish of St. Lucy - St. Patrick and merged it into the parish of Mary of Nazareth, 41 Adelphi Street, but St. Lucy - St. Patrick continues to show up on the diocesan list of parishes.   When I took these photos of Sacred Heart church in April, 2012, I could find no exterior Mass schedule, but the diocesan website shows a Thursday 7:30 p.m. Mass in Spanish and a Sunday bilingual Mass at 10:30 a.m.  The diocesan website also lists Mass four times a week at St. Patrick's church, Kent and Willoughby Avenues.


The rectory at the right is at 41 Adelphi Street, Brooklyn, New York 11205, telephone 718-625-5115.
The large school bears the name Sacred Heart Institute from an earlier era.  From 1973 to 1985 it was Fort Greene Catholic.  Now, the closest door has two signs, Greenhill School and Sacred Heart Religious Instruction Center.  The 2011 edition of the Official Catholic Directory states that there were 125 students in religious education.



According to this document on Wallabout Cultural Resources, Thomas F. Houghton designed the church, the rectory, and the institute.
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On 5.8.2014, a reader wrote (see comment below) that she would like photos of the interior of the church.  She also remarked about the organ.  The New York organ project offers a description of the church and its organ, linked here.
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