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. 

---

On November 16 & 17, the Mass attendance at St. Brendan was 545. A Catholic mission of the Byzantine Rite (Stamford eparchy) also celebrates the Divine Liturgy in 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 within the school, which runs K-12.

The neighborhoods of the two parishes (St. Brendan, St. Edmund) have about 36% to 39% Jewish households, but  I note other mid-Eastern non-Catholic groups there, judging by storefronts along Coney Island Avenue.

---

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) Mostly accomplished, in Park Slope, St. Augustine and St. Francis Xavier, 0.3 mile apart. Please see the website of the merging 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.

---

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

---

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