Regina Pacis minus St. Rosalia, May, 2017

On May 2, 2017, the bishop of Brooklyn decreed that the church of Saint Rosalia at 6301 Fourteenth Avenue is relegated for profane, not sordid, use, ultimately putting it up for sale with that restriction.
The decree is linked HERE, but sometimes these links to official documents become stale.
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The mailing address for the parish the Basilica of Regina Pacis is 1230 65th Street, Brooklyn NY 11219, telephone 718-236-0909. The neighborhood is the northern part of Bensonhurst.
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The people of the parish of St. Rosalia (founded in 1902 as an Italian national parish, not a territorial parish) made a vow in 1942 to build a votive shrine, the magnificent Regina Pacis church, if their servicemen came home safe from the war and peace was established. In broad summary, that seems to be why this parish had two or three names. The history of the votive shrine from 1942 onward is given on the parish website. I have been unable to learn the parish history for the first forty years, especially whether there was more than one building for Sunday worship. This is not a merged parish. It is a parish that took on a supplementary name, Regina Pacis. Now, in 2017, the name Saint Rosalia has been dropped.

Clicking on any photo will enlarge it. I took the eight photos on this page in 2010.

Above is the now-closed church on 14th Avenue. In 2010, three weekend Masses were offered here: Saturday 5 p.m. in English, Saturday 7:30 p.m. in Chinese, Sunday 9 a.m. in Italian. In 2016, I can find little reference in the parish bulletin to services at Saint Rosalia. In 2017, the church was canonically closed.

Above is the Regina Pacis Votive Shrine on 65th Street near 12th Avenue, Bensonhurst. I note that the Sunday Mass schedule includes five Masses in English, plus one each in Chinese, Italian, and Spanish.

The parish website once had descriptions and photos of the artwork surrounding the congregation, but I have been unable to find these helpful descriptions on the new website.

The above view looks west on 65th Street towards 12th Avenue.
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Some Catholic parishes with beautiful churches do not host weddings of couples who are not active attendees of the parish itself. The Regina Pacis website implies a ready willingness to assist the celebration of Catholic marriage.

The above view looks along 65th Street towards 12th Avenue. This building is signed Regina Pacis Youth Center and Catholic Migration Office. However, it seems the upper floors may have had classrooms. To the right is the rectory and then the Regina Pacis Votive Shrine. A former parish school building extends the short block on 12th Avenue from 65th Street to 66th Street.
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A helpful reader pointed out that the parish also included St. Theresa's Chapel on 12th Avenue at 66th Street.  A link to the news article with that information is HERE. Father Angelo Rafael Cioffi became pastor in 1923 and purchased the land for the school, chapel, and new rectory two blocks west of St. Rosalia's church.  In the mid-twentieth century, Sunday Mass attendance was much higher than today, and pastors often had to add more worship spaces, churches, and chapels.  I am guessing that in 1950, Mass was celebrated in three or four locations, the old church on 14th Avenue, the new shrine church upstairs, the same church downstairs, and maybe at St. Theresa's chapel. It would be interesting to see a Sunday bulletin or Mass schedule for that era. 
The same helpful reader showed me this link to a website about church organs.  The address given for St. Theresa's chapel appears to be in error.

Our Lady of Grace, Ave. W, Gravesend

The parish of Our Lady of Grace is located at 430 Avenue W., Brooklyn NY 11223, telephone 718-627-2020.  The parish website is linked here.  For Mass schedules, please see the website.  In the above photo, the church faces Avenue W, and East 4th Street is to the right.  Ocean Parkway is two short blocks further to the right (east).

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy is also on Avenue W, immediately west of the church.  The school address is 385 Avenue W, Brooklyn NY 11223, telephone 718-375-2081.  

Divine Mercy, Williamsburg (triple merger)

Effective January 31, 2011, three parishes in Greenpoint and Williamsburg were canonically suppressed to create a single parish (Divine Mercy parish) with three "worship sites" or churches.  The parishes merged are St. Cecilia , St. Nicholas, and St. Francis of Paola.  An administrator, a parochial vicar (or assistant), and two deacons have been appointed to Divine Mercy, located at 219 Conselyea Street, Brooklyn NY 11211, telephone 718-387-0256.  The territory, assets and obligations of the three parishes were transferred to the new Divine Mercy Parish.
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Please see the parish website, linked HERE. 
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The March 6, 2011 parish bulletin from St. Francis of Paola church carries this declaration: One parish created in the heart of Divine Mercy to serve God's people in the Churches of  Saint Cecilia - Saint Francis of Paola - Saint Nicholas as a sign of Jesus' merciful love.
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The above photo shows the rectory (with a red awning) and church.  Most photos may be enlarged by clicking on them.

On the south side of Conselyea Street is a grotto.  In September, 2014, I received an e-mail with this wonderful explanation:

My name is Don Massetti, and my grandfather, Vito Abate, built the grotto at St. Francis of Paola over seventy-five years ago.  As a young boy, I lived on Engert Avenue between McGuinness Blvd. and Graham Avenue.  Recently, I was able to return to Brooklyn and revisit this very special place that I totally took for granted as a child.
THIS LINK connects to my blog, which tells the story of my grandfather, and how this most spectacular grotto came to be.  I promise you that you will find it to be a most interesting and very touching piece of St. Francis of Paola history.
It is my hope that one day, in lieu of a plaque meely stating his name, an inscription explaning that he single-handedly built this tribute to our Holy Queen, may take its place.  I don't now how to go about started on such a project, and was wondering if perhaps you can guide me to taking the proper channels.  
Thank you, and may God bless you.

West on Conselyea Street is the former parish school, now Francis of Paola Early Learning Center of the New York AHRC.  In the distance can be seen some of the many new apartment houses constructed in Williamsburg during the housing boom. 
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St. Nicholas parish was established in 1865, St. Cecilia in 1872, and St. Francis of Paola in 1918.
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Concerning the name Conselyea Street:  It seems that only two years before the English took New Amsterdam in 1664, Jan Conselje (Jean le Conseille) arrived and went to Bushwick.  Please see an explanation here.

Our Lady of Pompeii, Bushwick

Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii Church was located at 225 Seigel St., Brooklyn NY 11206,  For Mass schedules, see the link underlined in the previous sentence.  The Pallottine Order of Priests and Brothers, S.A.C., or Società dell'Apostolato Cattolico, staff this parish. No! In 2026 there is no staff. The property has been leased. See the newer post.

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A decorative plaza faces the church door. An office and instructional rooms are to the left, along Seigel Street. The cornerstone, visible above, is dated 1902. At that time, the parish was almost entirely Italian. The principal languages now seem to be English and Spanish.
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In the distant past, the church was a rope factory, an elongated building needed for the shipping industry.



Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii began in the late 1800's, only a few years before this church was built.



For decades, the neighborhood has been more Latin American than Italian, so it is appropriate that Vincenzo Pallotti is honored with his baptismal name in Spanish. As he lived 1795-1850, he predates the devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii. A brief history of the work he founded is linked here. But who is Herr Seigel?


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