San Damiano Mission, Greenpoint

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: On December 8, 2020, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio reopened Holy Family church in Greenpoint under an administrator from the Shalom Catholic Community, a group of Brazilian roots. Please see the article in the Brooklyn Tablet linked HERE.
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This parish was established in 1905, and the cornerstone of the church above reads 1911. It seems that Slovak Franciscan Friars cared for the faithful here during the parish's early era. 
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When I took the above photo about 5:15 p.m. on a weekday in 2008, many cyclists seemed to be heading home on an established fast bike lane, unlike the worse traffic of parallel Manhattan Avenue.  The church is on North 15th Street at Nassau Avenue.
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In 2011, the bishop of Brooklyn merged this parish with the parish of St. Anthony of Padua, which earlier had absorbed the parish of St. Alphonsus.  Since early 2015, it is San Damiano Mission.
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Above, the rectory at 21 Nassau Avenue.

The parish school, which closed in 1970, is now a day care center operated by the diocesan Catholic Charities.

North Brooklyn Catholic

The Greenpoint News has run a story on the coordinated efforts of fifteen Catholic churches of Greenpoint and Williamsburg.  The geographic boundaries of parishes used to be much more important in our cities, so it is encouraging to see this combined work. The article link is below:
http://www.greenpointnews.com/news/6095/once-competitors-north-brooklyn-s-catholics-churches-unite-to-draw-new-congregants
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Please also see
http://northbrooklyncatholic.org
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I note 42 celebrations of Sunday worship on a chronological list.  Years ago, I saw the same sort of coordination in Avila, Spain, to help people find a Sunday Mass at a certain hour, the complete list of all celebrations posted on a placard outside each church.
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Also, please see the active Facebook page, "North Brooklyn Catholic," linked HERE.

Greenpoint schools into apartments

Two articles have appeared concerning the lease of Catholic schools in Greenpoint to developers who are turning them into apartments.  These two articles are of interest:
From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of 4.16.2014, "Rescue Me: Shuttered Greenpoint Catholic Schools are Resurrected as Apartment Houses."
and 
from Curbed NY of 4.17.2014, "Losing Our Religion: Shuttered Greenpoint Catholic Schools to Become Housing."
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These news stories involve St. Cecilia and the parish of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
What is revealing is the account of corporations-behind-corporations.  Also, I note that St. Cecilia's school may still be owned by the diocese or parish but merely leased for 49 years.  I wonder whether Rocklyn Asset Corporation is involved in this deal.
Also, please see this blog's posts on the two parishes:
St. Cecilia
and Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
The church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius are east of Manhattan Avenue.  The former school is west of Manhattan Avenue.

Holy Family, Greenpoint

IMPORTANT NOTE:  In November, 2019, I am unable to ascertain the role of this church. Some changes have happened.
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This parish was established in 1905, and the cornerstone of the church above reads 1911. It seems that Slovak Franciscan Friars cared for the faithful here during the parish's early era. 
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When I took the above photo about 5:15 p.m. on a weekday in 2008, many cyclists seemed to be heading home on an established fast bike lane, unlike the worse traffic of parallel Manhattan Avenue.  The church is on North 15th Street at Nassau Avenue.
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In 2011, the bishop of Brooklyn merged this parish with the parish of St. Anthony of Padua, which earlier had absorbed the parish of St. Alphonsus.  Since early 2015, it is San Damiano Mission.
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Above, the rectory at 21 Nassau Avenue.

The parish school, which closed in 1970, is now a day care center operated by the diocesan Catholic Charities.

St. Cecilia, Greenpoint

The church of St. Cecilia is now one of three worship sites within the new Divine Mercy parish, established in 2011. An office is maintained at 84 Herbert Street, but the principal office and rectory is at 219 Conselyea Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211.

Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy is less than a mile south of St. Cecilia's.

Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.  The above photo was taken about a half-hour before the arrival of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.

St. Cecilia's parish, Greenpoint, has been merged into a new parish of Divine Mercy, which has three worship sites: Saint Francis of Paola (daily Mass, Sunday Vigil, and two Sunday Masses), St. Cecilia (daily Mass and one Sunday Mass), and St. Nicholas (two Sunday Masses).

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St. Cecilia's buildings take up almost the entire rectangle of the block bounded by North Henry, Herbert, Monitor, and Richardson Streets, the exception being a few private houses to the right in this photo. The parish was established in 1871. One year, it seems, almost 1,700 students were educated in the parish school, which closed in June, 2008. 

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St. Cecilia's website is linked here.  It is helpful to click on the word Bulletin, because that has been presenting an updated schedule of Masses, lists of the parish staff, and telephone numbers.  The St. Cecilia website offers both recent and older information and photos.

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This blog includes an older post from 2012, which I hesitate to delete: Divine Mercy triple merger.  Also, there is this post from 2009, St. Nicholas.

The cornerstone of this five-story school on Monitor Street, corner Richardson, bears the date 1906.  Brother Albert Matthew, who began his teaching career here about 1928, related how the classrooms used gas lamps at that late date. 

It is now the summer of 2016 and the above work has been done. Several buildings have been turned into rental apartments. The largest building, of course, is the former school (above) on Monitor Street. The second largest building is the former convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph, also on Monitor Street.  Adjacent to the school, but on Richardson Street is a building that may have been used by a school employee and family.  At 2 North Henry Street, but now using a Richardson Street number on the conversion permits, is the former house of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, which has been turned into either two or four apartments. The grand total is a large number of apartments in renovated parish structures, which were rented on a 49-year lease to the developers, that is, not sold by St. Cecilia's parish.

Between the school and former convent is a new flagpole and this memorial.
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For decades, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the De La Salle Christian Brothers staffed the parish school.  Sad to relate, Brother Andrew Gerard Duncanson, teacher at St. Cecilia's Boys' department 1962-1964 and principal there 1967-1969, passed away in Providence, Rhode Island, 8/28/2011, where he worked at La Salle Academy.

St. Cecilia, Greenpoint, now Divine Mercy

St. Cecilia's parish, Greenpoint, has been merged into a new parish of Divine Mercy. The main office for Divine Mercy Parish is located at St. Francis of Paola, 219 Conselyea Street. The phone number is (718) 387-0256. Each church continues as a liturgical worship site.
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St. Cecilia's buildings take up almost the entire rectangle of the block bounded by North Henry, Herbert, Monitor, and Richardson Streets, the exception being a few private houses to the right in this photo. The parish was established in 1871. One year, it seems, almost 1,700 students were educated in the parish school, which closed in June, 2008. For more photos of this parish, please look at my September, 2008, photos on Webshots here. When you get to that link, move to Previous or Next (near top right of photo) to explore more photos of the parish and Greenpoint.
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The parish website is linked here.  Please see the comments linked above the photo.
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For decades, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the De La Salle Christian Brothers staffed the parish school.  Sad to relate, Brother Andrew Gerard Duncanson, teacher at St. Cecilia's Boys' department 1962-1964 and principal there 1967-1969, passed away in Providence, Rhode Island, 8/28/2011, where he worked at La Salle Academy.

Marketing of St. Elias, Greenpoint

Walking around Greenpoint in 2008, I was unaware that I passed close to the site of St. Elias Catholic church at 145 Kent Street. (The church was up for sale then, but it did not sell.)
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Please see this link to Curbed in February, 2012, with photos and narrative.  In October, 2012, I cannot determine the status.

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This link has many comments, some of which explain that the church, once Protestant, was purchased by Catholics of the Byzantine-Ruthenian eparchy of Passaic, probably in the mid-twentieth century.  

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Greenpoint

The mailing address for the parish of Sts. Cyril and Methodius is 150 Dupont Street, Brooklyn NY 11222, telephone 718-389-4424. Polish Vincentian priests staff the parish. The website is here. Both photos were taken on the Eagle Street side of the parish property, which is mid-block between Manhattan Avenue and McGuinness Blvd. The parish school closed in 1998.



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Thanks to Noirin of Co. Mayo for finding this description within the parade instructions for the 2013 Pulaski Day parade:
SS. CYRIL & METHODIUS PARISH LOCATED IN GREENPOINT, NY, WAS FOUNDED IN 1916 BY A GROUP OF POLISH GENTLEMEN, WHO APPEALED TO BISHOP CHARLES MCDONNELL FOR HELP.
HIS EXCELLENCY ASSIGNED REV. EMIL STRENSKI THE TASK OF STARTING THE NEW PARISH. THE FIRST MASS OF THE NEWLY FORMED PARISH WAS CELEBRATED ON OCTOBER 14TH, 1917. THE PARISH SCHOOL OPENED ITS DOORS THREE YEARS LATER, IN THE FALL OF 1920. THE PARISH IS STILL A VIBRANT PARISH EVEN TO THIS DAY, EVEN THOUGH IT ENCOUNTERED MANY HARD TIMES THROUGH THE YEARS, NAMELY WWI, THE GREAT DEPRESSION, AND WWII, WHICH IN THE END ONLY MADE THE PARISH THAT MUCH STRONGER.
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IN 1939, ST. COLUMBKILLE, A FELLOW GREENPOINT PARISH, FELL ON VERY HARD TIMES DUE TO LACK OF PARISHIONERS AND IT WAS REV. MROZINSKI, THE PASTOR OF S.S. CYRIL & METHODIUS AT THE TIME, WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR MERGING THE TWO PARISHES. THE CURRENT CHURCH STANDS ON THE SITE OF ST. COLUMBKILLE, LOCATED AT 161 EAGLE ST. IN GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN.
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IN 1936, THE PARISH’S SUNDAY SCHOOL WAS ESTABLISHED SO THAT GRAMMAR SCHOOL SPIRITUAL EDUCATION. THE CCD PROGRAM WHICH IS NOW HELD ON FRIDAY’S AND SATURDAY’S IN POLISH IS STILL GOING STRONG AND CONTINUES TO GROW EVERY YEAR. IN ADDITION, THE PARISH HOSTS A POLISH SATURDAY SCHOOL, WHICH ALSO CONTINUES TO GROW IN NUMBERS EACH AND EVERY YEAR. IT OFFERS THE YOUTH OF OUR PARISH AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF POLAND. IN 1996, THE PRIESTS OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSIONS OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CAME TO OUR PARISH.

St. Anthony of Padua - St. Alphonsus, Greenpoint

The parish of St. Anthony of Padua was established in 1858. The architect for this second church was the prolific and skilled Patrick Charles Keely. See links at right. Also see the excellent architectural evaluation of this church by Francis Morrone in "An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn."
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The mailing address for this parish is 862 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11222, telephone 718-383-3339. The parish has an informative website, linked here, and a Facebook page.  Two Carmelites of Mary Immaculate from Kerala, India, are the parish priests.
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I must thank Msgr. Sean Ogle and blogger Pat McNamara for explaining that this parish was named by a Conventual Franciscan, Fr. Joseph Brunneman, as linked here. Later, the parish of St. Alphonsus was established nearby, but it was merged with St. Anthony of Padua in 1976. The school closed in 2006. 
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For a summary of Fr. Patrick O'Hare, pastor from 1883 to 1926, please see this Historic Greenpoint link.  The piece is written by the historian Geoffrey Cobb, who yesterday (2.27.2016) made an excellent presentation of Greenpoint history for the New York Irish History Roundtable.



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St. Stanislaus Kostka, Greenpoint

Each weekend nine Masses are celebrated at St. Stanislaus Kostka church, the most of the six Catholic churches in Greenpoint. Also, this parish hosts Greenpoint's sole Catholic elementary school, St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy, with an enrollment of about 240.  The parish apparently teaches 235 more in religious ed. Past numbers were probably much higher. The parish was established in 1896 for Polish immigrants, who continue to arrive in Greenpoint even in the 21st century. From what I heard on the streets of Greenpoint, Polish is second to English. Polish Vincentian Fathers serve in this parish.
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The mailing address of the parish is 607 Humboldt St., Brooklyn, NY 11222, telephone 718-388-0170. The parish website is linked here. The parish Facebook page, kept up-to-date, is linked here.  The school's address is 12 Newell St., telephone 718-383-1970. 
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Another blogger, Andrew, has posted excellent photos of the church here.