Congratulations to author Terri Cook for her extraordinary book, "Sacred Havens of Brooklyn," published by The History Press in 2013. As she includes synagogues, mosques, and Christian churches of many denominations, her 224-page book results from much more investigation, observation, and walking than I have done for this blog.
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At least 72 Catholic parishes are included, often with interesting facts that I did not learn from my other readings. She has divided Brooklyn into three parts, and then into neighborhood chapters, with the result that the Catholic parishes are presented in the context of neighborhood ethnicity and other houses of worship.
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The book offers a wealth of descriptive text. You may discover errors, and the phrasing or vocabulary is sometimes inexact. For example, she uses the word "sanctuary" for the church interior, a Protestant usage, where that word in Catholic usage describes only the limited space near the altar, ambo, and tabernacle, once "inside the communion rail."
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The author has visited the interior of almost all the churches she describes, whereas I have turned away from locked doors. Therefore, her book is more descriptive than this blog.
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Google's Blogger allows revisions, something difficult in a printed book. I am going to have to mine this volume for possible edits of my descriptions of parishes.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Friday, March 7, 2014
Continental Army Plaza, Williamsburg
A reader has asked:
There's a Catholic church that holds bilingual services outdoors in the Continental Army Plaza in South Williamsburg during the summer. Do you know which church this is?
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There are several Catholic parishes nearby. If anyone knows details of these summertime services, please answer by clicking on Comments above.
Thank you.
Thank you.
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Continental Army Plaza is on the north side of Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. A description is here.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
St. Jerome Academy to close in June
The Brooklyn Tablet, in an article dated 2.12.2014, announces the closure this June of St. Jerome Academy, East 29th Street, near Newkirk and Nostrand Avenues. The article states that 235 students are enrolled, and that the closure results from monetary deficits in operation and repairs.
Pope John Paul II Family Academy to close
See this Tablet article dated 2.12.2014 about the closing of Pope John Paul II Family Academy (in the former St. Barbara School) this June. Lack of funds is given as the reason. Please recall that this academy was funded by an anonymous donor. At the time of the schools initiation, there was some report of the donor's insistence of family participation in Sunday Mass. The Tablet article does not indicate the enrollment or the grades that are being taught, nor does it mention staffing. A rooftop photo on the academy's website shows about 110 students and 15 staff, including two or three religious Sisters, perhaps from Poland.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
From Ridgewood to Albany
The Troy Record of 2.11.2014 reports that Msgr. Edward Scharfenberger of the diocese of Brooklyn has been named the next bishop of Albany. The article is linked here.
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Contrasting the two dioceses, I note that the diocese of Albany includes more than thirteen counties, Brooklyn two. According to Catholic-hierarchy.org Brooklyn has one priest for approximately each 2,200 Catholics, Albany one priest for 1,360.
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The Tablet article of February 12, 2014, linked here, explains that Msgr. Scharfenberger was baptized at St. Aloysius church and educated at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal School, both in Queens.
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Contrasting the two dioceses, I note that the diocese of Albany includes more than thirteen counties, Brooklyn two. According to Catholic-hierarchy.org Brooklyn has one priest for approximately each 2,200 Catholics, Albany one priest for 1,360.
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The Tablet article of February 12, 2014, linked here, explains that Msgr. Scharfenberger was baptized at St. Aloysius church and educated at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal School, both in Queens.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
August, 2013, changes in schools
This post is stale news because I did not notice a diocesan summary dated August, 2013. In transforming elementary schools into quasi-independent Catholic academies, the diocese announced these changes:
St. Patrick School, Bay Ridge or Fort Hamilton, is now a Catholic Academy. Please see the website here.
St. Peter Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Mary Mother of Jesus - St. Frances Cabrini Academy, 23rd Avenue, Bensonhurst. For more description, also see this post.
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St. Anselm Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Anselm's parish school, 83rd Street, Bay Ridge.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Francis Xavier parish school, Park Slope.
St. Jerome Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Jerome parish school, Flatbush.
Our Lady of Trust Catholic Academy now has one campus, at St. Jude's, Canarsie Road.
St. Patrick School, Bay Ridge or Fort Hamilton, is now a Catholic Academy. Please see the website here.
St. Peter Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Mary Mother of Jesus - St. Frances Cabrini Academy, 23rd Avenue, Bensonhurst. For more description, also see this post.
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St. Anselm Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Anselm's parish school, 83rd Street, Bay Ridge.
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Francis Xavier parish school, Park Slope.
St. Jerome Catholic Academy is the new name of St. Jerome parish school, Flatbush.
Our Lady of Trust Catholic Academy now has one campus, at St. Jude's, Canarsie Road.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
A free ebook from 1871
Fortunately, I encountered this title during a Google search: "A brief historical Sketch of the Catholic Church on Long Island," by Patrick Mulrenan, 1871. The link is here.
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Recall that Long Island includes Brooklyn, Queens, and everywhere to Montauk Point. At that time, the diocese of Brooklyn included the entire island. What is now Nassau County was part of Queens County, and Brooklyn was a City.
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At the top left of the page at the above link, you will see a red button "Ebook Free." Yes, because the copyright has expired, Google can give you without charge what it scanned from the Harvard University library. Before you download, consider where you want to read this book, on your computer or on a tablet, because it will download only to the device that fetches it.
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Mulrenan's book is a valuable snapshot of the Diocese of Brooklyn and its parishes and good works, as observed in 1871. You may use the find tool to locate the parish, neighborhood, or person that is your particular interest. In general, histories of dioceses focus on the bishops more than on the parishes, even when they attempt to write from the ground up. The book, nevertheless, is a treasury of the growth of the church on our island. Highly recommended. I see copies for sale in the used book market also.
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Recall that Long Island includes Brooklyn, Queens, and everywhere to Montauk Point. At that time, the diocese of Brooklyn included the entire island. What is now Nassau County was part of Queens County, and Brooklyn was a City.
---
At the top left of the page at the above link, you will see a red button "Ebook Free." Yes, because the copyright has expired, Google can give you without charge what it scanned from the Harvard University library. Before you download, consider where you want to read this book, on your computer or on a tablet, because it will download only to the device that fetches it.
---
Mulrenan's book is a valuable snapshot of the Diocese of Brooklyn and its parishes and good works, as observed in 1871. You may use the find tool to locate the parish, neighborhood, or person that is your particular interest. In general, histories of dioceses focus on the bishops more than on the parishes, even when they attempt to write from the ground up. The book, nevertheless, is a treasury of the growth of the church on our island. Highly recommended. I see copies for sale in the used book market also.
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