Servant Hearts Grow in Park Slope

Since 1914, St. Francis Xavier School in Park Slope has provided a faith-filled, value-centered Catholic education with high academic standards and expectations.
We are accredited by the Middle States Association and offer a five-day nursery school as well as classes for pre-k-4 through grade eight. Parents have the option of enrolling three- and four-year-olds in programs for a half-day or full-day session. Universal pre-kindergarten is also available.
The dedicated faculty and staff are committed to providing a challenging, structured, creative and caring environment where children can obtain the necessary skills for success in high school and college.
In addition to developing each student’s talents and abilities, St. Francis Xavier School encourages good study habits, leadership qualities and sound decision-making skills, along with a respect for life within a faith community and beyond. Service projects, coordinated by Student Council members, help raise community concern and awareness. The school community has collected food for the homeless to benefit CHIPS (Christian Help In Park Slope); raised funds for Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude’s Hospital and Covenant House; made donations to the Catholic Missions, flood victims in Haiti, schools in Africa and fire victims in California; and cleaned litter around the school and church buildings in honor of Earth Day.
We are proud to offer an after-school program as well as after-school clubs, including music, drama, crafts and Spanish. For sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students who excel in reading and math, we offer the Aquinas Club, an educational enrichment program.
For more information, you can visit the school during its open house on Sunday, Jan. 27, following the 12:15 p.m. Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church. Open houses are also held every Thursday, 9-10 a.m., and during Catholic Schools Week on 
Tuesday, Jan. 29, and Thursday, Jan. 31. To learn more, log onto our website at www.sfxsparkslope.org.

Class Rings for Rockaway Eighth Graders

Spring is just around the bend and that means graduation is on the horizon. A sure sign of that can be seen on the hands of eighth graders at St. Rose of Lima School, Rockaway Beach. Students received their class rings in a special ceremony during First Friday Mass, Feb. 3. (Photo courtesy Courtney Cruz)

Fifty years ago, Catholics in Mill Basin were given a new place to worship and express their faith. On March 30, join St. Bernard parish at its 50th Jubilee Dinner Dance, March 30, 7 p.m. at El Caribe Country Club. Tickets are $100. For tickets, call 718-763-5533.

During the past 35 years, the Federation of Italian American Organizations (F.I.A.O.), a community-based service organization, has provided services to improve the quality of life of Brooklyn individuals and families with particular focus on the needy — immigrants, senior citizens and youth. F.I.A.O. will hold its 35th annual anniversary gala on Sunday, March 25 at El Caribe Country Club, Mill basin. Cocktails at 2 p.m.; ceremony at 3 p.m.; and dinner at 4 p.m. This year’s honorees are Carmine and Carmella Del Priore of Priority landscaping and Nursery Inc.; Bruno F. Codispoti, Esq. of Codispoti and Associates P.C.; and John Sparacio of Sandler O’Neill and Partners L.P. For tickets or journal ads, call 718-259-2828.

Save the date! The Mount Carmel Theatre Company will present Duets, a one-night-only concert celebrating some of the greatest duets in Broadway’s history, April 16, 8 p.m. on the lower stage at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish, Williamsburg. Adam Mace, a graduate of Cathedral Prep Seminary, Elmhurst, will direct the production. Tickets are $10. For tickets, call 646-580-2167 or e-mail mctheatrecompany@gmail.com.

“How God became King: Why We’ve All Misunderstood the Gospels” is the topic of the 19th annual Msgr. George Denzer Lecture, scheduled for March 25 at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington. The speaker will be N.T. Wright, a professor of New Testament and early Christianity, University of St. Andrews, Scotland. To register, call 631-423-0483 ext. 112. A free-will offering will be accepted.

Are you ready to live your Cursillo? The next diocesan Women’s Cursillo Weekend is scheduled for March 22-23 at Jesus of Nazareth Retreat Center, East Flatbush. To sign up, call Dorothy Baudry, 917-929-2442.

Astoria residents are in for a treat —  an early visit from Peter Rabbit, who will hop over to Immaculate Conception School, March 31, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Children are welcome to share in a buffet breakfast, arts and crafts session and pictures with the cotton-tailed guest. Admission: $9 adult to age 14; $5, ages 13 to three; and free for children under two. Advance tickets only. For tickets, contact Dewey Hopkins, 347-215-0154 or ahop537123@aol.com.

You’re invited to join parishioners from St. Adalbert, Elmhurst, on a trip to coastal Maine, June 1-4. Visit the Maine Lighthouse Museum, Mt. Battie, Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. Cost: $475 per person, double occupancy, includes three-night accommodations, three breakfasts and dinners, and a lunch stop in Olde Mistick Village, Conn. For reservations, contact Linda Gatti, 917-887-8325.

Join St. Francis Xavier, Park Slope, for the parish’s 125th Anniversary Gala Dinner Dance, April 21, 7 p.m. at The Grand Prospect Hall. Tickets are on sale through March 30. For tickets, e-mail sfx125@nyc.rr.com.

In honor of Women’s History Month, this week’s Tip of the Tablet TALK Top Hat goes to the religious and lay women who have served this diocese since its founding in 1853. These women have — and continue to — contribute to the diocese’s proud heritage through their incalculable contributions to various ministries and peoples.

From Williamsburg to Israel 

In celebration of the 125th anniversary year of the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Williamsburg, a group of pilgrims visited Mount Carmel in Israel. Pilgrims are pictured with Msgr. Joseph Calise, pastor, at Muhraqa, the site of the sacrifice of the prophet Elijah. After six days in Israel, the pilgrimage continued for four days in Rome where the parish received a special welcome from Pope Benedict XVI at his weekly papal audience. (Photo courtesy Msgr. Joseph Calise)

by Marie Elena Giossi

An inscribed trowel, handwritten ledgers and golden monstrances, all circa 1900, were among the local treasures on display in Park Slope last weekend.

St. Francis Xavier parish opened the doors of its 125-year-old Victorian-style rectory to exhibit historical photographs, artifacts, documents and memorabilia as part of its quasquicentennial celebration. The five-room display began in the front room and extended through the pastor’s office, dining room, kitchen and a small sitting room.

The event was organized by six parishioners, Dr. Frank Greene, parish archivist; Haydee Von Sternberg; Carmine and Mary Mastrapoalo; Ann Marie Dougherty; and Claudia Gilchriest.

Part of the parish display.

“We’ve been very fortunate. Pastors have done little in the way of changing the parish buildings,” said Dr. Greene, who guided visitors through the exhibit. An architectural historian and professor at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, he joined the parish in 1981.

The original church and rectory were both erected in 1886, he explained, noting that when parishioners outgrew the first church, it was picked up on blocks and wheels and moved around the corner. The present church was built on the site of the first and the original church became the parish Lyceum, a youth center.

Both longtime and newer parishioners learned lesser-known facts about the church, including its full name: St. Francis Xavier of the Indies, and tidbits about all six former pastors, each of whom had his own display. Father William Rueger, pastor since 2005, was pictured among the present parish staff, and toured the exhibit with his parishioners, enjoying their reactions.

“We want to be able to trace back our history of faith and belief from generation to generation,” Father Rueger said. “Events like this revive our faith.”

Dr. Frank Greene educates fellow parishioners.

Black and white snapshots captured a December, 1963, memorial Mass for President John F. Kennedy; Msgr. David Hickey, the first pastor, with a First Communion class; Franciscan Brothers who served in the school with the Josephite Sisters; and class photos dating back to the 1940s.

Memorabilia ranged from anniversary journals to a Rosary Society banner and a black biretta worn by Father John J. Ansbro, the third pastor, 1966-80. His parents wed in the church and he was baptized there.

Newspaper clippings from The Tablet and Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported on parish milestones, ranging from anniversaries and special programs, to historical events, including a 1912 memorial Mass offered for Titanic victims.

“It’s nice to see the progress through the years and see the people who have created all that we have, who have been so important through our history,” said Sister Helene Conway, C.S.J., pastoral associate.

Fourth-generation parishioner Mary McLoughlin finds her grandfather's name in parish contribution ledger.

Parish trustee Thomas Santisi pointed out an entry for a $350 stipend to the Sisters of St. Joseph for services rendered to the parish in 1910. Another entry that year shows a month’s gas bill at the rectory cost $4.16.

Parishioners marveled at several artifacts, including a silver trowel, engraved with the names of Bishop John Loughlin and Msgr. Hickey, which was used to cement the church cornerstone; a chalice and ciborium; a standing pyx; a reliquary holding a bone fragment of the parish patron; and two golden monstrances – one bejeweled with assorted precious stones, which are believed to have been donated by parishioners; and a second featuring enamel insets of the four evangelists.

Fourth-generation parishioner Mary McLoughlin spent much of her visit in the kitchen, paging through a 1916 parishioner contribution log. Her paternal roots in the parish date back to 1890.

“I just found my grandfather,” she gleefully announced, pointing to a listing of her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter P. McLoughlin. She wished she could spend the whole day looking up familial records, particularly from her mother’s family, who joined the parish in 1923. “Newcomers,” she said with a smirk.