Father John James Purvey, 81, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Md., and former Brooklyn Franciscan Brother for 29 years, died Feb. 28. A funeral Mass was celebrated by Baltimore Archbishop William Lori.
Born in Great Neck, L.I., he attended St. Aloysius School, Great Neck; St. Francis Prep, Brooklyn, and St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and philosophy.
He entered the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn on Feb. 1, 1952, and made his final vows as Brother Leon Purvey, O.S.F., on Aug. 25, 1954.
From 1953 to 1974, he taught at St. Francis College; Bishop Ford H.S., Park Slope; St. Leonard H.S., Bushwick; St. Francis Prep and at various parish schools.
He began his studies for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 1981. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Baltimore Archdiocese on Nov. 24, 1984 by Baltimore Archbishop William D. Borders at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.
He served as an associate pastor at various parishes until his retirement on July 1, 2008.
He is survived by two sisters, Sister Aileen Purvey, R.S.M., of Whitestone, and Joan Eannaccone of Huntington, L.I.
St. Nicholas of Tolentine parish, Jamaica, recently dedicated its new Mary Garden in honor of the Blessed Mother.
A project spearheaded by parishioner, Andrea Florendo, the garden was made possible by funds returned to the parish from last year’s Annual Catholic Appeal. Father John Francis, above, blesses the Mary Garden. (Photos courtesy Rose Ruesing)
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This Father’s Day will be extra special in East Flatbush as Father Jean Yvon Pierre, pastor of St. Jerome Church, will celebrate his 30th anniversary of priestly ordination surrounded by his parish family. All are welcome to the Mass of thanksgiving, this Sunday, June 21 at 4 p.m. Ad multos annos!
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Holy Name of Jesus Church, Park Slope, is offering a Solemn High Mass for Christians persecuted in the Middle East this Friday, June 19 at 7 p.m. Bishop-elect James Massa will be the main celebrant. The Mass will be followed by a short talk from Edward Clancy from Aid to the Church in Need. Call 718-768-3070.
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Father Bodo
Get in touch with your inner Franciscan next week when Father Murray Bodo, a Franciscan priest and poet, visits St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, on June 24 at 3 p.m., to read his poems that have been inspired by St. Francis and St. Clare.
Father Bodo will read from several of his books of poetry, including “Of Francis and Clare” (2013), a collection of poems about St. Francis, his parents and St. Clare.
This free event will be held in Founders Hall. It is open to the public. For details, go to www.sfc.edu.
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Sixty-five pints of blood were donated when the St. Anastasia Knights of Columbus Council No. 5911 held a blood drive at St. Anastasia, Douglaston, earlier this month. Helping the Knights were the young men of Boy Scout Troop No. 153.
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The Cursillo Movement is hosting its Ultreya de Campo on Saturday, June 20 at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, Asbury, N.J. Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Paul Sanchez will offer a 1 p.m. Mass.
All are welcome. For more details, contact Jesus, 646-515-0954, or Norberto, 347-239-5476.
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If you’ve always wanted to visit the Holy Land, the parish of Blessed Sacrament, Jackson Heights, is organizing a pilgrimage for Nov. 9-18 at a price of $2,998 per person. For more details, call Regina Tours at 1-800-228-4654, and ask for Angelica Villegas.
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Congratulations and best wishes to Arthur Aidala Esq., the new president of the Brooklyn Bar Association, which works to promote professional competence among lawyers and foster respect for the legal system.
Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Aidala, 47, was officially installed on June 17.
A former assistant district attorney, Aidala served under former Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes. After a subsequent run for City Council, he went into private practice to serve working Brooklyn families. His law firm, Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, has offices in Dyker Heights and Manhattan.
When he’s not working, Aidala devotes his time to his 8-year-old son, Luca.
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The Indian community at Our Lady of the Snows in North Floral Park is gearing up for a solemn Mass and street procession celebrating the feast of St. Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception on July 19.
Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto will be the main celebrant of the 4 p.m. Mass. Bishop Thomas Mar Eusebius of the Syro-Malankana Catholic Exarchate in the U.S. will be the homilist. The recitation of the parish novena to St. Alphonsa will begin in the church on Friday, July 10 at the 9 a.m. Mass. All are welcome to take part and learn more about St. Alphonsa.
Sister Margaret Casey, R.S.M., 79, formerly Sister Mary Xavier, a Sister of Mercy for 61 years, died at Maria Regina Residence in Brentwood, L.I., Aug. 13.
Born in Brooklyn, she attended St. Agatha School, Sunset Park, and Mercy Juniorate H.S., Fort Greene.
She entered the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in Syosset, L.I., on Sept. 8, 1954, and professed her final vows on March 23, 1960.
She earned a degree in French from St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, and a professional diploma in counselor education from Long Island University.
She taught at Sacred Heart, Adelphi St., 1957-59; St. Thomas Aquinas, Flatlands, 1959-66; and St. Brigid, Bushwick, 1966-68.
She also taught at Holy Trinity H.S., Hicksville, L.I., 1969-75, where she also served as guidance counselor, 1975-2015.
She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Gambino.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held at Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Syosset, L.I., Aug. 17. Burial was in St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, L.I.
Larry Medina has been named athletic director at Cathedral Prep and Seminary, Elmhurst. He will also serve as the head cross-country coach. After running track at Bishop Ford H.S., Park Slope, and St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, Medina went on to teach and coach track at Bishop Ford for 15 years.
During that time, he was voted Coach of the Year by the New York Daily News in 2009 and took many teams to sectional and state championships. His running experience includes two marathons – Chicago and New York – several half marathons and many road races.
The new academic year has begun now in earnest, and teachers and students are settling into another school term. We in the Diocese of Brooklyn are rightly proud of our Catholic schools and academies, as well as our Catholic high schools. We should be especially pleased that Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary was named seventh best all-boys school in New York State by niche.com, as well its unique place as our high school seminary program, gently urging young men to listen to the calling of the Lord to discern a possible vocation to the priesthood.
Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S. offers us an opportunity to reflect on the key role that not only do our primary and secondary schools serve in the passing on of faith, but also the major impact that the Catholic colleges and universities have in the Christian education and formation of our people. We are blessed to have two fine colleges in the Catholic tradition here in the Diocese of Brooklyn (St. Francis College and St. Joseph’s College), as well as a Catholic university, St. John’s.
“Evangelii Gaudium,” Pope Francis’ post-synodal exhortation of 2013, although not an encyclical (remember, the current pope has only written two encyclicals so far – “Lumen Fidei” (2013) and “Laudato Si’” (2015), is truly his signature piece, his magna carta and offers a clear vision of the direction in which the Holy Father wishes the Church to progress. Although addressing a much broader concept of evangelization, Francis addresses the place of the Catholic university in the midst of the secular culture. He writes:
“Proclaiming the Gospel message to different cultures also involves proclaiming it to professional, scientific and academic circles.”
The scholars who teach at our Catholic universities in the department of Theology or religious studies fulfill a key task in the New Evangelization – being “pontifexs” or “bridge-builders,” between their colleagues who teach secular studies, their students who will be leaders in the culture in the future, and the Christian faith.
On the one hand, the culture seems to reject natural law, with its embracing of same-sex marriage and a culture of death, as exemplified by the contraceptive and abortive mentality and, on the other hand, the fascinating, burning desire to see and listen to Pope Francis. Much like Herod, who was “perplexed by John the Baptist, but greatly wished to listen to him,” our American society is crying out for the transcendent, screaming to be fed and led by the word and example of the Vicar of Christ and the Church he represents.
For the professor of theology and/or religious studies, the papal visit to the U.S. is a remarkable opportunity to bring Catholics, other Christians, those of other faiths, and those of no faith, to come to appreciation of the beauty, dignity and truth of the Catholic faith. With the presence of this modern day St. Paul in the areopagi of New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., the opportunity to teach theology has never been stronger and the openness to faith in the culture has never been clearer.
We hope that not only our parishes, secondary and primary schools, and faith formation programs use this opportunity to teach the faith, but so too do our institutions of higher education in the Catholic tradition. This papal visit is an amazing opportunity. Professors, don’t forget to engage your students in a dialogue about it!
As Others See It
“Since July 14th, the Center for Medical Progress has released over 16 hours of footage exposing Planned Parenthood for their exploitation of aborted fetal tissue. According to a recent Media Research Center study, only 1 minute and 30 seconds of those videos have been aired by ABC, NBC and CBS collectively. To make matters worse, the same three networks have yet to mention the past 5 videos released by CMP.”
The tribal leader in ancient Ireland was chosen for his wisdom and compassion as well as for his courage and leadership. As the Catholic Church was persecuted in Ireland, so too was the Chief Brehon. As early as the 14th century the Chief Brehon was outlawed where the English held sway. Neither the faith nor the leadership of the Brehon, however, could be eradicated. The Great Irish Fair honors one who exemplifies and carries on the tradition of the Chief Brehon – the tradition of courage and compassion, leadership and wisdom.
Daly
Businessman Kenneth D. Daly is the president of the New York business of National Grid, which serves 4 million natural gas and electric customers in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Long Island and Upstate New York.
Twenty-seven years ago, he joined National Grid’s predecessor, Brooklyn Union and later known as KeySpan, as a management trainee in the customer relations department.
He was recently based in London, where he served for two years as global financial controller. He previously serves as CFO of the U.S. and U.K. gas distribution businesses, and has held numerous positions in finance, human resources and customer relations.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, he attended Resurrection School, Gerritsen Beach, and Brooklyn Technical H.S., and then graduated from St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, with a bachelor’s degree in English. He has earned a master’s in business administration in finance from St. John’s University, and a master’s in human resource management from New York University.
He achieved the distinguished chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation in 2002, and completed Harvard University’s advanced management program in 2014.
He is a member of the St. Francis College Board of Trustees and has served as an adjunct professor, teaching human resource, business and finance courses for 20 years. He has been the director of the St. John’s University Executive-in-Residence program since 1992. He is the past chairman of the Kingsborough Community College Board of Directors, and a former member of the Junior Achievement Board of Directors and United Way Campaign co-chair.
He is a member of the David Rockefeller ‘Fellows Program,’ the Long Island Energeia Partnership, the British American Business Board, the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center Board, the Business Council of New York State Board and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Board.
Dick Bavetta, right, Hall of Fame NBA referee, is congratulated by Ray Nash, president of the Brooklyn-Queens CHSAA, upon being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Bavetta is holding a baseball signed by Cal Ripken in recognition of being dubbed the Iron Man of referees. (Photo courtesy Ray Nash)
The path to enshrinement for each of the 11 new Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees has traversed many roads and included many influential people along the way.
For legendary basketball referee Dick Bavetta, the first steps of that journey took place right here in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Bavetta joined Louis Dampier, John Isaacs, Lindsay Gaze, Tom Heinsohn, George Raveling, John Calipari, Spencer Haywood, Dikembe Mutumbo, Jo Jo White and Lisa Leslie as the Hall of Fame Class of 2015, inducted Sept. 11 in Springfield, Mass.
With wife Paulette, daughters Christine and Michele, son in-law John and grandchildren Sydney and Brendan in attendance, Bavetta, a native of St. Saviour parish, Park Slope, accepted the honor and thanked all the people that have been part of his journey.
“To be a part of this was a life-changing and just a humbling experience,” Bavetta said.
While working for Solomon Brothers on Wall Street, Bavetta officiated his first game during the winter Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) season of 1966, when the CYO was located on Joralemon Street in Brooklyn. It was a Tyro division game featuring freshmen in high school, and for his efforts, the 27-year-old Bavetta earned $5.
But despite this modest beginning, the game signaled the beginning of an officiating career that has landed Bavetta his rightful place in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Coincidentally, his number during his 39-year NBA career was 27 – the age in which his journey began.
For nine years after he started, Bavetta, a graduate of St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, called games in the Catholic and public high school leagues of New York City and the Eastern Professional Basketball League before beginning his stint as an NBA referee.
Over the past few months, he has enjoyed reaching out to the many people along the way who have helped make his enshrinement possible.
“Obviously there are a lot of people over the years,” Bavetta said. “The train left the station in 1966. Some people were on it from the beginning, got off and maybe got back on again. Some people didn’t get on the train of this journey until later. Everybody has had a contributing part to the overall journey.
“I’m the person that’s driving the train, but there are other people on it that are as excited if not more excited than I am to be part of this great journey we’ve been on.”
Bavetta is of course most known for never missing an assigned NBA game throughout his career. He made his debut when the New York Knicks faced the Boston Celtics on Dec. 2, 1975, at Madison Square Garden – just a 10-minute drive from where he went to high school at Power Memorial Academy, Manhattan.
He attributes his longevity to his devout Catholic faith and his conditioning, which helped him remain in the league until age 74. Each day, he would run six to eight miles to build up his endurance for late in the fourth quarter and then take a power nap to be refreshed in time for the start of the game.
On Feb. 9, 2006, Bavetta set the record for most games officiated by an NBA referee at 2,135. That number continued to grow until 2014, when he worked his 2,633rd consecutive game, which was deemed the “Iron Man” record.
Former Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. famously played in 2,632 straight MLB games to break Lou Gehrig’s record, so it’s fitting that Bavetta has been referred to as the “Cal Ripken Jr. of referees.” Fittingly, that milestone was achieved right at Madison Square Garden.
Bavetta tacked on two more games to increase his overall games officiated record to 2,635. He also officiated 270 NBA Playoff games, including 27 Finals games.
In addition to the Naismith Hall of Fame, he is a member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame, the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and the Basketball Old-Timers of America Hall of Fame.
As he continues to enjoy retired life on his ranch in Ocala, Fla., Bavetta is well aware that his basketball journey will continue. The train may have left the station back in 1966, but it’s still chugging along here in 2015.
“Now I’m a Hall of Famer, and there’s a responsibility to represent the Hall of Fame and the profession of basketball in a professional manner,” he said. “The best part is that the journey isn’t over.”
So with that in mind, don’t be surprised when the next time Bavetta pops up in the diocese to see him wearing his train conductor’s hat!
During the last week of July, I went to SS. Peter and Paul parish, Williamsburg, to retrieve a new copy of the marriage certificate of my maternal grandparents. Paul Murphy married Catherine Farrell on Aug. 4, 1915. My extended family on my mother’s side planned a 100th anniversary memorial Mass on the closest Saturday, which was Aug. 1 of this year.
What was meant to be an ordinary anniversary celebration turned out to be an extraordinary, startling discovery! Upon receiving the marriage certificate from the ever-gracious Waleska Soto, parish secretary of SS. Peter and Paul, I noticed that the name of the priest who officiated at the wedding Mass was Father W.B. Farrell.
Not Your Typical Priest
I returned to my office at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, and conducted research. I learned that though Father Farrell was the pastor of SS. Peter and Paul from 1908 to 1917, he was not your average parish priest!
One of the front-page stories on the July 29, 1910 edition of The New York Times was entitled, “One Dead, Many Shot in Sugar Strike Riot.” The story explained that days before the shooting, workers went on strike at the American Sugar Company’s largest plant which was the Havemeyer and Elder Branch located on Kent Ave. between South 1st and South 2nd Sts., only a few blocks from SS. Peter and Paul church. Rioting began when the company was bringing in non-union replacement workers, which incensed the union workers who were just looking for a just wage. Fighting between union and non-union workers occurred with a strong police intervention. Violence ensued.
The company realized their tactical errors and called the local pastor, Father Farrell, for help. The article states: “Father Farrell was asked by the company to act as a peacemaker and try to get the men to return to work. He promised to do so and later went into a conference with the strikers.” He convinced the men to return to work with the promise of increased wages. Father Farrell ministered at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. He epitomized the words of Pope Leo XIII 1897 papal encyclical, “Rerum Novarum” (“On the Condition of Labor”), which emphasized dignity for the human worker. Part of that dignity was a just wage.
Defending Catholic Institutions
Besides being a pastor at SS. Peter and Paul, Father Farrell was the Supervisor of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Brooklyn. Tensions arose between the city and the state over public funding for private institutions for orphans from 1913 to 1916.
In 1914, the City Commissioner of Public Charities, John A. Kingsbury, appointed a commission to inspect these private institutions (both Catholic and Protestant) and to determine whether they were worthy of public funding or recommend that all institutions caring for widows and orphans be put under government control.
This incensed many Catholic religious leaders both in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn. They charged that this investigation was based in a covert, anti-Catholic bias.
On Nov. 18, 1915, Gov. Charles S. Whitman of New York appointed his friend, Charles H. Strong to head a state commission to investigate public funding for private institutions. It appeared that both the office of the Mayor of New York and the office of the governor of New York State were determined to discredit Catholic institutions caring for orphans and widows.
An excellent, unbiased academic article written by Dr. June Hopkins, supported this claim.
Dr. Hopkins details the prophetic response by Father Farrell who wrote open letters to the governor to criticize what appeared to be anti-Catholic bias both in the Kingsbury and Strong Commissions. These pamphlets were distributed to every church in New York City. The front page of the March 6, 1916 edition of The New York Times blared: “Subpoena Served on Father Farrell: Charity Investigator Strong Wants Brooklyn Priest to Explain Charges.”
Commissioner Strong issued a subpoena to be served for Father Farrell to testify at the Strong Commission. The March 11, 1916 edition of The New York Times reported that Father Farrell could not report that day and sent a family friend who was a lawyer because “his assistant was sick and that he himself was busy with Lenten services.” The subpoena was carried over to the following Monday so Father Farrell could appear without worrying about the Stations of the Cross.
On Monday, March 11, 1916, one of the front-page stories of the New York Times was “New Strong Attack by Father Farrell: Priest on Eve of Appearance Before Charities Inquiry Calls It a ‘slander factory.’”
The reaction by Mayor John P. Mitchel and Commissioner Kingsbury was both unfortunate and set a dangerous precedent. According to the article by Dr. Hopkins, Commissioner Kingsbury with Mayor Mitchel’s approval, directed the New York City Police Department to wiretap the telephones of Father Farrell, Msgr. John F. Mooney, vicar general of the archdiocese; Msgr. John J. Dunn, chancellor of the archdiocese and notable lay Catholic leaders.
Invasion of Privacy
This may have been the first time that the telephones of Roman Catholic priests were wiretapped for eavesdropping for possible criminal intent. The police commissioner at the time, Arthur Brown, refused to answer any questions on the particular case.
The lawyer for the New York Telephone Co. was asked about the extent of police wiretapping phones.
“Nobody knows just how far they extend,” he said. “There has never been a judicial interpretation of the powers of the police under the statute passed in 1905, giving them certain rights of this kind.”
Father Farrell was justifiably angry by this invasion of privacy and responded, “The matters which have been discussed over the telephone in the hearing of eavesdropping have mainly concerned questions of matrimony and other sacred substances of private life.”
According to legal scholars and historians, this case and many others led to judicial reform in which wiretapping of phones were only warranted through a court order.
Charges against Father Farrell were dropped in Manhattan by the insightful Judge Samuel Greenbaum.
Delivering Services to the Poor
The Kingsbury Commission released its final report in October, 1916 and recommended that all matters concerning widows and orphans be controlled by the government, and that religious institutions work in unison with the government on these matters. This meant that despite the separation of church and state, both can be partners in delivery of services to the poor and unfortunate.
This led to some state laws strengthening their control and a reformulation of how Catholic Charities conducts its ministry while abiding by state law and eventually with federal law when the New Deal was introduced in the early 1930s. Catholic Charities USA today is the largest, nonprofit social service agency in the country. By the way, the clear majority of those they serve are not even Roman Catholic.
As a Franciscan priest born in Brooklyn, I am so proud that Father Farrell officiated the wedding of my maternal grandparents. Who would think that retrieving a new copy of a marriage certificate can lead to such an amazing discovery! Blessed anniversary Grandma and Grandpa! May you and Father Farrell rest in peace!
Father Brian Jordan is the chaplain at St. Francis College, Brooklyn.
Becky Hammon, a six-time WNBA All-Star who spent eight seasons with the New York Liberty, was featured Sept. 21 as part of the Thomas J. Volpe Lecture Series at St. Francis College Brooklyn Heights.
In addition to her success on the basketball coach, Hammon, a point guard who scored more than 5,000 points in her career, was named the first female full-time NBA assistant coach in August, 2014, for the San Antonio Spurs.
This past summer, she also was head coach of the Spurs’ Summer League team, which won the league title for the first time in franchise history.
The Terriers’ men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as students from Cristo Rey Brooklyn H.S., East Flatbush, attended the talk.
Irish faith, culture and heritage were on display at the 34th annual Great Irish Fair of New York at MCU Park, Coney Island, Sept. 26-27. The slideshow features the O’Malley Irish Dance Academy; the band Broken Banjo Strings; this year’s honorees, including close-ups of Chief Brehon Ken Daly, Colleen Queen Grace Sullivan, Jerry Forest Memorial Award recipient James McHugh and Captain Timothy Stackpole Memorial Award recipient FF. Patrick Nash; students from St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights; 2010 Colleen Queen Siobhan McGirl with her grandfather Al O’Hagan, former fair chairman, and some merchants’ displays of Irish goods.
Students at St. John’s University, Jamaica, followed the papal Mass at Madison Square Garden on television that was set up in the foyer of St. Thomas More Church on campus. (Photo by Michael Rizzo)
How can you accommodate local college students who couldn’t get to see the pope in person? For some schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn, the answer was to “bring” the pope to them.
All three Catholic colleges in the diocese, St. Francis College and St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn and St. John’s University in Queens, did have some students at papal events in New York and Philadelphia. But for those who couldn’t get tickets, St. Joseph’s and St. John’s set up TV screens on their campuses to follow the pope’s historic trip.
At St. John’s, the viewing area was placed, beginning with the pope’s visit to Washington, in the narthex, or entry room area, of the school’s St. Thomas More Church. Simple folding chairs acted as makeshift pews facing the screen, positioned around the church’s paschal candle and the gently flowing water of its baptismal font.
Students were encouraged to attend “Five Hours with Francis” and that included the Mass he celebrated at Madison Square Garden Sept. 25, with principal concelebrants Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.
About 50 students gathered on that Friday night and with the lights dimmed, the simulcast began. Students quietly followed the liturgy but you could still see lips moving in response to the prayers being said. Everyone in attendance sat in rapt attention as the Holy Father delivered his homily.
Marissa Ruotolo, a senior psychology/theology double major from St. Luke’s, Whitestone, said she was at the church at 3 p.m. in preparation for watching the liturgy.
“I love Pope Francis,” she said, “the way he embraces children. He is so humble and such a good example to everyone.”
Ruotolo left later that night as part of a St. John’s contingent to the pope’s events in Philadelphia.
“I’m taken aback about how reverent it was tonight,” said Samantha Balloqui, a freshman from St. Bernard’s, Mill Basin. “It’s nice to have people to pray with,” she added, “that want to be part of our religion and to connect with them on a religious level.”
Reflecting the diversity of the St. John’s campus, there were students in attendance from throughout the New York area as well as from distant locations like California and Mexico. Even two new non-Catholic students from India watched the Mass.
“This was good,” Raj Desai said. “I wanted to see the pope for the first time and it was a good experience.”
‘A Spiritual Place’
The idea of putting the TV simulcast in the campus church of the Vincentian-founded university came from St. John’s Campus Ministry.
“It brings it into a spiritual place,” Rob Cote, residence minister for leadership said. “It’s not just watching it on TV that anyone can do in their living room. Even when we were here watching his speeches at the U.N. and Congress, it makes a connection with the Vincentian mission of Catholic social teaching.”
When the Madison Square Garden congregation gave Pope Francis a standing ovation, there was silence at first but then enthusiastic applause as well from the students at St. John’s.
“I was in the second grade when Pope Benedict came here,” freshman Matthew Chan of Fort Greene said. “But this pope really speaks to me about who I am and who we all should be as Catholics.”
Even as the liturgy ended and the St. John’s students were making the sign of the cross along with Pope Francis’ final blessing, the night’s events at St. Thomas More were just beginning.
Pizza had arrived for the group’s own supper feast and Campus Ministry would soon begin a “lock-in” retreat inside the church’s main chapel with prayers for the pope and reflection on what they all had just seen and heard.
For Balloqui, the pope’s message of focusing on the less fortunate means more than just watching one Mass on one night.
“He urges people to do something,” she said. “I’m signing up to do more with soup kitchens and going out to help others that need it.”
Some students and faculty members represented St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, at Kennedy Airport when Pope Francis departed from New York and traveled to Philadelphia.
Peter O’Rourke, St. Patrick’s, Bay Ridge – 3:25:14
James Butler, Good Shepherd, Marine Park – 3:33:51
Patty Ann Vazquez, Holy Name, Park Slope – 4:05:16
Ann Vazquez, Holy Name, Park Slope – 4:05:18
Caitlin Farrell, Blessed Trinity, Breezy Point – 4:10:04
Carol Farrell, Blessed Trinity, Breezy Point – 4:10:05
Joseph Keenan, St. Francis de Sales, Belle Harbor, 4:59.07
Thomas McCarthy, St. Anselm’s, Bay Ridge – 5:16:23
John Edwards, St, Francis de Sales, Belle Harbor – 5:20:15
Kim Westcott Drinan, Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge – 6:08:24
Robert Drinan, Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge – 6:08:24
Ruben Gonzalez, 32 M, St. Francis College, Brooklyn – 6:27.24
Joseph Pascarella, St. Dominic’s, Bensonhurst – 6:54:57
Thomas Hart, St. Patrick’s, Bay Ridge – 8:35:15
Dennis McDermott, left, was honored as a Legend of the Game at the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. He is shown with Carol Carver, senior vice president of commercial banking for Webster Bank, and Kevin McGinniss, right, president and CEO of the Eastern College Athletic Association. (Photo courtesy St. Francis College Athletics)
At this year’s Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival on Dec. 6, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) honored four legendary figures in intercollegiate athletics with lifetime achievement awards.
One of those was St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, standout basketball star Dennis McDermott. When he completed his college career in 1974, he was the school’s all-time leader in points (1,578), made field goals (629) and made free throws (320).
After racking a number of collegiate honors, including multiple ECAC Weekly All-East Teams, All Mecca Conference Player of the Year and All-Metropolitan Team selections, McDermott was selected by the New York Knicks in the eighth round of the 1974 NBA Draft.
Though he never suited up for the Knicks, he’s been around the game of basketball his entire life. He currently serves as the director of alumni relations at St. Francis.
The other legends honored were former Hofstra star and 10-year NBA veteran Speedy Claxton, longtime collegiate coach Bobby Cremins and national Associated Press college basketball writer Jim O’Connell.
The ball left senior forward Lowell Ulmer’s hand from three-quarters court with nothing more than a prayer.
Trailing by three, the heave was the final chance for the St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, men’s basketball team to send the 2015 Northeast Conference (NEC) championship game against Robert Morris University, Moon, Pa., into overtime.
The ball looked very much on line as time expired. It hit the back of the rim and popped straight up, but it fell to the side.
A crowd that had broken decibel levels all night was rendered silent, while all that could be heard in the Daniel Lynch Gymnasium were the sounds of the Colonials – not the Terriers – celebrating their 66-63 win and their upcoming trip to the NCAA Tournament.
And so the streak continued for at least another year: St. Francis College remains one of five Division I men’s basketball teams to have never reached the NCAA Tournament, with the others being the Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.; Army, West Point, N.Y.; The Citadel, Charleston, S.C.; and the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
However, every new season for St. Francis brings the hope that this will be the year the team makes “The Big Dance.” And with the memories of how last season ended still fresh in their minds, the Terriers have some unfinished business to take care of.
“Losing to Robert Morris in the championship was heartbreaking because everyone had big hopes for us and just to let them down was real depressing,” said senior forward Chris Hooper. “Our families were in the crowd, friends, people from the school. It was depressing.”
“Walking on the court and losing to Robert Morris, it was a bad moment,” said senior forward Antonio Jennifer. “It hurt me deep down inside. I wish we could have won because we worked real hard that season. We pushed to win a lot of tough games, and I felt like it was our year. I’m just prepared, and I don’t want to see that happen this year.”
The Terriers finished last season as Northeast Conference regular season champions, and though the team surely wanted to take that one step further, that was a foundational building block for this current season.
“Walking off the court, my mind went blank,” said senior guard Tyreek Jewell, who scored a game-high 19 points in the championship. “I didn’t believe we made it that far my first year in Division I. I felt like I was a key part of the reason we stayed in the game. I just couldn’t finish it off.”
A tough loss such as the one in the NEC championship can be a motivating factor for a team to want to get back to that same stage the following year. And that’s exactly what’s going on right now in Brooklyn Heights.
“I knew how much work I needed to put in to be the player that I’m trying to be this year and accomplish the same things or more that we did last year,” said senior forward Amdy Fall.
“It (the NEC loss) motivated me real well,” Hooper said. I spent the whole summer here. I didn’t leave. I just worked every day in the gym. And I’m just hoping for a different result this year.”
“I pushed through this summer real hard because I know I had to work on certain areas around the basket better,” Jennifer said. “Just preparing stronger, it just showed me how hard you have to work to be successful.”
Two key contributors from last year’s team – NEC Player of the Year Jalen Cannon and senior point guard Brent Jones – have moved on from the program. But many of the same faces that helped the Terriers reach the title game are back and hungry for an NCAA Tournament berth.
“I feel like we have a chip on our shoulder,” Jewell said. “With the key pieces coming back from last year, we know that we have to step up and be leaders of the team.”
“A lot of people think it can’t be done again because we lost a great player in Jalen Cannon and another great player in Brent Jones and all the seniors we had,” Fall said. “But I think it could be done, it’s very possible.”
Of course, the popular sports cliché rings true here for the Terriers: “One game at a time!”
But even so, the thrill of being part of the first-ever St. Francis team to reach the NCAA Tournament is undoubtedly a motivating factor for this year’s squad.
An honorary doctorate will be presented to a retired Brooklyn Heights pastor when St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, conducts its Winter Commencement, on Thursday, Jan. 14.
Father Doran
The award will be presented to Father Edward P. Doran, the recently retired pastor of St. Charles Borromeo parish. He had been pastor there since 2008 and has opened the church’s doors numerous times for the College’s special events and ceremonies.
In May 2013, he was appointed dean of Brooklyn’s Deanery No. 3 and in 2014 he also became administrator of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in the northern part of Brooklyn Heights.
Prior to being ordained a priest, Father Doran was a member of the Marist Brothers for 21 years. He holds a Ph.D. in counseling from St. John’s University, a bachelor’s in education from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J. He is also an adjunct professor at St. John’s University.
Father Doran will also be a concelebrant of the 2 p.m. Baccalaureate Mass to be celebrated prior to the 3 p.m. commencement. Father Brian Jordan, director of the St. Francis College Campus Ministry, will concelebrate the Mass.
The valedictorian for the commencement is Chantell Chimbo, a management major with a minor in sports management and a 3.9 GPA.
Chantell Chimbo
A member of the St. Francis College Duns Scotus Honor Society, she was selected for two education honor societies – Sigma Beta Delta (International Business Management) and Omicron Delta Epsilon (International Economics).
She was also a member of the Accounting Society, Economics Society and Entrepreneur Club. Chimbo held three internships during her time at St. Francis – at Greenhouse Eco-Cleaning, for the MTA and with Madison Square Garden. She also studied abroad in Florence, Italy, which she says helped develop her cooking skills. All of her accomplishments are even more remarkable when you consider that she graduates a semester early, completing her degree in three-and-a-half years.
“I made amazing friends, met amazing mentors, had the opportunity to give back and learned about Franciscan values,” said Chimbo. She plans to put her experience to work in human resource management where she can help people enhance their careers.
Dr. Galgan
Dr. Gerald Galgan, of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, will offer the commencement address. He has spent 50 years in liberal education.
Most recently, he focused on technology and its effect upon human thought and action, as inspired by his interest in the bearing of medieval theological categories on the origin and development of modern philosophical thought.
Co-editor of “Perspectives on 9/11” (Praeger Greenwood, 2004), Dr. Galgan has published articles in The Maine Scholar, Excelsis, American Philosophical Quarterly, Cross Currents, The New Scholasticism, The Political Science Reviewer, and Commonweal.
He is the author of three books: “Interpreting the Present” (University Press of America, 1993); “God and Subjectivity” (Peter Lang, 1990); and “The Logic of Modernity” (New York University Press, 1982). He has appeared on the television show Dialogue on two separate occasions, a two-part series on “The Vision of St. Bonaventure” in 1994, and the 1993 six-part series, “The Mind of St. Augustine.”
Dr. Galgan began teaching at St. Francis College in 1966. He served as department chairman from 1998 to 2000 and was assistant dean of the humanities for St. Francis College from 2000 to 2002.
During the course of a college basketball season, a team is prone to experiencing plenty of ups and downs.
From a loss after a hard-fought effort, to a rigorous practice coupled with a seemingly endless pile of schoolwork, these student-athletes can sometimes have tough schedules.
But in the larger scheme of life, how “tough” is that schedule compared to the treatment routine of a child with cancer?
Probably not that “tough” at all. In fact, the two do not even compare.
So at least for a few hours, a few local college hoops teams were able to put their own playing experience in perspective, as they took part in an event that was easily the most important part of their season.
The men’s college basketball teams from St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, and the College of Mount St. Vincent, the Bronx, attended the fifth annual “Swish For Kids” basketball classic Feb. 7 at St. Ephrem’s parish, Dyker Heights. The players put on a clinic for children battling cancer and those who have completed their treatment.
The event is organized each year by Frank Stella, the chairman and basketball coordinator at St. Ephrem’s who himself is a survivor of stage 4-B Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“As a cancer survivor, I remember the days of chemotherapy and radiation of course as these kids have gone through,” Stella said. “Just to come to the gym to spend some time with these college basketball players is incredible.”
Six children attended the first-ever “Swish For Kids” in December 2011, but since then, the event has grown steadily in size. This year, nearly 40 children participated and learned some valuable basketball skills from the college athletes.
“I did the passing drill…the ring of fire; it takes a lot of practice to do it like them (the college players),” said participant George Fischetti. “I really liked doing the running drills and the shuffling. It was really awesome.”
On the flip side, while the kids learned from the players, the college students found plenty of inspiration in playing alongside children who are going through some tough times.
“This is more important than anything we have going on in our lives,” said Terriers senior power forward Chris Hooper. “These kids have it harder than our lives.”
New to the event this year were members of the Princess Project, a group of students from Mount St. Vincent who dress up as Disney princesses and visit local children’s hospitals.
“This really underscores what a great community we have here in Brooklyn,” said Councilman Vincent Gentile, 4th District Brooklyn. “They (the students) are doing this on their own time because they want to give back. Giving back for such a good cause makes them feel good also. So I think this is a big win for both sides.”
The day before the clinic, St. Ephrem’s hosted a youth basketball tournament for teams in its newly formed intramural league, with all entry fees being donated to the Francesco Loccisano Pediatric Cancer Foundation, aka Frankie’s Mission.
The nonprofit organization was started in memory of Frankie Loccisano, a former student at St. Ephrem’s Elementary School and Xaverian H.S., Bay Ridge, who passed away in September 2007 after a courageous battle with bone cancer and leukemia.
As he went through his treatment, Frankie had a vision of launching his own foundation to assist the childhood cancer community. Through his mother, his vision has come to life.
“We run a very active family support program,” said Camille Orrichio Loccisano, Frankie’s mom and the president and founder of the organization. “We work with social workers, nurse practitioners and childhood cancer groups, and they help with families that are experiencing financial pressure from their child’s cancer treatment.”
In 2015 alone, Frankie’s Mission assisted 65 families, many of whom attended the “Swish For Kids” event on the same court where Frankie once played basketball.
“There’s more to life than basketball, and there are a lot more obstacles in life to overcome,” said Brian Nigro, the head coach of the Mount St. Vincent Dolphins who also taught Frankie at Xaverian. “These children are truly challenged with that, so it’s great to see my guys help put a smile on their faces.”
The day was made possible thanks to the support of a number of dedicated volunteers and a long list of sponsors, including Ferrantino Fuel Corporation, Harbor Fitness, Faicco’s Italian Specialties, Weichert Realtors, The Franzese Group, Investors Bank, L&B Spumoni Gardens, Perfect Tan, St. Francis College and Knights of Columbus.
Once again, “Swish For Kids” proved that sometimes the best form of treatment for a child battling cancer can simply be a smile.
And if that’s the case, the local college students did their part to spread plenty of smiles.
To make a donation to help a family struggling with pediatric cancer, visit www.frankiesmission.org.
Kayla Mullin dreams of a day she can swim and fish in the Gowanus Canal. The eight-year-old and her grandfather, Eddie, both parishioners at Our Lady of Peace Church, were among two-dozen Brooklynites who gathered to bless the waterway on Earth Day, April 22.
“Welcome, my sisters and brothers, to what we believe is the first-ever blessing of the Gowanus Canal,” announced Father Brian Jordan, O.F.M., chaplain of St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights.
Father Jordan organized the event with the college’s campus ministry department and environmental club, the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, local Franciscan Friars and Sisters and Our Lady of Peace parish.
The blessing was inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si’, On Care For Our Common Home” and St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology.
Standing on the Carroll Street Bridge, participants offered prayers, reflections and hymns before pouring small bottles of holy water over the blue railing.
As the final drops trickled into one of the nation’s most contaminated waterways, Father Patrick Boyle, O.F.M., pastor of Our Lady of Peace, asked God to send forth His Spirit upon the waters of the canal “to restore them to their natural beauty and wealth.”
Margaret Vollaro, a resident for 78 years, recalls a time when the canal “was nice, very beautiful.
“We had crabs running in here. But now,” her voice trailed off and she shook her head.
Completed in 1869, the Gowanus Canal was designed to be an industrial and commercial transportation route. Businesses and industries, including cement works, manufactured gas plants, oil refineries and chemical plants operated along the 1.8-mile long waterfront for nearly a century.
Decades of hazardous waste, sewer overflows and storm water runoff polluted the canal, which leads into New York Harbor.
The Environmental Protection Agency added the canal to its national priorities list as a Superfund site in 2010. Among the toxins found in the canal are PCBs, coal tar, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds.
Dr. Kathleen Nolan, chair of St. Francis College’s biology department, tried to get a water sample for analysis before the blessing. Workers at a waterfront construction site wouldn’t grant her to access the canal, but she knew of another access point a few blocks away.
Cleanup plans, projected to take 10-12 years at a cost of $506 million, involve dredging contaminated sediment, capping off contamination that remains and using retention tanks to reduce the volume of sewage.
“You hear so many times they’re going to do something, but they just put buildings up,” said Eddie Mullin, a resident for 38 years, referencing the stately housing development under construction by the bridge.
“It makes you wonder what comes first: Cleaning it or getting buildings along it? It all comes down to money. And it’s so polluted, how could you let people live so close?”
Eddie and Kayla Mullin
St. Francis College student Matthew Wise was taken aback when he arrived at the site. It was his first time seeing the canal in person.
“Boy, is it filthy,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be this filthy.”
“The Christian thing to do is to care for God’s creation. How can we say that we love God, whom we don’t see, if we don’t love His creation that we can see.
“And this is God’s creation,” he said, overlooking the putrid waters.
“We thought it was a great idea to come to the Gowanus Canal so we can see face to face what pollution in the environment is doing,” said Noemi Rivera, who moderates the college’s environmental club. A week of earth-friendly activities, including a park clean up, planting day and recycling event, led up to the blessing event.
At a reception in Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio honored the parishes that have made significant contributions to the New York Blood Center over the past year.
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio congratulates the parishioners of Our Lady of the Snows Church, N. Floral Park, and Father Kevin F. McBrien, pastor, third from right, on ranking among the top Queens parishes for blood donation collections.
In Brooklyn, the top parishes were St. Columba, Marine Park; Blessed Sacrament, Cypress Hills; St. Brigid’s, Bushwick; and St. Anselm’s, Bay Ridge.
The leading Queens parishes were St. Francis de Sales, Belle Harbor; Our Lady of the Snows, North Floral Park; and Holy Child Jesus, Richmond Hill.
St. Francis de Sales led all parishes in the diocese with 262 individual donations and also had the highest average donations of 131 per drive. The parish also showed an increase of 100 donations over last year.
The most donations within critical months (January, July, August and December) came from Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Bayside (132); St. Camillus-St. Virgilius, Rockaway and Broad Channel, (67); and St. Brigid (65).
Special awards were presented to Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens that has made 3,699 donations since 1999, and the Knights of Columbus that secured more than 800 donations.
The Best Little Doctors Program at St. Athanasius School, Bensonhurst, was cited as well as contributions made by Christ the King H.S., Middle Village, that led all Queens secondary schools with 326 donations. Bishop Loughlin was the top Brooklyn high school with 153.
The largest increase in donations among high schools came from St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, and Fontbonne Hall, Bay Ridge.
St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, was the top Catholic college with 200 donations with 8 percent of the student population participating.
The Fontbonne Hall Academy, Bay Ridge, varsity softball team hosted its second annual Autism Awareness Tournament on April 30. This year, 20 teams took part in a scrimmage format, with each team playing two games. The tournament raised just over $9,000 donated to the foundation Autism Speaks.
Brian Nash, a former all-city basketball player at Bishop Ford H.S., Park Slope, who spent time as the head basketball coach at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, has been named the new director of basketball at IMG Academy, an athletic training institute for youth, high school, college and professional athletes. He brings over 20 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience to his new role. “For more than 20 years, I have taken tremendous pride in helping develop student-athletes both on and off the court at various colleges and in various stages of their lives, so I am very excited to join the IMG Academy family,” Nash said. “I look forward to bringing that experience to this basketball program and helping take it to the next level.”
