150 Years of Service in

Far Rockaway

St. Mary Star of the Sear Parish Has Been a Beacon of Hope at the Ocean's Edge

By Stefanie Gutierrez

Stefanie Gutierrez and Lilianna Vargas Photos

Four bishops and more than 25 members of the clergy from the diocese gathered to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of St. Mary Star of the Sea, Far Rockaway on Saturday, Feb. 17. It is the fifth oldest parish in Queens.

The 5 p.m. Spanish and English Mass, celebrated by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, was concelebrated by Auxiliary Bishops Frank Caggiano and Octavio Cisneros; retired Bishop Thomas V. Daily; and two previous pastors of St. Mary’s, Msgr. Denis Herron, who served as its 15th pastor from 1988 to 1995, as well as Father Sean Ogle, its 16th, from 1995-2002, who now serves as Episcopal Vicar for Queens North, who also served as homilist.

Msgr. John Bracken, Vicar General for Temporalities; and Father John Maloney, vicar of Queens South, concelebrated with Father Jim Cunningham, the current and 17th pastor, and St. Mary’s parochial vicar Father David Espinal; Father Charles White and Father Emmanuel Okpalauwaekwe, in residence. Deacon James A. Kuroly assisted at the altar.

Father Cunningham said that it was great to have so many clergy present at the oceanside parish. “People love to see their priests, and it enhanced the celebration for everyone that they came to visit. It was a great gift.”

Five seminarians, two from Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, and three from Cathedral Seminary Residence, Douglaston, were altar servers and assisted at the Mass. Four of the five servers are also catechists in St. Mary’s religion education program and have roots in the parish.

Within the last five years, and throughout its history, St. Mary’s has had a wealth of vocations. Father Josephjude Gannon, now a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, came to visit the parish he grew up in. He spent the celebration with his mom, a parishioner at St. Mary’s.

Recent vocations include two women who have entered the convent, two men in formation for the permanent deaconate, and one seminarian at the college residence. Bishop Daily is rumored to have said once, “There is something in the water at St. Mary’s,” in response to its numbers of vocations.

One could notice the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit at the celebration. The Church was standing room only, as over 550 visiting and regular parishioners, alumni and friends, attended. “One of the things I find that is very unique here, is that the people from St. Mary’s are very loyal and love to come home. St. Mary’s has been a part of their formative years, and there is a great bond to the parish,” Father Cunningham said.

Those in attendance heard the unique music that filled the parish. Music director Joseph Villadiego wrote and composed the music for St. Mary’s sesquicentennial celebration when he discovered that there was no Mass specifically written for St. Mary’s feast.

Julia Waldron, a member of the Holy Sepulchre and parishioner at St. Mary’s for over 80 years, said, “I am grateful to God to be here. You can feel the Spirit. It is here.”

Father Ogle’s homily recounted the impact of the parish on the neighborhood throughout its history. He gave a snapshot of the life of St. Mary Star of the Sea.

“The neighborhood was elite, and then it went to middle class, then to struggling… Now it is going through a renaissance of rebirth,” he said.

Father Ogle highlighted parish life: the sacraments, its education, and its outreach and assistance to the immigrants of Far Rockaway. “Give to the image of Christ and it should be given to you,” he continued.

He recounted the events of Feb. 17, 1974. “Fire,” was all Father Ogle had to say. Parishioners and those visiting remembered quite clearly the day they lost their “first church building,” as visiting former parishioner Jack Riley said. “Those in our neighborhood watched as the 1884 church was engulfed in flames.”

Father Ogle then related the church fire to what happened to the St. Mary Star of the Sea community just last week, when a Far Rockaway apartment building caught fire, and 13 families from the parish lost everything but their lives.

“It brought out the best in both Catholics and non-Catholics in the neighborhood… Fire not only destroys, but it also creates, and it has created giving,” he said. “Give and it will be given.”

Coincidentally, the sesquicentennial celebration fell on the 33rd anniversary of the church fire.
“The building today is a unique symbol of the warmth, family, faith and friendship that is here at St. Mary’s,” Father Ogle concluded.

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