Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Celebrates 125 Years as Parish

By Linda Busetti

Like many others who came to the opening Mass to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary parish on Nov. 4, Conchetta Porcelli received all her sacraments and was married in the church in Carroll Gardens.

Linda Busetti Photos 

“We never left,” Porcelli said, “We love this neighborhood.” Seeing many others move away over the years, Porcelli said she was “frightened the church might close, that there might not be enough people.”

But in his inspiring homily, Father Anthony Sansone, pastor, said “Here we are 125 years later still celebrating as a community of faith….Let me assure you. There is a future…We are with Christ and whenever we are with Christ there is never an end.”

Auxiliary Bishop Frank Caggiano came to join the parish in the celebration of Mass to open the anniversary year.

Father Vincent Gallo, a former curate there; Father Andrzej Klimek, visiting from Poland; Father James Leone, former port chaplain; and Father Antonio Camora, port chaplain, concelebrated the Mass. Deacon Bryan Amore, who was an altar server in the parish as a boy, and Deacon Dante Colandrea, who was married there, assisted at the altar.

Mass began with Bishop Caggiano dedicating a new presider’s chair in memory of Kimberly Geritano. Her parents, Jimmy and Nancy Geritano, donated the high-backed wooden chair. Kimberly was in her early 30s when she died of cancer a few years ago. Her father is the Grand Knight of the parish’s Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of Loretto Council. The front pews held a number of men wearing their Council #585 jackets.

Beginning his homily, Father Sansone welcomed everyone who came “from far and near” on this New York City Marathon Sunday.

Father Sansone drew a vivid picture of life in the early years of the parish when Italian immigrants sold goods from their “pushcarts along Union St. to Van Brunt St.”

There was “a great sense of family,” with everyone looking out for each other, he said, as well as the faith they brought. “Look at the statues on the side altars and the stained glass.” Their faith was so great, he said, “They could not live without the Eucharist. It necessitated building a church.”

Home to Italian Immigrants

The Catholic Mission of the Italian Colony of the City of Brooklyn, begun in 1882 by Father Joseph Fransioli, was the first Roman Catholic parish specifically for Italian immigrants established in the young Diocese of Brooklyn. The new parish, known as Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, was first established on land owned by St. Peter’s Church at the corner of Warren and Hicks Sts.

In May 1885, the church relocated to President St. off Van Brunt St. During this time, Mother Frances Cabrini and her Sisters came to educate the Italian immigrant children of Sacred Hearts in a school established in 1892. A building on Van Brunt St. was purchased and opened as the St. Charles School.

By 1900, the largest concentration of Italians in the country populated the area surrounding the President St. church. To accommodate the large numbers, Father Vogel oversaw the building of a new church at Degraw and Hicks Sts., but kept the President St. church as a chapel.

Then-pastor Msgr. Alfonso Arcese built a new school for the expanding numbers of children, which opened in 1922 under Mother Cabrini’s Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

On this 125th anniversary, Sister Bernadette Anello, M.S.C., who grew up in the parish, came from Manhattan, where she now works, to represent the Cabrini Sisters, who taught for so many years in the school, which is now closed.

The neighborhood changed dramatically in the early 1940s when the Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was scheduled to be demolished to make way for construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). On the fateful morning of Dec. 7, 1941, a final Mass was celebrated at Sacred Hearts Church followed by a procession by the Italian societies, the patron statues held aloft, to the new parish home of St.

Stephen’s Church at the corner of Carroll and Hicks Sts.

Gradually, many families prospered and moved away to the suburbs of Long Island and New Jersey. Many return for significant feast days such as the Italian Street Festival and Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows, which will be held next Sept. 14.

At the conclusion of Mass, Father Sansone thanked Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and Congresswoman Yvette Clark, who were seated among the congregation, for coming.

Father Sansone introduced eight-year-old Matthew Russo, who was chosen to present a gift to Bishop Caggiano. The parish had prayed for Matthew during recent surgeries, so there was much joy in seeing him walk up the sanctuary steps where he presented a red velvet bag to the bishop. Bishop Caggiano reached into the bag and pulled out a finely carved chalice made of olivewood from the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. He held it high for all the congregation to see.

After Mass, parishioners walked to the lower church hall for a reception where they could view part of the parish photo archives.

Events are planned throughout the coming anniversary year. On Dec. 23, an Advent Concert will be held at 11:15 a.m. and an Epiphany Concert on Jan. 6 at 11:15 a.m. On Feb. 9, the parish will go on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Mother Cabrini. An Opera Buffet Dinner is scheduled for April 5 at 7:30 p.m.

A Mother’s Day Concert is planned for May 11 at 11:15 a.m. Another pilgrimage is planned for June to the National Center of St. Pio. The anniversary year closes on Oct. 19, 2008, with a 10 a.m. Mass and Dinner Gala.

To learn more about the history of Sacred Hearts & St. Stephen visit an exhibit, “Sacred Hearts: A Journey of Italian Catholics in the Borough of Churches,” at the Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont St., Brooklyn Heights. The exhibit runs until Dec. 30. The Gallery is open Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. For information, call 718-222-4111.

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