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"Our Parishes"
profile of St. Boniface
Long Island Catholic (Vol. 45 No. 45 January 31, 2007) |
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St. Boniface Martyr Church, Sea
Cliff
Web site:
www.saintboniface.org
Sunday Mass schedule: Sat. 5 p.m.; Sun. 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
(Family Mass)
Daily Mass schedule: 8 a.m., except when a funeral Mass serves
as the liturgy for the day.
Registered families: 1,300
Pastor: Father Michael J. Torpey
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Text & photos by Gregory A. Shemitz
Staff Photographer
In the late 1800s, Sea Cliff attracted attention as the
site of a 240-acre Methodist Church-owned camp-meeting ground and,
later, as a popular summer vacation destination. As more Catholics moved
into this North Shore village, Bishop Charles E. McDonnell of Brooklyn
decided a church was needed and, in 1898, created St. Boniface Martyr
Parish. Previously, the faithful attended services at St. Patrick Church
in Glen Cove.
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More than a century later, St.
Boniface remains a spiritual presence. Mass is celebrated in a
church that was dedicated in 1964 and, according to parish
officials, was the first church in the Diocese of Rockville
Centre to be built with air conditioning. The structure features
large, colorful stained-glass windows, eight of which illustrate
the life and martyrdom of St. Boniface, an eighth-century
English-born archbishop honored for helping to evangelize
Germany. The parish campus also includes a former school that
has classrooms for religious education and a gym/auditorium. A
spacious turn-of-the-century Victorian-style home that at one
time was used as a convent by the Sisters of Mercy now contains
parish offices and meeting rooms. |
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Parish social ministries play an integral role at St. Boniface, where
an outreach program and a conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society
help people in need. A Christmas giving tree and an annual baby shower
supports Madonna Heights Services in Dix Hills. The parish also hosts
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings throughout the week and a Thursday evening
prayer service for the sick. |
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Please
visit the following pages to learn the history of our parish:
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