Our Community Grows
By October, 1923, a parish census showed 140
families where both spouses were Catholic, and 260 families where only one
spouse was Catholic. There were then 859 Catholics in the parish. A Sunday
School held at the time averaged 135 youngsters in attendance. Fifty were
baptized that year; 26 made Holy Communion; thirteen couples were married; and
there were 16 deaths.
The “diamond-in-the-rough” who followed
Father Sloane as pastor is still remembered by some in the community: Reverend
Patrick J. Ford (1926-1937). Irish-born, with a tough exterior, he was the sort
of pastor who visited his flock, family by family. Carrying forward Father
Sloane’s dream, the school became his great effort, and it was brought to a
reality at a cost of a quarter-million dollars. It opened in September, 1928,
with an initial enrollment of 150 pupils, and the Sisters of Mercy of Dallas,
Pennsylvania were enlisted to teach.
When the Great Depression hit the country,
it seriously affected St. Boniface Martyr Parish. Few could meet pledges made in
good faith, and the church was burdened with debt. Father Ford, in 1932,
organized a “conference” of the St. Vincent de Paul Society as one bulwark
against personal need suffered by the parishioners and others in Sea Cliff
during those stark days. To make matters worse, in 1936, an arsonist set fire to
the church building on three occasions, causing heavy damage and adding to the
financial debt of the parish.
When Father Ford was moved to St.
Sylvester’s in Brooklyn, he was succeeded by Reverend Charles B. Garvey
(1937-46), a native of Cutchogue who was one of the first vocations from Suffolk
County. During his pastorate, the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) was
organized, the Confraternity of the Rosary was begun, and the Carmelite Third
Order set up a chapter here.
During W.W.II parishioners knitted scarves,
held blood-banks, rolled bandages, sat fire-watches, and entertained “the
Boys” from Mitchell Field and Roslyn Air Base. They whispered about the
strange boats quartered at Fyfe’s Shipyard in Glenwood Landing that were
tested up and down the harbor (which they later learned were the “PT Boats”
of Pacific fame). They wrote a lot of V-Mail letters and also held special
prayer services for a victorious D-Day. As a matter of fact, they did a lot of
praying! During the war, more than 400 men and women of St. Boniface served in
the armed forces and of these, 15 made the supreme sacrifice of their lives.
During the era of post-world war prosperity,
many Catholic families moved out to the suburbs and into the parish. Despite the
return to better times, many still felt the pinch of the long depression. To aid
them in adjusting financially, while helping them avoid the high interest rates
of the loan companies, a cooperative credit union was established among the
parishioners. Small loans at very low interest rates were of untold value.
Father Garvey died as pastor in 1946, and
was succeeded within a month by the Reverend William J. Gately. Under Father
Gately’s leadership, the parish debt was paid off, and the church, school,
convent and rectory were repaired and redecorated.
In May, 1947, a census revealed that the
parish had grown to 1,198 families representing 3,645 individuals. During Father
Gately’s stay, the parish celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1948, with a Solemn
Mass of Thanksgiving, with the Most Reverend Thomas E. Molloy, Bishop of
Brooklyn, presiding. Father Gately was instrumental in establishing a Mothers’
Club as a support for the parochial school.
In 1952, Reverend Thomas W. Smiddy succeeded
Father Gately. After a year of dedicated pastoral work Father Smiddy, in 1953,
was transferred to the Chancery Office in Brooklyn where he was eventually
elevated to Papal Chamberlain as a Very Reverend Monsignor. In exchange, the man
who held that post in Brooklyn, Very Reverend Monsignor Vincent J. Baldwin, came
to St. Boniface. He was aided in his adjustment to the life of pastor by Fathers
O’Mara and Canning, who had long served in the parish. Three years later,
Monsignor Baldwin left for St. Aloysius in Great Neck, and was succeeded by the
Reverend John J. Fee.
Since three successive pastors, Fathers
Gately, Smiddy and Baldwin, had each won high office in the Church after leaving
St. Boniface, it was said at the time that a priest apparently “is never
simply transferred from St. Boniface
-- he’s promoted!”
About a year after Father Fee’s arrival,
an important change occurred. The Brooklyn Diocese had, from 1853, extended
control over the entire length of Long Island. In May 1957, Nassau and Suffolk
counties were separated from the old order and designated as a new diocese with
its seat at Rockville Centre. The Most Reverend Walter P. Kellenberg became the
new Bishop. At this time, Father Fee’s devotion to Mary was recognized and he
was appointed director of the Legion of Mary for the new diocese, a post which
he held until his death.
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