St. Boniface Expands
In 1959, the Diocesan Commission on Parish
Boundaries began its work to provide more realistic borders for the parish. It
was eventually decided to increase the St. Boniface boundaries so that Shore
Road to Glen Cove Avenue began the northern limit, continuing up “back road
hill” to Sea Cliff Avenue, and from there to the railroad tracks. The eastern
edge of the parish followed the tracks to Glen Avenue in Glen Head, and Scudders
Lane provided the southern border with Hempstead Harbor the western extremity.
Father Fee sensed that it was time to build.
The lovely small church built in 1900 seated just over 300; the school, built in
1928, needed more classrooms; the greater number of classrooms would demand more
teachers and, hence, more convent space; and the rectory, which had never been
large enough, would in any event be demolished if a larger church were to be
built.
With Father Fee’s leadership and much work
and sacrifice on the part of the St. Boniface lay people, a fund-raising
campaign began in 1960. The goal of a quarter-million dollars was quickly
oversubscribed. Six additional classrooms were completed within the original
school building, an extension providing for thirteen sisters was added to the
convent, and an adjacent house was bought and made into a rectory. A new and
larger church building was designed and constructed. All of this took until 1964
to complete.
The original church building being torn down in 1964.
(click photo to enlarge)
Finally, on May 3, 1964, the Solemn
Dedication of the new edifice took place. The Most Reverend Walter P. Kellenberg,
D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, pontificated, and the Most
Reverend Vincent J. Baldwin, S.T.D., V.G., Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre,
who had served as pastor in Sea Cliff (1953-56), preached the homily
.
The new church building in 1964.
(click photo to enlarge)
There were other familiar faces serving as
Officers of the Pontifical Mass that day: Right Reverend Monsignor William J.
Gately, Assistant Priest; Very Reverend Monsignor Thomas W. Smiddy and Reverend
James F. Bradley, Deacons of Honor; Reverend George F. O’Mara, Deacon;
Reverend Joseph F.X. Canning, Subdeacon. The Masters of Ceremonies were the Very
Reverend Monsignors Francis J. Williams and John R. McGann.
St. Boniface dedicates its new church on May 3, 1964.
(click photo to enlarge)
The souvenir program for the day explained
very well the rationale for the new church building, and permitted the
architects to describe what they thought they had accomplished:
The new church
building we dedicate today replaced the old St. Boniface Martyr Church which
stood for more than sixty years on the same site. Much local affection was held
for the old church which had become a landmark in town.... [P]arish growth
demanded an enlarged, more up-to-date church. In the demolition of the old
church, Father Fee had hoped that something of the original building might be
incorporated in the new design. The original church bell atop the front facade
of the old church was in excellent condition and would provide auditory as well
as visual memories of the former place of worship. To bridge this old and new,
the old bell has been placed in a free-standing bell tower, and has been made
automatic, with clock and manual controls inside the new church.
The design of the church is simplified
Romanesque style with contemporary feeling... typified by the large entrance
arch of limestone, the slate roof and the circular head windows in the nave and
the transepts. The short walls of the transepts... carry carved limestone
statues... of the Patron of the Parish... and ... of the Patron of the
Diocese....
The architects described their use of oak
(symbolic of St. Boniface’s having destroyed the Pagans’ sacred tree) in the
nave and in the church doors, and of the oak leaf and acorn design in the altar
rail, votive stands, lectern and speaker grilles. In great detail they describe
the eight stained-glass windows in the transepts which depict “historically
accurate events from the life of the patron of the parish”. The four windows
in the nave illustrate the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary and the large
entrance window depicts the Coronation of the Blessed Mother as Queen of Heaven
and Earth. When the celebration was over it was realized that with the cost of
the expansion and of the new buildings and of the purchase of the two adjacent
parcels of land, the parish had a $440,000 debt.
While the physical structure of St. Boniface
was expanding, so too was the role of its parishioners. Lay activity had always
been a hallmark of the parish, but with the advent of Vatican Council II came
the formal changes of a Parish Council, a School Board, and a CCD board composed
of laymen and laywomen. These lay efforts continued to be reinforced by those
organizations already in existence and the Adult Choir and the Folk Group were
added.
To celebrate its Diamond Jubilee, the parish
began 1973 with a New Year’s Party. Two dinner plates were designed to
commemorate the occasion of the 75th Anniversary. A Mass of Thanksgiving was
celebrated on Sunday, June 24, 1973, with Bishop Kellenberg as the principal
celebrant and with Fathers James Bradley, George O’Mara, Joseph Canning,
Hubert Spinner, Thaddeus Semla, and, of course, Father Fee, as concelebrants.
Father George O’Mara, who had been associate pastor at St. Boniface from 1935
to 1961, gave the homily. The record shows -- reflecting Vatican II -- that
Joseph Vulpis was the cantor and Robert Bolger was the lector.
The 75th Anniversary Mass celebrated on June 24, 1973.
(click photo to enlarge)
In 1976, the School Board initiated a parish
pre-school program to provide early childhood education for the community. The
parish continued to prosper and to grow, and as one observer from outside the
parish noted, Father Fee played “a dignified and important role in Sea
Cliff,” as well as in the St. Boniface community. He was honored by the North
Shore Kiwanis Club as “Citizen of the Year” in 1980 and, when he reached the
age of obligatory retirement, continued to reside at the parish as Pastor
Emeritus. It was then that the Reverend Donald F. Diederich was installed as
pastor.
In the fall of 1982 the priests moved to the
newly renovated Parish Center, a building that since 1928 had been the convent
for the Sisters of Mercy, and the former rectory was rented to the Sisters of
St. Joseph.
May 31, 1983, was the 25th Anniversary of
Father Diederich’s ordination. Quite secretly, the parish determined to send
Father on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which he had never visited.
Arrangements were made for him to depart on May 22, so he could celebrate a
special mass in that most sacred place, on his actual anniversary. On May 15,
Father Dederich was honored at a mass and afterward a reception was held in the
school auditorium to wish him well.
Father Fee’s sudden death from a heart
attack on November 19, 1983, came as a great shock. Sadly, members of the parish
said good-bye to their former pastor of 25 years. The funeral mass for the
Pastor Emeritus was celebrated with Bishop John McGann as the principal
celebrant.
Father Diederich’s pastorate was marked by
strong emphasis on the liturgy. “The parish community begins with the
Eucharist, and the other sacraments,” said Father Diederich, “and everything
else flows from that.” Among his efforts, a successful half-million dollar
fund-raising campaign to renovate the church was realized.
The renovated church, re-dedicated on March
24, 1985, by Bishop McGann, gave St. Boniface a stronger sense of active
participation in the liturgy. Further involvement with music was encouraged, and
a musical director was hired. The involvement of scores of Eucharistic Ministers
and lectors was also enlisted. Changes in the church itself included removal of
the altar rail, creation of a permanent altar facing the people, addition of a
wide but shallow sanctuary and a repositioning of the pews to bring the
congregation and celebrant closer together. The original baptismal font was
relocated to the sanctuary and the tabernacle was repositioned to a place of
prominence in the sanctuary. Architectural history was preserved by refashioning
the original marble altars into a single permanent altar, a substantial base for
the tabernacle, and the eye-catching face of the ambo. Original oakleaf fretwork
from the communion rail adorned the wall above the tabernacle.
Social concerns were also made more visible
by an active Justice and Peace Committee; a parish outreach position was added
to the staff and ecumenical ties grew. Social life in the parish was encouraged
for the youth by Father Thomas Mulvanerty and, later, paid youth ministers were
added. Parish-wide activities such as the Family Luncheon, Country Fair and
Service Auction added vitality to St. Boniface’s social life and also to
parish funds. A parish census done in 1982, reported 1,447 homes in the parish
with 3,902 Catholics.
Sacramental programs involving parents
continued to develop under the leadership of Sr. Margaret McPeak, school
principal, and Mrs. Ita Levesque, religious education director. Parishioners now
helped prepare engaged couples for marriage and new parents for their
children’s baptisms. A Mass of Anointing of the Sick and a Marriage Renewal
Mass became part of the annual parish calendar, and in 1987, under the direction
of Father Jay Madacsi and Maureen Kelly, the restored Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults (RCIA) was celebrated at St. Boniface for the first time.
In September, Father Reginald Camilleri arrived at the parish from Malta.
In June of 1988, after eight years as
pastor, Father Diederich left St. Boniface to become pastor at St. James Parish
in Setauket and Father David Farley was installed as pastor. Though here for
only one year, parishioners knew Father Farley to be a kind and gentle man. He
will be especially remembered for leading a parish prayer vigil in the spring of
1989, while a St. Boniface student lay in a coma after sustaining a serious
injury at school. The entire parish participated in the round-the-clock vigil,
until the third grader’s life was out of danger. It stands out as a special
moment of faith for St. Boniface -- the parish’s own miracle.
Return to top of page
