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I went through RCIA and became a Catholic at St Mary by Fr Scafitti.
Posted on 05/14/2006 11:29:30 AM PDT by mdmc
In 1996, when the Rev. William Scafidi moved to Newburgh, he might as well have landed on another planet.
The priest had been transplanted from his work in the seat of Catholic power in the United States, the elegant and soaring St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, to the Church of St. Mary in Newburgh, a ragged, red-brick building that, at the time, drew only about 80 parishioners per Sunday.
St. Mary sat humbly on South Street, a predominantly black neighborhood ranked for years as one of New York's poorest and most violent pockets.
Days before his transfer, Scafidi had rubbed shoulders with theologians, religious scholars and men who had the ears of governors and presidents. Now, he would make his home on a block where few residents finished high school and nearly none belonged to his church.
'A disciple of the streets' (full story at link provided)
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/05/14/news14.jpg http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/05/14/main14.jpg
(Excerpt) Read more at recordonline.com ...
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/05/14/news14.jpg http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/05/14/main14.jpg
It is very sad. Fr. Scafitti worked very hard restoring St. Mary and ended up with a beautiful Church. New doors, new paint, new air conditioning, restored stained glass, all gladly paid for by the parishioners in the years since Archbishop O'Connor knelt on the steps before the altar and prayed that this parrish church would be a benefit to the community. It was.
St Francis, 1 mile away, will not close, but will become a mission church to Sacred Heart. Who can say what will happen to that faith community, and the many poor families who depend on the charity of the many families that call that church home, and traveled into the inner city to worship there. Certainly Sacred Heart cannot contain both the faithful of St Francis and St Mary. Many will choose to find other churches, and the community that depends on them will suffer.
St Patricks in Cornwall, whose gastronomic pastor expends nowhere near the efforts that Frs Scafitti and Vondras do other than to have over the years led many to seek out Sts Mary & Francis, seems naturally enough to have escaped the wrath of the pencil pushers at the Archdiocese.
Make that St Thomas in Cornwall
I was confirmed at Saint Thomas in Cornwall. I would love to get married in Saint Mary, if it is still around.
Recently, NYS Senator William Larkin spoke to Cardinal Egan about keeping Saint Mary open.
Bill Larkin Jr., Esq. has donated $25,000.oo toward keeping Saint Mary open.
Tom Kirwin and Nicky Valentine are also on board to keep the church open.
Say your prayers! Thank you kindly for your posts. :~)
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I went through RCIA and became a Catholic at St Mary by Fr Scafitti.
WOW!
Thank you so much for that pic and your post.
Wow! A call to Freep
the Pope! I don't know. I think
I worry enough
about the Kitties . . .
The Pope can call down real ZOTS.
Let's all keep our heads . . .
lol...thanks for the post...just doing the Lord's work. :~)
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