We
remember, we celebrate, we believe!
This time of renovation of our parish Church invites us to reflect upon the tremendous
legacy that has brought us to this special moment in time. Both the new parish center and
the newly renovated Church have a history; the walls of these buildings have absorbed the
prayers, cries, laughs, hopes and dreams of generations. And now these walls stand to
provide a space where the work of God and the ministry to his people can take place for
generations yet to come.
The foundations of the Parish Community: The history of this community of faith
extends back in time over one hundred years. On June 18, 1893, a priest from St. Brigid=s in Westbury traveled to
the sparsely populated area of New Hyde Park. The purpose of his journey was to celebrate
Mass and his destination was the AOld Miller=s Hall@ now known as Henry=s Inn. Philip Miller had
erected the building in 1865 to sell groceries and general supplies. The upper floor was
used as a meeting place and many organizations and several churches were established
there.
From such humble beginnings as these, the Parish of Holy Ghost was
formed. Prior to its dedication on August 15, 1894 as part of the Brooklyn Diocese, Holy
Ghost was a mission served by St. Brigid=s. Marriage and Baptismal
records predating 1900 are still on file at the Westbury church. The founders and
trustees of Holy Ghost included the familiar names of Christ, Miller, Lakey & Hauch.
These founders and other parishioners of German, Irish, Italian and Polish descent
contributed furnishings, stained glass. windows and more to the fledgling Church, which
held 400 people. Some records mention the appointment of Reverend Herbert F. Farrell as
pastor on December 14, 1895, but it is possible he did not reside within the Parish.
The foundations of the Parish Center: From a hotel to an
orphanage to a boarding school to a convent and now to a parish center -- what a history!
It all started when Reverend Mother M. Antonine, Prioress General, desired to establish a
girls= orphanage on
Long Island. On July 27, 1897, Father Joseph Hauber purchased the property between 6th and
7th Streets on Jericho Turnpike for $10,200 and then donated the property to Reverend
Mother. The Morgenthaler Hotel, also known as the Whaler=s Hotel, which stood on the
site, was converted to a convent orphanage and named ASt. Dominic=s Home.@ The building provided
enough space for dormitories, dining room, playroom, reception rooms and schoolrooms.
Eventually 70 girls were cared for by the kindly Sisters. Although the interior of the
building has been tremendously modified with the transformation into a Parish Center, the
exterior remains in its original form.
A well-known, wealthy, society matron who attended Holy Ghost
Church, offered to pay for the construction of an up-to-date school and library. However,
due to differences between the matron=s plans and the standards
set forth by His Excellency, Most Reverend Charles E. McDonnell, Bishop of Brooklyn, the
offer was withdrawn. Despite this setback, a parish school was built at the cost of
$8,000. The one-story building consisted of four classrooms with sliding doors which could
be pushed back to make an auditorium. On May 8, 1910, the school was blessed and students
were accepted in September of 1911. Due to this expansion, more Sisters were assigned to
the mission. At this time, Sister Ignatius, Superior, added a much-needed chapel to the
second floor of St. Dominic=s
Home. This chapel was later moved to the first floor.
During the ensuing years, changes occurred here at home as well as
around the world. Some of those changes were as frivolous as the length of hemlines, as
practical as the installation of a trolley line between Jamaica and Mineola along Jericho
Turnpike, and as devastating as World War I. As our forces fought overseas, the people at
home faced another battle. The dreaded epidemic of influenza had reached New Hyde Park. In
order to keep the orphanage free from contamination, Father Videnz arranged for the girls
to hear Mass in the school building separate from the rest of the parish. St. Dominic=s Home was left untouched by
the epidemic.
In 1932, Reverend Mother Charitis, Prioress General, felt impelled to
close the orphanage after many years of intense scrutiny by inspectors. All orphanages had
fallen prey to incessant interference from city and state officials. Inspectors would
arrive at the Home unannounced and at any hour. A reorganization took place and a boarding
school was formed to accommodate boys and girls of pre-school and elementary-school age.
Sister Hortensia, the Superior, was known for her joyous spirit and was a catalyst for the
growth of this new endeavor. By 1947, the Sisters of St. Dominic were caring for 45
boarding-school children. By 1948, the boarding school closed and became a convent for the
Dominican Sisters which it remained until this present renovation in 2002.
Foundations of our parish church. The space which now serves
as our Church was originally the school auditorium, built in 1953 as part of the expansion
of Holy Spirit School accommodating the growing school-age population of post World War
II. In 1969, during the pastorship of Father Jere Dineen, the old church building, was
moved approximately 100 feet west from S. Sixth Street to make room for an addition to the
school auditorium. At a cost of $125,000, the auditorium was converted to the Church we
use today. All funds were donated by generous parishioners and there was no need for
fundraising. The main altar was donated by the Rosary Altar Society, and the Altar of
Reposition was donated by the Holy Name Society. The beautiful stained glass windows
portraying the seven gifts and the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit were donated by many
faithful parish families. The hand-carved stations of the cross were imported from Italy.
On November 16, 1969, Bishop Kellenberg dedicated the new church. In 1971, the original
Church was destroyed, and a new rectory was built on the site. At that time, Mr. Coney
Regell requested the cornerstone from Fr. Dineen. The cornerstone was later returned, and
it now sits at the west front corner of the Church.
During the pastorships of Father Ed Flynn and Monsignor John
Heinlein, many changes were made to the auditorium-now-Church to make it a more prayerful
place of worship. A new baptismal font was installed on Holy Saturday Night in April of
1977. The need for a ramp at the entrance of the church to assist the elderly and infirm
was installed in October of 1977. The Carillon was installed for Christmas, 1978. It was
dedicated to the memory of Father Dineen and funded by the parishioners. The confessionals
were remodeled as per the guidelines of Vatican II in 1981. On Pentecost Sunday, May 22,
1983, an organ recital was held and the new Rogers Organ was blessed and dedicated. The
former ushers room was converted to an alternative chapel, room of reconciliation and
crying room.
The call for renovation: In June of 1997, Father Tony
Stanganelli and Monsignor Martin were assigned as co-pastors to Holy Spirit Church. On the
occasion when a new pastor is about to be assigned to a parish, the Bishop solicits input
from parishioners regarding their assessment of the needs of the parish that ought to be
addressed. In looking at these issues, it became apparent that there was a need for a
renovation of the Church to make it an even more suitable worship space. In addition,
there seemed to be the need for more space for the growing ministries in the parish
community. In looking at the existing space available for parish offices and ministries,
the co-pastors considered somehow utilizing the old convent building; however, time had
certainly taken its toll on this century-old building and money would need to be spent in
order to keep the building from falling into a state of total disrepair. All these factors
came together to shape the plan of renovation that Monsignor Martin and Father Tony shared
with the parish on December 2, 1999.
After a capital campaign that raised over a million-and-a-half
dollars in pledges, Ira Haspel architect was hired to draw up plans for the renovation of
the convent building and the Church. The bottom half of the old convent center would be
converted into offices for Religious Education, Parish Social Ministry, Pastoral Care of
the Sick, Youth Ministry, and a 200 seat auditorium with adjoining kitchen. The upstairs
of the parish center would provide space for the administration offices of the parish as
well as a residence for the sisters of St. Dominic. As the plans became more detailed,
Father Tony and Monsignor Martin felt that the busyness of the parish center might be too
intrusive for the privacy and safety of the sisters who would be living on the second
floor. New plans then were drawn up to make the upstairs of the parish center into the
residence for the priests. The sisters of St. Dominic, housed in that old convent building
for over 100 years, were now to be moved to the building that once served as the residence
for the priests.
Almost a year to the day after the initial proposal was brought
before the parish, the architects= design for both the new
Parish Center as well as the Church received the approval of the Bishop and the various
diocesan agencies that oversee such projects of renovation. During the winter of 2001, the
interior of the old convent building was gutted. The careful abatement of asbestos as well
as removal of layers of old paneling and makeshift walls that were thrown up over the
years revealed a magnificently large interior space. Standing on the inside of this shell
of a building, you could almost picture what it must have looked like when it was a hotel
in the mid 1800's.
In the summer of 2001, after several bids were opened and reviewed,
Jarro Construction Corporation was contracted by the parish to take on this massive 2.5
million dollar operation of renovation. Through the weekly meetings of the contractors,
the architects, the diocesan consulting agents, and the newly appointed pastor Father
Tony, the blueprints now started to take shape and become a reality. In the fall of 2001,
the interior support framing of the new parish center was taking place. After Christmas
Day, 2001, the Church closed its doors and the construction crew carefully removed the
pews and the altar and its furnishings to make way for the creation of a new space of
worship. The old auditorium stage, that one time served as the sanctuary of the Church,
was destroyed and reshaped to become the new Blessed Sacrament chapel. A new sanctuary was
extended into the existing nave of the Church. The old terrazzo floors were ground and
restored to an original luster. Old mosaic tiled walls were recovered and a new lights
replaced the old auditorium fixtures. The old confessionals were removed and spacious and
welcoming reconciliation rooms were created off the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Finally, a
new sound system, new votive shrines to the Holy Family and the Sacred Heart, new pulpit
and lectern were brought in to enhance this space and make it a house of prayer. The
Church was reopened to our congregation on Palm Sunday, 2002.
Meanwhile, work feverishly continued on the parish center to ready it
for the dedication by Bishop Murphy which was scheduled for June 2, 2002. Among the many
trades that were involved in this incredible act of transformation B the electricians, the
plumbers, the carpenters, the painters, structural engineers B people from our own parish
came to bring their time and talent into the work as well. Joe Walsh engineered a
state-of-the-art security system, while Gerry and John Frudden wired the entire building
for the telephone and network computer system.
At the time of the printing of this journal, there have been the
countless last minute touches that are seeking to be completed before deadline. However,
nothing is really ever completed B at least to our fullest
satisfaction. The work is never finished; the renovation is an ongoing project. Such is
not only the case concerning buildings made of brick and mortar B such is always the case
about our own spirits and souls. The work goes on, and on, and on. God=s Kingdom, standing
partially visible here on earth through all the work which we do in and for our Church, is
a yet-to-be-fully realized task that beckons us to labor ceaselessly. While these
buildings stand strong to accommodate the needs and vision of our Church in the
twenty-first century, there will come a time when they too will be replaced by better
structures, better programs, more spirit-filled ways of making the gospel come alive in
the hearts and minds of the people of Holy Spirit parish. In the meantime, let us allow
this project to bring a new life into our parish, a new vitality in all who belong to this
family of faith, and a renewed desire to join together for the building of God=s Kingdom here on earth.
