St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Wantagh

On June 19, 2022, the parish celebrated its 70th anniversary.

The church of St. Jane Frances de Chantal is located at 1309 Wantagh Avenue, Wantagh NY 11793, telephone 516-785-2333.  Its website is linked here.  The church is on the east side of the avenue, a half-mile south of Exit 28 of the Southern State Parkway.  It is also a mile north of the Wantagh Railroad Station.  

Archbishop Molloy established the parish in 1952.  By the 1980's, the first church suffered structural problems (as I recall, wood rot at the base of the supports), and this new church was opened in 1987.  For twenty years, a chapel, separated from the church by panels, existed to the left of the tabernacle.  In recent renovations that chapel was made part of the main body of the church.

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A school was built in the late 1950's, but in 1992, St. Jane Francis de Chantal joined three other parish schools to create St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Regional School in Bellmore.  In 2010-2011, twenty-eight children from St. Jane Frances de Chantal attended St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.   Religious education students at St. Jane Frances de Chantal number about 1,000.

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Jeanne Françoise de Chantal lived 1572-1641.  Another biography is linked here.

St. Gertrude, Bayville

St. Gertrude Parish is on the southwest corner of School Street and Bayville Avenue, with the postal address of 28 School Street, Bayville, NY 11709, telephone 516-628-1113.  The parish website is linked here.  Bayville is on the shore of Long Island Sound.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

In 1905, a summer mission was begun in Bayville, as part of St. Dominic's, Oyster Bay.  In 1959, the bishop established St. Gertrude's parish.  

The small parking lot adjacent to the church is restricted for handicapped use during Masses, according to posted signs.  However, uphill on School Street, behind the church is a vast parking lot connected to the church by walkway.  That lot fronts on the parish center and the pre-school, pictured above.  

St. Dominic, Oyster Bay

The mailing address of St. Dominic's parish is 93 Anstice Street, Oyster Bay, NY 11771, telephone 516-922-4488.  Above is the parish office on the southeast corner of Anstice Street and Weeks Avenue.  The parish website is linked here.

On the west side of Anstice Street are the chapel (formerly the church) and the newer church.  Weekday Mass is in the chapel at 7:30 a.m.  Sundays,  four Masses are offered in the church, three in the chapel.  

Saint Dominic Elementary School adjoins the church on the north side of Weeks Avenue.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.  On 5.28.2013, Newsday reported that the elementary school enrollment is 237.

Two classroom buildings of St. Dominic High School face each other across quiet Anstice Avenue.  The gymnasium can be seen to the left (north).

Holy Family, Hicksville

Above is the parish sign facing NY Highway 106, Newbridge Road, about a mile southwest of the Hicksville railroad station.  The intersection with Fordham Avenue has a traffic signal.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.  Photo from early 2012.

The address is 17 Fordham Avenue, Hicksville, NY 11801, telephone 516-938-3846. The parish website is linked here.  

This view looks west along Fordham Avenue towards Newbridge Road.  One entrance of the church, at the tower, leads to both naves, with the altar where they meet.  At the right of the above photo, the white door leads to the new foyer created during the 2013 renovations. The smaller nave (in the distance) had pews for about 130 but now has chairs.  The window honors the St. Ann, as shown below.  (In editing, I just realized the appropriateness of this window, as Ann is Grandma to Jesus, in the Holy Family.)
  

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The altar now faces the longer nave, as shown below.  The shorter nave is to the left of the altar.

Each photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.  Note the representation of the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, Joseph) to the right of the altar. Also, please note at the right the wise installation of a ramp for those who find the altar steps difficult. The baptismal font is at the left in this photo.

Clear glass provides light for the church and offers a beautiful view of trees.  Before the construction of the school in 1960, this long nave had rooms for religious ed classes during the week.  On Sunday, partitions were folded back and chairs arranged for the overflow of Sunday congregants.
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The parish was established in 1951, and a cornerstone of the smaller nave has the date 1953.  As the families grew simultaneously in the Levitt homes there was a surge in population.  The homes of parishioners have Hicksville, Westbury, East Meadow, and Levittown addresses.  Recall that William Levitt's first houses were built near Center Lane near Hempstead Turnpike.  As the years progressed, he continued to build on farmland in each direction.  At some point, he was limited by the older homes in Hicksville or places where other builders had purchased land.  Tax records show a 1952 construction date for homes near the church.

Holy Family parish school is at 25 Fordham Avenue, Hicksville NY 11801, telephone 516-938-3846. Its website is linked here.  The church is to my left.  

That's my school bag.