Lord

The heart of the Christian community is our Triune Lord: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Geography, history, and numbers are not the heart, but probably I will type mostly on these topics. As the internet already provides many encouraging spiritual guides and discouraging contentious forums, I intend to offer neither.
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To find a parish, enter a keyword in the search box at the top left, or look through the labels and links down the right-hand column. The posts themselves follow the Blogger format of newest items on top.
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Friday, August 29, 2014

DRVC numbers from 2013

The 2014 Official Catholic Directory, published recently, includes statistics probably collected in 2013 or earlier.  Below are some sample statistics for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, as given in the OCD's dated 2003, 2011, 2013, and 2014.  In each case, the numbers may be rather stale. I have omitted some numbers that seem wildly inaccurate.
Sisters in the diocese: 1,398;  1,080;  1,070; 1,026.
Brothers in the diocese: 89;  79;  77; 68.
Permanent deacons in diocese: 233;  273; (2013) 275. The count of permanent deacons is missing from the 2014 directory.
Diocesan priests: 391;  360;  345; 337.
Extern priests (2002) 51; (2014) 89.
Students in elementary religious education programs:  121,699;  110,440;  108,697; (2014) 108,697. Why is it the exact same number as 2013?
Students in Catholic elementary schools: (2011) 20,042; (2013) 17,797; (2014) 17,142.
Students in Catholic high schools: (2011) 12,576;  (2013) 12,155; (2014) 12,041.
Infant Baptisms: (2003) 20,983;  (2011) 16,079;  (2013) 15,211; (2014) 14,973.
First Communions: 20,397;  17,537;  16,722; 16,623.
Marriages, Catholic: 4,576;  2,813;  2,683; 2,687 (up 4).
Marriages, interfaith:  963;  589;  520; 535 (up 15).
Deaths: 13,119;  11,644;  10,370; 11,015.
Catholic population: (2013) 1,531,445; (2014) 1,467,211.
Total population: (2013) 3,504,737; (2014) 3,308,154. However, these numbers are much higher than those reported by other sources.
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LIPA's January, 2011, population estimates were:
Nassau: 1,337,756.
Suffolk: 1,492,450
Total population of the diocese's two counties: 2,830,306.
The 2012 OCD  used the number 2,875,904 for the total population, close enough. However, the OCD 2013 and 2014 population numbers are about 460,000 too high! 
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The U.S. Census bureau estimated the 2013 population of Nassau County as 1,342,156 and Suffolk County as 1,499,738, for a total Diocese of Rockville Centre population (both counties) of 2,841894.  
I cannot find 2013 or 2014 estimates from LIPA or PSEG, the power companies.





Thursday, August 7, 2014

St. Mary of the Isle, Long Beach




The parish of St. Mary of the Isle stands on the south side of East Park Avenue at Monroe Boulevard, Long Beach, New York, three blocks east of the Long Beach railroad station and the city center.  This view shows the church, the parish center to the right, and the rectory at 315 East Walnut Street, Long Beach, NY 11561, telephone 516-432-0157.  The parish website is liked here.
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Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.



Founded in 1918, this parish is the oldest of the three parishes on the barrier reef that runs ten miles from Point Lookout on the east to Silver Point on the west.  St. Mary of the Isle sponsors Long Beach Catholic Regional School.
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The above photo was taken in 2012, before the hurricane Sandy damaged many buildings in Long Beach.  The photo below was taken in 2014, after repairs.




Photos of a Mass on the beach and many more items of interest are on the parish Facebook page, linked here.