Nassau County N.Y. Catholic: March 2016

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, March 4, 2016

St. Vincent de Paul, Elmont

Please see The Long Island Catholic for this January, 2016, news about the use of St. Vincent de Paul parish church as a Catholic cathedral. Also, please see this lengthy, informative article about the Divine Liturgy celebrated at St. Vincent de Paul on February 14, 2016, and on subsequent Sundays.
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For the first time, the Vatican has created a Syro-Malankara eparchy (Eastern term, similar to diocese) in the United States. The cathedral or see of its first bishop will be at the church of St. Vincent de Paul in Elmont, which is administered from the parish of Saint Catherine of Sienna, Franklin Square. The 2015 Official Catholic Directory provides this legal name, "St. Vincent de Paul Malankara Catholic Cathedral Parish" at 1500 De Paul Street.
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Please note the address at the bottom of the website of the new eparchy. Also, please note this news article about a new bishop of the Syro-Malankara Eparchy. In the sixth paragraph, it refers to Elmont.
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One must distinguish this eparchy from the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of St. Thomas of Chicago. Both groups represent St. Thomas Christians of India, which has apostolic roots and long predates the arrival of Western Catholicism (Latin Rite) from Portugal.
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The above announcement is dated January 4, 2016. From what I saw today (March 3, 2016), the parish of St. Vincent de Paul has not abandoned its location. Nor is there any outdoor sign indicating the presence of a cathedral. The parish website is up-to-date and informative.

Clicking on any photo will enlarge it. The photos with snow are from 2011.

Since June, 2011, the parish of St. Vincent de Paul, Elmont, has been administered by the pastor of St. Catherine of Sienna parish, Franklin Square. Please see the diocesan press release linked here dated May 10, 2011. This is not a merger of parishes, but rather an administrative consolidation.

The church of St. Vincent de Paul is located north of Hempstead Turnpike, east of the new Elmont Library. The entrance is via West Gate and north on Robert Avenue. The intersection of Hempstead Turnpike and West Gate has a traffic signal, and a sign for the church is there.
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The rectory address is 1500 De Paul Street, Elmont, NY 11003, telephone 516-352-2127.
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The parish was established in 1951. The parish elementary school opened in 1961, but is now closed.

Above, Robert Avenue ends at De Paul Street.

The above 2011 photo looks west along Hempstead Turnpike towards the new Elmont Library and the principal crossroads of Elmont. At the right is West Gate, leading via Roberts Avenue to the church.
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For me to write that Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) was an admirable person is an understatement. One summary of his life is linked here and another here.