St. William the Abbot, Seaford

The parish of St. William the Abbot is located at 2000 Jackson Avenue, Seaford, NY 11783, one block south of Sunrise Highway (NY 27) and the Seaford railroad station. The parish telephone number is 516-785-1266, and its website is linked here.  The parish was established in 1928. Twice, the church has been enlarged.

Above, the church interior early Pentecost morning, 2012, before Mass.

In the former baptistry on the north side of the foyer, there are shrines of three saints, St. Joseph in the center, St. William the Abbot to the left, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to the right. St. William wears the wrong habit, however, for a Benedictine of the 11th century.  The habit on the statue is Franciscan.  
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On Monday, May 20, 2024, Bishop Andrezj Zglejszewski confirmed 143 youths. 

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On Monday, May 22 2023, Bishop Luis M. Romero Fernandez, M. Id., confirmed 145 youths.

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On Monday, May 23, 2022, Bishop John Oliver Barres confirmed about 134 youths in three ceremonies. The two photos below are from the late afternoon confirmation.

On November 21, 2019, Bishop Andrzej  Zglejszewski confirmed 201 youths, mostly eighth graders.  The cathedral website gives the pronunciation of his name On-jay Sklay-shef-ski.   He pronounces his name at the beginning of this interview.

Most photos may be enlarged by clicking on them.

In December 2013, the parish purchased a new outdoor manger scene and placed a memorial list in the church lobby.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Across Jackson Avenue is the parish elementary school at 2001 Jackson Avenue.  The school telephone number is 516-785-6784, and its website is linked here.  At first, Dominican Sisters from Amityville provided religious education.  Later, when the school was opened Ursuline Sisters from Blue Point staffed the school for several decades.  Of the parish elementary schools on Long Island, St. William's is the third or fourth highest in enrollment. In June, 2016, fifty-eight students graduated from eighth grade. In this era, that is a healthy number.

In the autumn of 2017 Barbara and Anthony Fuima created this outdoor prayer space with a statue of Saint Padre Pio.

Deacon John Lynch asks the help of children in blessing the water for baptisms one Sunday afternoon in 2018.
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Edit of September 24, 2021: I realize that this post omits names of importance, such as Catherine and William Morgan, the couple who got Father Theodore J. King from Bellmore to offer Mass in a store on the south side of Merrick Road in 1913. William Garnett Payne lived in the house on Washington Avenue adjacent to and south of the school playground. In the late 1920's the church owned only west of Jackson Avenue, and Mr. Payne at some point transferred the property east of Jackson Avenue to the parish. It may have been a gift or close to a gift. For more about this extraordinary man, please see this link to Find A Grave.

Wake, O Wake, and sleep no longer

At the vigil Mass last night, our talented organist ran through the interludes of "Wachet Auf" with enthusiasm and vigor, lifting us up to Advent hope that our new pastor Fr. Fitzgerald had just identified in his First Sunday of Advent sermon. I must thank Christopher Idle, our contemporary, for reworking the lyrics of the original into a clearly Advent piece.
Links:
What we sang, with Bible references.
The Bach Cantata, Leipzig, 1731, with German text and translation.
Philipp Nicholai (1556-1608), Lutheran pastor, poet, and hymnist.

CCD Religious Ed enrollments OCD 2019

The Official Catholic Directory for 2019 lists sixty-two parishes in Nassau County and their enrollment statistics for religious ed or Confraternity of  Christian Doctrine programs. Please note that these students are in addition to the students who receive religious instruction in parish schools. Demographics, the nature and history of the parish are all reflected in these numbers, especially the places with lower enrollments. For example, Point Lookout is a community of retirees or seasonal second homes. St. Hedwig is a national parish. In several instances from long ago, a connected pastor would not suffer his parish to be dismembered, or would tolerate only a small portion to be formed as a separate parish. In several instances, people from non-Catholic parts of the world are moving into the neighborhood, as in Great Neck or Elmont. There is often a story behind extraordinary religious ed numbers.
The parish religious education statistics below are sometimes unreliable because they are round numbers or the same report as in previous years.
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14 Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Point Lookout
58 St. Hedwig (Sw. Jadwiga), Floral Park
75 Holy Name, Woodbury
85 St. Vincent de Paul, Elmont
106 St. Hyacinth (Sw. Jacek), Glen Head
120 Our Lady of Fatima, Port Washington
150 St. Edward, Syosset
167 Our Lady of Good Counsel, Inwood
180 Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Roosevelt
211 Sacred Heart, Island Park
255 St. Pius X, Woodbury
256 St. Aloysius, Great Neck
263 Blessed Sacrament, Valley Stream
276 St. Mary, Roslyn
279 St. Mary of the Isle, Long Beach
320 St. Joseph, Hewlett
340 Our Lady of Loreto, Hempstead
349 Corpus Christi, Mineola
350 Holy Spirit, New Hyde Park
350 Our Lady of Lourdes, Malverne
352 St. Rocco, Glen Cove
360 St. Martha, Uniondale
367 St. Ignatius Loyola, Hicksville
420 St. Gertrude, Bayville
436 Our Lady of Peace, Lynbrook
445 St. Patrick, Glen Cove
458 Our Lady of Lourdes, Massapequa Park
475 St. Boniface, Elmont
480 Our Lady of Hope, Carle Place
490 Our Redeemer, Freport
500 Holy Family, Hicksville
525 St. Christopher, Baldwin
536 St. Boniface, Sea Cliff
549 St. Thomas, West Hempstead
550 St. Raymond, East Rockaway
576 Our Lady of Mercy, Hicksville
576 Holy Name of Mary, Valley Stream
598 St. Ignatius Martyr, Long Beach
657 Sacred Heart, North Merrick
714 St. Dominic, Oyster Bay
735 St. Peter of Alcantara, Port Washington
772 Cure of Ars, Merrick
900 St. Anne, Garden City
950 St. Brigid, Westbury
980 St. Bernard, Levittown
984 Our Lady of Victory, Floral Park
1,000 St. Aidan, Williston
1,065 St. Mary, Manhasset
1,151 St. Martin, Bethpage
1,183 St. Catherine of Sienna, Franklin Square
1,301 St. Kilian, Farmingdale
1,362 St. William, Seaford
1,382 St. Raphael, East Meadow
1,400 St. Joseph, Garden city
1,450 St. Barnabas, Bellmore
1,466 Maria Regina, Seaford
1,500 St. James, Seaford
1,501 St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Wantagh
1,550 St. Agnes, Rockville Centre
2,439 St. Rose of Lima, Massapequa

Total in CCD, Nassau County: 40,527
Plus any at Notre Dame, New Hyde Park.
In 2011, I tallied 46,620 in CCD.

Elementary school enrollments, OCD 2019

The 2019 edition of the Official Catholic Directory includes enrollment figures for 24 parishes (or regional schools) of Nassau County.  Some numbers are unreliable because the school strangely reported the exact same enrollment the previous year. I presume that the OCD numbers are from 2018. Also, there is no indication whether each school's enrollment includes pre-Kindergarten.
In increasing order:
223 Our Lady of Mercy, Hicksville
261 St. Dominic elementary, Oyster Bay
262 Our Lady of Lourdes, Malverne
275 St. Peter of Alcantara, Port Washington
280 Holy Name of Mary, Valley Stream 
283 Our Lady of Peace, Lynbrook
286 St. Edward, Syosset
292 St. Thomas, West Hempstead
295 St. Christopher, Baldwin
300? St. Raymond, East Rockaway
303 Holy Family, Hicksville
306 St. Mary, Manhasset
325 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Regional, Bellmore
339 St. Brigid, Westbury
356 St. Joseph, Garden City
365 St. Rose of Lima, Massapequa
368 Our Lady of Victory, Floral Park
377 St. Martin de Porres, Uniondale
400? Maria Regina, Seaford
440 Long Beach Catholic, at St. Ignatius Martyr
454 St . William the Abbot, Seaford
459 St. Aidan, Williston
530 St. Anne, Garden City
627 St. Agnes, Rockville Centre

Total 8,406, plus Notre Dame, New Hyde Park 
In 2010, I tallied 10,038 enrolled in Nassau County parish or regional schools.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Sunday November 24, 2019

There has been an interfaith Thanksgiving service annually in Wantagh churches and synagogues. This year it is being hosted by St. Raphael's parish in EAST MEADOW, at 600 Newbridge Road. The homilist will be Rabbi Androphy, who has led the East Meadow Jewish Center since 1983.
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Time: Sunday, November 24, at 8 p.m.
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For me, it is inspiration for our community to pray and sing together.

A Triennial National Collection, Nov. 3, 2019

Among the November offertory envelopes was one that seemed new, a diocesan offering for the Archdiocese of Military Services. A brochure in our church lobby explained much more: This is a Triennial National Collection, not an annual collection. The letter from Archbishop Timothy Broglio convincingly details the work of this special archdiocese. Please see the letter in pdf HERE.
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The collection was first taken in 2013 and later in 2016.
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Further information is at THIS LINK.
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In 2016, there were 386 priests in this far-flung and varied ordinariate, see HERE.

Deanaries, as of July, 2019

For an updated list of the parishes in each deanery, click on this Word document.

I note that there are eight parishes in the Seaford deanery, with Rev. Adrian McHugh of Bellmore as dean. 

Two suggestions: When a holyday occurs on a civil workday, as will happen on Friday, November 1, it would be helpful to publish a chronological list of when the holiday Masses in the deanery would be offered. Not only could it be published on the internet, but printed copies could be posted in parishes. A few years ago, I saw such a list on the doors of the the churches in Avila.
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Likewise, it might be good to list all the adult religious ed programs in the deanery, so that Catholics from adjoining parishes could take part.

Pastoral year after 2nd theology

Some were surprised when the pastoral year of priestly formation got dropped when the three dioceses (New York, Brooklyn, Rockville Centre) combined their theological formation at Dunwoodie. At least in my parish, we had benefited much by the enthusiasm of the young seminarian who got a "year off" from studies to experience parish life and be tested by it.
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According to today's Catholic New York, bottom of page 1, the pastoral year is back, positioned between 2nd and 3rd theology.  Albany, Camden, and Bridgeport, which send seminarians to Dunwoodie,  will not add the pastoral year.  In a one-time shot, the pastoral year postpones a year of an ordination class, in my opinion, well worth.
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Link: http://digital.cny.org/Catholic-New-York-09122019-e-Edition/1/

Salve, Regina Coelitum

Appropriately on the feast of the Assumption of Mary today, our recessional was an English translation of the hymn
Salve, Regina coelitum, O Maria.
Sors unica terrigenum, O Maria.
Jubilate Cherubim,
exsultate Seraphim,
consonate perpetim.
Salve, salve, salve Regina.

2. Mater misericordiae, O Maria.
Dulcis parens clementiae, O Maria.
Jubilate ...

3. Tu vitae lux, fons gratiae, O Maria.
Causa nostrae laetitiae,
O Maria.

Translation and additional English verson, author I have not yet learned:

Hail, Holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria! 
Hail, Mother of mercy and of love, O Maria! 
Triumph all ye cherubim! 
Sing with us ye seraphim! 
Heaven and earth resound the hymn! 
Salve, salve, salve, Regina! 

Our life, our sweetness here below, O Maria!
Our hope in sorrow and in woe, O Maria! 
Triumph all ye cherubim! 
Sing with us ye seraphim! 
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

To thee do we cry, poor sons of Eve, O Maria!
To thee we sigh, we mourn, we grieve, O Maria! 
Triumph all ye cherubim! 
Sing with us ye seraphim! 
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, O Maria!
Towards us thine eyes compassionate, O Maria! 
Triumph all ye cherubim! 
Sing with us ye seraphim! 
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina! O Maria!

When this our exile is complete, O Maria!
Show us thy Son, our Jesus sweet, O Maria! 
Triumph all ye cherubim! 
Sing with us ye seraphim! 
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

O clement, gracious Mother sweet, O Maria!
O virgin Mary we entreat, O Maria! 
Triumph all ye cherubim! 
Sing with us ye seraphim! 
Heaven and earth resound the hymn!
Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

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The big puzzle is whether to count the Salve Regina as two hymns or one. The first, dating back to the 11th century and Herman of Reichenau, is the well-known Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae, often sung at Compline and recited at the end of the rosary. This hymn is in Gregorian plainchant.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae: 
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. 
Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae. 
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes 
in hac lacrimarum valle. 
Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, 
illos tuos misericordes oculos 
ad nos converte. 
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, 
nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende. 
O clemens: O pia: O dulcis 
Virgo Maria.

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The newer Salve, Regina coelitum (Hail, queen of heavenly beings) is in 4/4 time, and may be trochaic tetrameter catalectic (four feet, stressed-unstressed with a final syllable missing). Melchior Ludwig Herold  (1753-1810) may have composed both the rewording and the melody.

Article: African priests serving the U.S. Church

Quartz is a news website founded in New York, but it has editions on other continents. Quartz Africa recently published an article of some thirty paragraphs on the history of priests from Africa serving the Roman Catholic Church of the United States. "African priests are now the future of the Catholic Church in the United States" may be of some interest to parishioners of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Some priests born in Africa have been excardinated (released) by their home bishops and incardinated into our diocese. Others are serving here as externs, still under the canonical jurisdiction of their home bishops.
The link to this helpful article is HERE.

Appointment of associate pastors, many effective 6.26.2019

Please see the list on the diocesan website, under Press Releases. The site drvc.org has been reformatted, but the list of appointed associate pastors is still on the previous format.

The top nine are priests apparently already working in the diocese, maybe still incardinated overseas.

The next group of eight newly appointed associated pastors seem not to have worked recently in the diocese of Rockville Centre. They may be categorized as Externs, still incardinated somewhere else.

The third group, numbering five, are to take their positions in September. 

Surnames from Ghana predominate.

A few months ago, I was surprised to learn that a priest cannot be incardinated unless he has been canonically excardinated (or released) by his previous bishop. It seems that, over the centuries, our church has had problems with wandering or vagabond priests. In the UK recently, a new Celebret document was created, almost like a driver's license with attempts to prevent forgery.

Catholic Communications Campaign

Today, June 2, 2019, the second offertory collection was for the Catholic Communications Campaign. Half goes to Rockville Centre. Much information about how the national half is distributed can be found at this link. 
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I presume that the diocesan half gets distributed to Catholic Faith Network (television, based in Uniondale), the diocesan website, and perhaps The Long Island Catholic.  

Pastoral appointments effective June 26, 2019

June 26, 2019, is moving day.
Our bishop has announced pastoral appointments. The link to the full list is HERE. New pastors in Nassau County are:
Fr. Seth, the outstanding priest met on the televised Masses at the cathedral, with clear, concise, illuminating homilies, is the new pastor of St. Jane Frances de Chantal in Wantagh.
Fr. Jeff Yildirmaz is the new pastor at St. Barnabas, Bellmore.
Fr. Christopher Costigan moves to St. Martin of Tours, Bethpage.
Msgr. Mark Rowan is the new pastor of St. Kilian, Farmingdale.
Msgr. Thomas Coogan goes to St. Dominic, Oyster Bay.
Fr. Brian Barr will pastor two parishes, adding Point Lookout to Our Lady of the Isle.
Msgr. Robert Clerkin to pastorate in Port Washington.
Fr. Joseph Fitzgerald to St. William the Abbot, Seaford.
Fr. Rony Fabien to St. Martha, Uniondale.
Fr. Adrian McHugh to St. Aidan, Williston Park.
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Above are new pastors.
One new administrator is Fr. Lawrence Onyegu to Blessed Sacrament, Valley Stream.
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For both counties, please see the full list.

All Saints School to close

An email from licatholic.org explains that the diocese will close two elementary schools in June, due to low enrollment: All Saints at St. Patrick's, Glen Cove, and St. Joseph School, Ronkonkoma. All Saints is a regional school sponsored by five parishes: St. Patrick, St. Rocco, St. Hyacinth, St. Boniface Martyr, and St. Mary (Roslyn). At All Saints, the current enrollment in K-8 is 132 students, plus eleven more in Nursery level. Two different websites provide more information, drvcschools.org and drvcschools.com

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The Long Island Catholic weekly newspaper once printed an informative grade-by-grade chart of the enrollment in the Catholic elementary schools of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. If my memory is correct, this was done during the editorship of Msgr. Paul McKeever, 1967-1975. As we approach Catholic Schools week, publishing a similar chart on a drvcschools website org would likewise inform the Catholic population.