Corpus Christi, 2020

The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ today had a special meaning in the diocese of Rockville Centre, as public Masses were offered in most parishes, under guidelines from the bishop. We listened to and prayed with the live 11 a.m. broadcast from the cathedral, Bishop John O. Barres officiating, with Father Lachlan Cameron as homilist, first topic the Year of Grace, and second topic the Eucharist. A robed and masked choir sang in the loft, with appropriate distance between singers. They sang the sequence, but I could not determine whether it was Thomas Aquinas's Lauda Sion Salvatorem or a translation. At communion of the clergy, the choir sang Adoro Te devote, another hymn by Aquinas. Adoration and Benediction followed Mass, as also the case at the Corpus Christi celebration at St. Peter's. Catholic Faith Network carried that Mass + Benediction for more than two hours after 9 p.m.

Nassau K-8 enrollments in 2015

The 2016 edition of the Official Catholic Directory probably reports information from 2015 or earlier.  This new edition lists twenty-two parish or regional Catholic elementary schools in Nassau County.  The top ten in reported enrollment are:
St. Agnes Cathedral, 728.
St. Anne, Garden City, 540.
St. William the Abbot, Seaford, 538.
St. Aidan, Williston Park, 487.
St. Martin de Porres, Uniondale, 460.
Long Beach Catholic, 440.
St. Rose of Lima, Massapequa Park, 404.
Maria Regina, Seaford, 400.
Holy Family, Hicksville, 397.
Our Lady of Victory, Floral Park, 389.
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Eighteen schools have more than 300 enrolled.
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Only one school, All Saints Regional, Glen Cove, has fewer than 200.
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The total K-8 enrollment in Catholic schools is about 8,544.

St. Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre

This view of St. Agnes Cathedral greets a person who arrives in Rockville Centre, Long Island, by train. To the left of the church is the rectory and the bishop's residence.

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The parish address is 29 Quealy Place, Rockville Centre, NY 11570, telephone 516-766-0205. The parish website is here.  Please check the parish website for photos of the renovation of the interior of the church.  

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Would anyone comment on the saints depicted here on the new baldachin?  On the left, I can identify Thomas More and John Vianney.  On the right, the pope seems to be Pope Pius X. Sister Faustina Kowalska appears low on the right rear column.

At the left is St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, in the center Mother Seton.  Who's on the right? In dim light I could not read the pedestal.

The above photo was taken in 2012 or earlier.  

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The A.I.A. Architectural Guide to Nassau and Suffolk Counties (Dover Publ., Mineola, 1992) describes the cathedral as of Norman-Gothic style, of limestone-trimmed buff brick with a single cross-crowned tower.  In 1887, the first Mass was offered in Rockville Centre in a blacksmith's shop on Centre Avenue.  An anvil from that shop is said to be in the cathedral, but I have not found it.

Above is the bishop's residence. 

Within the same block, the elementary school is at 70 Clinton Avenue, Rockville Centre NY 11570, telephone 516-678-5550. Its website is linked here.  With about 845 students, it is the largest elementary school in the diocese.

This large hall between the church and school has similar porticoes, east and west. The cornerstone reads 2004.  One of its purposes is to provide space for catered events, for example, a reception after a Mass celebrating the jubilees of religious, which we attended here in 2012.

The diocesan office building is a few blocks away, at 50 North Park Avenue, between Sunrise Highway (NY 27) and the railroad station.  The above view of  its west side shows how it began with an older building (maybe a former bank), where the flag is, at the corner of Sunrise Highway and North Park Avenue.  The addition, with a tall cross facing the railroad, is sheathed in a green similar to that of The Long Island Catholic website.  This page might explain some of the diocesan offices.  I was about to use the word Chancery to describe the above building, but it appears that the Chancery is only part of the organizational structure.

Rockville Centre deanery

The diocese of Rockville Centre has grouped the parishes of Nassau County into seven deaneries.  The deanery of Rockville Centre includes the following nine parishes, listed in order of foundation:
1870 -- Our Lady of Loretto, Hempstead
1894 -- St. Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre
1901 -- St. Joseph, Garden City
1903 -- Holy Redeemer, Freeport
1915 -- St. Christopher, Baldwin
1915 -- St. Ladislaus, Hempstead
1919 -- Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Roosevelt
1931 -- St. Thomas the Apostle, West Hempstead
1949 -- St. Martha, Uniondale
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Four of these parishes provide elementary schools: St. Agnes Cathedral School (with 800+ students, the largest elementary school in the diocese), St. Joseph (Garden City), St. Christopher School (Baldwin), and St. Thomas the Apostle School (West Hempstead).  At St. Martha's parish, the Marianist Brothers administer St. Martin de Porres School.  At Holy Redeemer parish, the De La Salle Christian Brothers administer De La Salle School (Freeport).