Bishop Barres visits Seaford

Bishop John Oliver Barres offered the 9 a.m. Mass at St. William the Abbot, Seaford, March 2, 2025. He thanked Father Joseph Fitzgerald for his work and extended his role as pastor for a second six-year term. The bishop also said that Fr. Fitzgerald will be a chaplain at the Olympic Games that open in Los Angeles July 14, 2028.

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Today's selection of readings and the responsorial psalm exemplifies the rich introduction of the three-year cycle effective Palm Sunday, 1970.  Psalm 92: Lord it is good to give thanks to you.

St. William the Abbot, July 3, 2020

Congratulations to the 8th graders of 2020!

One hundred eighty-nine 8th graders graduated from Seaford Middle School.
Thirty-six graduated from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Bellmore.
Sixteen graduated from Maria Regina, Seaford.

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

For many more photos of the parish of St. William the Abbot, please click HERE.

Pastors & assignments, July, 2017

A list of priestly appointments appeared briefly at drvc.org in late July, then disappeared and reappeared. The link is HERE. It contained new pastors, new curates, reassignments of priests of religious congregations, and the incardination of five or six priests. 
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A new pastor, age 32, at Our Lady of Lourdes, Malverne. Link to liherald.com HERE.
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Msgr. Steve Camp, after 12 years as pastor at St. Christopher, Baldwin, to St. Patrick, Huntington.
Link to good-bye letter in parish bulletin HERE. Rev. Nicholas Zientarski replaces Msgr. Camp at St. Christopher.
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Our Lady of Mercy parish, Hicksville, has received a new pastor, Rev. John McCarthy.
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Sacred Heart, North Merrick, has received a new pastor.
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Deacon Anthony Cedrone from St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Wantagh, to St. William the Abbot, Seaford. Notice on page 8 of bulletin HERE.
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As Msgr. McNamara is joining the staff of the North American College on the Janiculum Hill, Rev. Joseph Nixon will become administrator of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Point Lookout.
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There appear to be eleven new associate pastor appointments in Nassau County.
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Five monsignors have retired.
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In Nassau County, four pastors have been reappointed for a second term.
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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.

Five new pastors in Nassau County

The Long Island Catholic has listed five new pastors of parishes in Nassau County (link HERE). These appointments by Bishop Murphy are effective June 29, 2016.  The parishes with new pastors are Corpus Christi (Mineola), Cure of Ars (Merrick), St. Martha (Uniondale), and St. Gertrude (Bayville). In what seems to be a change of titles, one priest will serve three parishes: pastor of St. Joseph (Hewlett) and Our Lady of Good Counsel (Inwood), and administrator of St. Joachim (Cedarhurst).
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The list continues with the appointment of Associate Pastors at St. James (Seaford), St. Rose (Massapequa), St. Dominic (Oyster Bay), St. Ignatius Loyola (Hicksville), St. Barnabas (Bellmore), Notre Dame (New Hyde Park), Holy Family (Hicksville), and Sacred Heart (North Merrick).

St. Joseph's Day, March 19, 2014

Photos may be enlarged by clicking on them.

Viva la tavola di San Giuse!
After the morning Masses at St. William the Abbot's parish, Seaford, St. Joseph's bread was blessed and distributed. The first photo shows Fr. Bala blessing the bread after the first Mass.  School children, parents, and parishioners attended the second Mass.
A typed handout explained:
Saint Joseph is one of the most beloved saints among Italian-Americans.   As the patron of workers and the protector of the family, he is honored with a feast on March 19.  It began when there was a severe drought in Sicily in the middle ages.  In desperation, people asked St.Joseph, their patron, to intervene.  They promised if rain came, they would prepare a big feast in his honor.  The tradition says these prayers were answered with rainy weather.  In gratitude, huge banquet tables were set up in public, and poor people were invited to come and east as much as they wanted.
Generosity marks this day, as it did the character of Joseph himself.  In many nations, it's a day of sharing with the poor and needy, and nowhere is this bettr carried out than in the nation that perhaps loves the most, Italy.  In many villages, especially in Sicily, every one of any means contributes to a table spread in the public square as an offering for favors received for prayers to this kindly saint.  The bread made for this day represents Jesus.  The guests are orphans, widows, or beggars.  After Mass, all go in procesion to this festive table.  After the priest blesses the feast, all shout, "Viva la tavola di San Giuse!"  Every guest is given something to take home.

Easter proclamation

St. James, Seaford

Note the scallop shells referring to the Apostle's shrine at Compostela, Galicia.

The parish of St. James is the most northern of the three parishes with a Seaford address.  At 80 Hicksville Road, Seaford NY 11783, its phone number is 516-731-3710.  The informative website is linked here. 
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Hicksville Road (NY 107) runs on the east side of the parish grounds, and Seamans Neck Road on the west side.  The grounds are mostly or completely within the Town of Oyster Bay (and the Plainedge School District), with the Town of Hempstead (and Island Trees School District) adjacent to the west. 

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The parish patron is the apostle James (called The Greater), brother of St. John.  In Nassau County, there are two other Catholic churches named in honor of one of the twelve apostles: St. Andrew (Westbury) and St. Thomas (West Hempstead).
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The former parish elementary school on Seamans Neck Road provides parish offices and religious education classrooms.  
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The 8.10.2011 edition of The Long Island Catholic carried an interesting story of the first building used by St. James parish in 1951.  It was a transformed chicken coop, which is now part of the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul in Manorville.

Maria Regina, Seaford

The parish of Maria Regina is located at 3945 Jerusalem Avenue, Seaford, New York 11783, telephone 516-798-2415.  The parish website is linked here.
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The address of the parish elementary school is 4045 Jerusalem Avenue, Seaford, New York 11783, telephone 516-541-1229.  The school website is linked here.

One enters the parish campus from Jerusalem Avenue, NY 105, a short distance west of Hicksville Road, NY 107.

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Seaford deanery

The diocese of Rockville Centre has seven deaneries in Nassau County.  The Seaford deanery includes the following parishes, listed in order of foundation:
1912 -- St. Barnabas the Apostle, Bellmore
1926 -- Curé of Ars, Merrick
1928 -- St. William the Abbot, Seaford
1952 -- St. Rose of Lima, Massapequa
1952 -- St. Jane Frances De Chantal, Wantagh
1952 -- Sacred Heart, North Merrick
1954 -- Maria Regina, Seaford
1955 -- Our Lady of Lourdes, Massapequa Park 
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The above eight parishes provide five elementary schools: St. William the Abbot, Maria Regina, Sacred Heart, St. Rose of Lima, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
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Please note that St. James parish, served by the Seaford post office, is within the diocesan deanery of Hicksville.

Hicksville deanery

The Diocese of Rockville Centre has seven deaneries in Nassau County.  The Hicksville deanery includes the following parishes, in order of foundation: 
1850 -- St. Brigid, Westbury
1859 -- St. Ignatius Loyola, Hicksville
1896 -- St. Kilian, Farmingdale
1923 -- St. Martin of Tours, Bethpage
1941 -- St. Raphael, East Meadow
1948 -- St. Bernard, Levittown
1951 -- St. James, Seaford
1951 -- Holy Family, Hicksville
1953 -- Our Lady of Mercy, Hicksville
1987 -- Our Lady of Hope, Carle Place
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The regional Catholic elementary school St. John Baptist de la Salle, located at St. Kilian's parish, is supported by St. Martin, St. James, St. Kilian and St. Pius X parishes.  The regional Catholic elementary school St. Brigid/Our Lady of Hope, Westbury, is supported by those two parishes.  In Hicksville, there are three parish elementary schools: St. Ignatius Loyola, Holy Family, and Our Lady of Mercy.
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