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.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Wantagh

On June 19, 2022, the parish celebrated its 70th anniversary.

The church of St. Jane Frances de Chantal is located at 1309 Wantagh Avenue, Wantagh NY 11793, telephone 516-785-2333.  Its website is linked here.  The church is on the east side of the avenue, a half-mile south of Exit 28 of the Southern State Parkway.  It is also a mile north of the Wantagh Railroad Station.  

Archbishop Molloy established the parish in 1952.  By the 1980's, the first church suffered structural problems (as I recall, wood rot at the base of the supports), and this new church was opened in 1987.  For twenty years, a chapel, separated from the church by panels, existed to the left of the tabernacle.  In recent renovations that chapel was made part of the main body of the church.

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A school was built in the late 1950's, but in 1992, St. Jane Francis de Chantal joined three other parish schools to create St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Regional School in Bellmore.  In 2010-2011, twenty-eight children from St. Jane Frances de Chantal attended St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.   Religious education students at St. Jane Frances de Chantal number about 1,000.

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Jeanne Françoise de Chantal lived 1572-1641.  Another biography is linked here.

Sacred Heart, North Merrick

Sacred Heart parish is located at 720 Merrick Avenue, Merrick, NY 11566, telephone 516-379-1356. The parish website is linked here. The church and school are on the east side of Merrick Avenue immediately south of Exit 24 of the Southern State Parkway. They are about two miles north of the Merrick railroad station at Sunrise Highway.

The church was probably finished about 2009, and it replaced (if memory is correct) a smaller wooden building.  The parish itself dates from 1952, when Archbishop Molloy split it from Curé of Ars, two miles south.  In 1961, the Sisters of St. Joseph began to staff the parish school.  From a building fund drive mentioned in the bulletin, it seems that the parish continues to pay off a construction debt.

Inside, the church is a square, with the side pews at an angle.  This view of the north wall shows six stations of the cross in stained glass windows with devotional statues and vigil lights between the windows.

 Above is the Ninth Station on the south wall.

Statuary abounds outside and inside the church.  Here, St. Florian, patron of firefighters, is honored to the left of the main entrance.  To the right are St. Michael, patron of police officers, and St. John Vianney.

Above, St. Francis of Assisi.


The address for Sacred Heart School is 730 Merrick Avenue, Merrick NY 11566, telephone 516-378-5797. The school website is linked here.  Sad to relate, the Bishop of Rockville Centre has decreed the closure of Sacred Heart school in June, 2012.  Please see his announcement, linked here.
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Regarding the prayer for peace in the photo below: A similar pole may be found at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Kensington, Brooklyn.

Curé of Ars

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

The parish of Curé of Ars is located at 2323 Merrick Avenue, one block south of Sunrise Highway and the Long Island Rail Road Merrick station. It is adjacent to the Merrick library.

The parish telephone number is 516-623-1400, and its website is linked here.

Both walls have stained glass windows in pairs, but I was unable to determine the theme or order of windows. In several cases, a brief identification is given of the saint commemorated. In the photo above, St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) is paired with the mother of Mary.

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The parish school has been closed since 1992, and the building is now shared by a parish center and a Montessori school, with the hall available for rent. Cure of Ars parish supports St. Elisabeth Ann Seton Regional School in Bellmore.

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The bishop of Brooklyn established this parish in 1926, and it was named after St. John Vianney, canonized in 1925, who was pastor or curé of Ars, France, from about 1815 to 1859.

St. Barnabas the Apostle, Bellmore

The church of St. Barnabas Apostle is located at 2320 Bedford Avenue, Bellmore NY 11710, telephone 516-785-0054.  The church is two blocks south of Sunrise Highway (NY 27) and the Bellmore train station.  The parish website is linked here. (I find the text on the website quite faint.)  The parish was established in 1912, and the present church was built in 1958.
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St. Barnabas church as seen from the Long Island Rail Road station.

To the right of the Our Lady's shrine may be seen the Holy Oils, the Baptismal Font, and the Ambo draped in Lenten purple.

Along the left aisle is this shrine, St. Maximilian Kolbe in the center, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to the left, and a Sacred Heart to the right. Sisters of Charity of Halifax staffed the parish school since 1931.

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

In 1992, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Regional School replaced four parish schools.  This elementary school is sponsored by the parishes of St. Raphael, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Curé of Ars, and St. Barnabas. The mailing address is 2341 Washington Avenue, Bellmore NY 11010, telephone 516-785-5709, website linked here.

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The above photos show the school, which is adjacent to the church.  These views look west from Bedford Avenue, and the lobby runs through to Washington Avenue.  
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In January, 2012, the school had one section in each grade from 1 to 8.  Enrollment in grade 7 was about 27.

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.

Our Lady of Lourdes, Massapequa Park

There are two parishes in Nassau County named Our Lady of Lourdes.  This one is located at 855 Carmans Road, Massapequa Park, NY 11762, telephone 516-541-3270.  The other parish of the same name is in Malverne.

Above is the church, entered from Linden Street.  Some Masses are offered in a chapel.

Above is the view from Carmans Road and Linden Street.  This is northeast of the incorporated Village of Massapequa Park.

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

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The parish website is linked here, but some sections may be outdated.  It does provide a recent parish bulletin.

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.