Showing posts with label Saint Francis of Assisi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saint Francis of Assisi. Show all posts

Sunday, November 1, 2015

St. Frances of Rome and 3 other churches in Wakefield = one parish in 2015



The parish of St. Frances of Rome includes four older separate parishes, which can be seen listed on top of the new website.  Please consult this website for current (2017) Mass schedules and staffing. The office and rectory are adjacent to the church in the 2010 photo above. The postal address is 4307 Barnes Avenue, Bronx NY 10466.
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Also, please see the extensive Parish Booklet available at this link.  It lists many parish organizations and meeting schedules through 2018 and 2019.  It contains a helpful history of the parish.
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Before the 1960's only the lower church existed, on the ground floor. Then a magnificent, bright upper church was added,designed by the architect Paul Waldon Reilly, who also designed the new church of St. Frances de Chantal, Throgs Neck. More recently, an elevator helps those who have difficulty with the foyer staircases.

The church, as seen from the west.
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From Catholic New York: 10.15.2015:  Father Georginus Ugwu, M.S.P., who was named pastor of the newly merged parish of St. Frances of Rome-St. Anthony-St. Francis of Assisi-Our Lady of Grace, the Bronx, on Aug. 1, had previously served as temporary administrator of the Wakefield Catholic Churches of St. Frances of Rome, St. Anthony and St. Francis of Assisi since July 2014. He was pastor of the Catholic chapel and chaplain of Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Fla., 2007-2014. He was associate director and bursar of his religious congregation’s office in Houston, 2005-2007. A native of Nigeria, he earlier served there and in the Central African Republic. He was ordained for the Missionary Society of St. Paul in 2000.
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In this merger of four parishes, two church buildings ended up having no regular religious services. Yet, these two (Our Lady of Grace, Bronxwood Avenue, and St. Anthony, Richardson Avenue) have not yet been canonically relegated to profane use. In a sense, they are closed but still available for use.
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See pages 299 and 301 for the 1897 creation of the parish of St Frances of Rome, near East 236 Street and Barnes Avenue, Wakefield, east of White Plains Road. The present church dates from 1967. For many years, the Sisters of the Presentation taught in the parish school. The rectory address is 4307 Barnes Ave., Bronx NY 10466, telephone 718-324-5340. The pastor of this parish is also responsible for St. Anthony's on Richardson Avenue and St. Francis of Assisi on Baychester Avenue. 
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For St. Francis of Assisi elementary school, please use this link.
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For Our Lady of Grace elementary school, please use this link.

Monday, April 20, 2009

St Francis of Assisi, Baychester Ave., Wakefield

Each photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.



See pages 488 and 489 for the creation in 1949 and merger in 2007 of the parish of St Francis of Assisi, at Baychester Avenue and Pitman Avenue, seven blocks inside the city line. The rectory phone number is 718-324-5340. With St. Anthony (Richardson Ave.) and St. Frances of Rome (Barnes Ave.), St Francis of Assisi is one of three Wakefield parishes with the same pastor and associates. There is another parish named St. Francis of Assisi in High Bridge, but that has been merged with the larger parish of the Sacred Heart.
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This parish offers an elementary school at 4300 Baychester Avenue, Bronx NY 10466, telephone 718-994-4650. With about 300 students, it appears that there is one section per grade. Adjacent to the church is an early learning center, the sign for which appears above.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

St Francis of Assisi, Highbridge


The church is in the short block of Shakespeare Avenue between Featherbed Lane (to the left of the photo) and the canyon of the Cross Bronx Expressway (to the right of this photo).
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See page 475 for the 1928 establishment of the parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in a predominantly Jewish part of High Bridge. With rather small territory carved from the thriving Sacred Heart parish, St. Francis could afford neither a school nor a large church. It has recently become part of Sacred Heart parish again. The postal address is Post Office Box 520013. Bronx NY 10452, telephone 718-731-6840. The Sunday received offering at Sacred Heart in January, 2009, was about $2,700 a week, and at St Francis about $1,700.
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Thanks for the comments below.  Please note that there is a time lag of several hours between writing a comment and seeing it appear, because comments are moderated.  On 9.9.2016, a person, apparently frustrated, kept submitting the same long comment repeatedly because he did not see it immediately appear. The time delay helps weed out spam.
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Father John Flynn was pastor of this parish in the mid-1970's. Please see this article in America magazine. The article focuses on his later work at St. Martin of Tours, but does mention his being pastor at St. Francis of Assissi, where we knew him.