St. Michael the Archangel, Co-op City

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See page 489 for the 1969 establishment of the parish of St Michael, Co-op City. The rectory address is 765 Co-op City Blvd., Bronx NY 10475, telephone 718-671-8057. The church is at the intersection of Co-op City Blvd. and Rombouts Avenue, but, as shown above, the Rombouts Avenue sign is missing from the intersection. Blue street signs are memorials.
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Co-op City is a development of cooperative apartments in the northeast Bronx near Baychester and Pelham Bay. When this large project was planned and built, no government agency was willing to extend rail service to this community of 55,000. Hence, people rely on walking, cars, and buses. Five bus routes have a stop near the church.
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In driving to St. Michael's church, it is helpful to note that the church is quite close to the Connor St. Exit of Interstate 95. By using Connor Street eastward to reach the maze of apartment houses and curving streets, one soon meets Co-op City Boulevard, a principal winding road. Turn right on Co-op City Boulevard and within a quarter-mile one will see the church. If you become lost, take note of the address: 765 Co-op City Blvd.
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The parish has no school. I have been told that some students attend Our Lady Star of the Sea on nearby City Island. Holy Rosary parish school and Cardinal Spellman High School are both near sections of Co-op City.

St. Margaret of Cortona, Riverdale

The church of St. Margaret of Cortona is on the east side of Riverdale Avenue north of West 260th Street. See page 298 for the 1889 establishment of the parish of St Margaret of Cortona at Riverdale Avenue and West 260 Street. The present church dates from 1965. The rectory address is 6000 Riverdale Ave., Bronx NY 10471, telephone 718-549-8053. Effective August 1, 2015, this parish is the primary parish in a merger with St. Gabriel's, two miles south. Both churches and schools remain open.  The 2015 Official Catholic Directory lists these enrollment figures; 313 at St. Margaret School, 238 at St. Gabriel.

The congregation leaves church after the 5:15 Mass on a July Saturday. The parish has extensive frontage on the west side of Riverdale Avenue. To the right of the church in this photo (that is, south) is the rectory, then West 260th Street, then a paved lot for the school, then a newer school building and more space. To the left (that is, north) is a parking lot with trees.


Above is the parish school at 452 West 260th Street, Bronx NY 10471, telephone 718-549-8580. To the rear right is a newer extension of perhaps eight more classrooms. The website for the parish school is here.  In addition, there are frequent posts on the school Twitter page, with links to Facebook.

Our Lady of Grace, Bronxwood Ave, Wakefield

In mid-2015, the archbishop announced that Mass would no longer be offered in Our Lady of Grace church on a regular basis.  The parish is merged with that of St. Frances of Rome.  The school remains open.

This sculpture of Mary and Jesus, created by Sister Angelica Ballan, was originally outside Misericordia Hospital on East 233rd Street.

Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

The photo above shows the school, rectory, and church.


See pages 478 and 479 for the parish of Our Lady of Grace, founded as an Italian parish in 1924. The present church, at Bronxwood Avenue and East 226 St., dates from 1968.  This is two blocks east of White Plains Road. The school, rectory, and church occupy the west side of Bronxwood Avenue from 225th St to 226th St. 
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The parish school is at 3981 Bronxwood Avenue. A March, 2009, message from the principal would seem to indicate one room per grade.  Please see the school website HERE, current as of November, 2015.