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Saint Finbar RC Church
Photos by Cindy Brolsma and New York Scugnizzo |
The plan on Sunday was to attend High Mass at Holy Innocents Church (128 West 37th St.) in Manhattan, briefly mingle with friends at coffee hour, then bolt back to Bath Beach, Brooklyn for the first Traditional Latin Mass to be celebrated in 49 years at St. Finbar Church (138 Bay 20th St.). However, due to subway track maintenance and the MTA’s less than stellar bus and shuttle service I could not make it into the city in time. One cannot help but wonder why two hours is not enough time to get from one part of the city to another?
Looking to avoid a similar commuting fiasco (and having to go to a local Novus Ordo Mass), I decided to go to St. Finbar’s straight away. Good thing I did, because I actually walked the distance before spotting a bus.
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| The Sanctuary and High Altar |
Annoyed with the MTA, my real grievance is with the current state of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, you expect bad service from a bureaucratic government agency; but why must one have to travel hours, passing several other churches on the way, just to be able to attend a Tridentine Mass? If made available at every church, the way it should be, traditionalists (i.e. Catholics) wouldn’t have to go gallivanting around the city every Sunday or holy day.
Unquestionably worth all the effort, we’ll continue to support the Traditional Mass wherever it is held and will not rest until its celebrated everywhere.
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| Parishioners filled the pews around the scaffolding |
Now with the unpleasantries out of the way, let’s discuss the more pertinent part of the day.
Arriving early at St. Finbar, I was finally able to see the newly restored nave and sanctuary with the lights on. Having only visited the bedimmed church on Holy Thursdays, it is one of our favorite places to spend time at the Altar of Repose. Still under renovation (they are currently cleaning the ceiling murals), Pastor Fr. Michael Louis Gelfant has done an amazing job restoring the grandeur of the old church by reinstalling the altar rails and pews, as well as uncovering the original marble floor with inlaid roses.
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| Our new friends Vincent Maida, and Gianna and John Mazzola |
Warmly welcomed, longtime parishioner Vincent Maida was kind enough to show me some of the terrific restoration work he did for the church. In addition to touching up the Stations of the Cross, the former employee of the Guggenheim Museum restored two heavily damaged oil paintings depicting the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the narthex.
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| The restored paintings in the narthex |
Following the Asperges rite, the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated by Fr. Rafael Perez, the Parochial Vicar at Divine Mercy Parish, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Sitting in choir, Fr. Gelfant was the homilist. The sacred ministers were dutifully assisted by Michael and Vinnie, who regularly serve at Our Lady of Peace Church (522 Carroll St.) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The chants and organ accompaniments were performed by Director of Music Alex Violette and Andrew Violette.
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| Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii and a Guatemalan style St. Michael |
Afterward, I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of several parishioners, who were very enthused about the prospect of celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass regularly at the church. Sadly, we learned that Fr. Gelfant is scheduled for reassignment and will be leaving in January. Understandably, there are serious concerns that all the improvements he made at St. Finbar are in jeopardy. We pray for the incoming Pastor.
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| Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and Saint Rose of Lima |
Thank you to all the members of the congregation for your warmth and hospitality, it was a tremendous joy to celebrate our faith together. God bless Fr. Gelfant, we wish him great success at his new parish and will keep him in our prayers. Special thanks to my friend Cindy Brolsma from Brooklyn Latin Mass for giving me a lift home and helping me avoid another frustrating misadventure with public transportation.
~ Giovanni di Napoli, November 19th, Feast of Santa Elisabetta d'Ungheria
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| Saint Gerard Majella and Saint Andrew the Apostle |
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| Santissimo Crocifisso and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception |
As an aside, the 40 Hour Devotion will be celebrated at St. Finbar from Thursday 21st through Saturday 23rd.
