Press
New Immigrants, Same Church
by Carine Hajjar
Published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday 22nd December, 2022
New Immigrants, the Same Church - WSJ
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The drizzly trudge through Tompkins Square Park was worth it for the destination: Saint Brigid-Saint Emeric's Parish. The church is warmly colored with bright murals around the altar. Its community is warm, too. The pews are full of congregants, the aisles full of ushers and volunteers.
This particular Sunday, the church was ablaze. A mariachi band replaced the usual lone cantor. Bright strings of lights and dozens of red and yellow roses adorned a statue on the altar. It was the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Standing at the lectern, the young priest faced his congregation. He started his homily with enthusiasm: "Vive la Virgen de Guadalupe!" -long live the Virgin of Gudalupe! The congregation reciprocated: "Que Vive!"
I grew up speaking Spanish with my mother and chose the community as my spiritual home when I moved to the city. The congregation is predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican with substantial Peruvian and Mexican communities.
Father Sean Connolly, 34, told the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose feast day was Dec. 12.In Spanish he explained how she appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Catholicism, in 1531 near Mexico City. As proof to the city's bishop, Huan collected a cloakful of roses that grew where the Virgin had appeared, though it was winter. When he emptied them out, his Aztec tilma was emblazoned with her image.
Father Connolly retold parts in an English that was unmistakably New Yorker. Born in northern Westchester County, he had to take weekly Spanish classes during his five years at Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, mandated by the Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, to accommodate the diocese's growing Hispanic population.
Father Connolly speaks Spanish formally - the way you learn in school. "I still have much to learn," he said in an interview a few days after the service. But what he lacks in fluidity he compensates for in sincerity. His congregants listen intently, faithfully.
He concluded the homily by explaining that the Virgin's apparition completed the Catholic Church. It was no longer a faith of the Old World, but a new one for a new civilization. This universality would become its greatest strength. "All nations and races are united by their baptism", he told me. These different cultures have developed unique and beautiful ways to express our common faith."
After the homily, a woman came up to make the weekly announcements: the book club, a social gathering, a luncheon. Then she called up a member of the Confraternidad del Senor de los Milagros, a devotional group of Peruvian men who minister at Mass in their long, purple robes. The man carried a medal. In Spanish he said that the Confraternidad would like to induct Father Connolly as its spiritual director. He thanked the priest for his service to their community and bestowed the medal on him. The congregation erupted in applause.
Father Connolly, with a bashful smile, took to the lectern with his medal to finish the Mass. He started to thank the congregation in Spanish, but moved with humble gratitude, stumbled searching for the right words. A few older women in the pews piously nodded, signaling that they completely understood.
He told a story in English. His great-grandfather Thomas Connolly, like many of the present congregants, was an immigrant to New York. Arriving in 1849, he likely would have worshipped at St. Brigid's, which was built by Irish immigrants in 1848. It later combined with St. Emeric's, which was founded by Hungarian immigrants.
When he finished, the church erupted in applause. The mariachis played and Father Connolly again called out: "Que vive la Virgen de Guadalupe!"
"Que Vive!" his flock responded. I walked outside and waited to see the congregation process through the drizzle as one church.
Meet Fr. Seán Connolly: New Priest of St. Margaret of Cortona - St. Gabriel Parish in Riverdale
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By Izania Gonzalez
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Published in The Riverdale Press on November 4th, 2024
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Meet Fr. Seán Connolly: New Priest of St. Margaret of Cortona - St. Gabriel Parish in Riverdale - riverdalepress.com
Sunlight poured through the colorful stained glass as Father Seán Connolly made his way down the aisle. Dressed in his classical black pastoral vestment, he chatted with The Press about St. Margaret of Cortona - St. Gabriel Parish at 6000 Riverdale Avenue, and his new appointment as its priest.
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Officially ordained in 2015, Connolly had been leading Sunday services at Most Holy Redeemer-Nativity Catholic Church in the East Village for nine years before moving to Riverdale in August. Over the summer, he was asked by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a senior clergy member appointed by the pope over the state of New York, to replace Father Brian McCarthy, who left the Riverdale community after 16 years of service. Having attended Fordham Preparatory School and countless hours running in Van Cortlandt Park, Connolly believed he would be a good fit for the community.
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“It’s a great honor to be here. It’s a largely active community,” Connolly said.
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He shared that his objective for the parish is to ensure that the Catholic community of Riverdale are one spiritual family. For him, that unification involves tending to the youth, the sick, those unable to leave their homes and visiting the nursing homes in the community.
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Connolly’s desire to devote his life to the church started with his parents. His mother and father were incredibly loving and helped him to form a deep love and faith for God. As he continued through high school and college, his faith and curiosity grew.
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His particular inspiration came from studying the lives of the saints, explaining that their heroic acts captured his imagination and wonder.
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“I wanted to be like them who do glorious things for God so that inspired me to want to dedicate and make a total gift of my life for the service of the church,” Connolly said.
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In order to graduate from Fordham Prep in 2006, all students were required to study a classical language, Connolly chose Latin, and his studies further pushed his fascination for the Greco-Roman culture and its archaeology. He went on to continue his studies in Latin at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. and earned his bachelor’s degree in archaeology in 2010.
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“Studying the classical Greco-Roman world really gives insight into who we are as a people,” Connolly said. “Into the origins and foundation into which Western civilization was built.”
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His undergraduate research took him as far as living in Rome and tagging along for archaeological digs around the world, but in the end, he knew he wanted nothing more than to give everything to God.
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After graduating from Holy Cross, Connolly enrolled in St. Joseph’s Seminary School in Yonkers and studied there for five years before being ordained.
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Currently, his parish operates with three priests, all of whom are under the age of 40, sharing the duties of covering the two churches of St. Margaret of Cortona and St. Gabriel’s. Connolly remarks that despite their young age they all share a zeal for the mission of spreading the good news of God.
When new principal Richard Kruczek started this fall at St. Margaret of Cortona-St. Gabriel School, he included the parish in the school and since the beginning of the school year, Connolly has led morning prayer, greeted parents and students during drop off and pick up and, as well as attended sports games and other community events.
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For him, being inside the school offers a reminder to the students that God is close and “the life of the church has a place in aspects of all society,” Connolly said.
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Serving the youth is one of the highest priorities for Connolly, he said between the school and the religious education program offered to students outside of the parochial school, they educate over 400 young people. The education they offer the children also goes beyond just biblical teachings to include serving within the church, attending retreats and holding community service events.
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“The school is something that we’re very proud of,” Connolly said.
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Having been a religious institution locally for the last 100 years, St. Margaret of Cortona - St. Gabriel aims to include the community beyond just their congregants.
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In early October, Connolly said they hosted the 50th precinct to use their parking lot for an auto theft prevention event where they offered free catalytic converter etching and steering wheel locks.
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Father Connolly’s favorite scripture is Hebrews 10:24 which reads, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”
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“That's the Christian life, to love and to do good,” Connolly said.
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Father Connolly was made official with his installation mass on All Saints Day, Friday, Nov. 1.
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