FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 22, 2023
BISHOP BRENNAN CELEBRATES CHURCH’S MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY
Bishop Robert Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn celebrated a special Mass this morning marking the 125th Anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi-St. Blaise Catholic Church, located in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens section of Brooklyn.
“We celebrate in this anniversary, these 125 years, the goodness, the greatness of God, who has shown Himself amazingly in this part of Brooklyn. We come here just like the generations before us praying for peace, praying for justice, and praying for respect for the dignity of every single person create in God’s own image,” said Bishop Robert Brennan.
“We are living one of those milestones in the history of St. Francis of Assisi–St. Blaise Parish. We will go into the future together, meeting the new challenges, giving to God everything we have and everything we are, and discovering that He has given to us,” continued Bishop Brennan.
In his Homily, Bishop Brennan also reflected on the parish’s special relationship with the former pastor, Monsignor Paul Jervis, who passed away on September 5, 2023. Monsignor Jervis was the Diocesan Postulator of the Cause of the Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God, Monsignor Bernard John Quinn.
Monsignor Quinn, a Brooklyn priest, established the first Black Catholic Church in Brooklyn consecrated to St. Peter Claver and fought against the evils of racial discrimination. He worked tirelessly to defend the rights and equality of all.
The first parish Mass was celebrated on January 16, 1898, in a house on Maple Street. The current Church building was dedicated on April 25, 1915. The parish of St. Blaise merged with St. Francis of Assisi in the spring of 1980.
###
VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/876929841
