By Linda Delmonico Prussen
Now, 50 years later, Sacred Heart marks its golden anniversary as one of the South Shore's largest and most-active parishes.
Rapid growth
Sacred Heart celebrated its first Mass on March 6, 1953, in the rectory dining room. On June 12 that year, Sacred Heart held its first Mass inside the church, which was still under construction. By the end of that summer, the first baptism and marriage had taken place in the church, and on Nov. 29, Bishop Molloy officially dedicated the new church. A new parish was born.
In September 1957, Sacred Heart School opened, at first for
grades seven and eight, in the former Grove Bar and Grill. By April of 1961, classes moved to a new school. On June 10, the school was dedicated, and a little more than a week later, on June 19, Sacred Heart graduated its first class.
After Rev. Reilly, who was named Sacred Heart's first pastor, Rev. Daniel J. Martin arrived and served the parish as pastor from 1966 to 1969. During his short stay with the parish's a new rectory was built, and a parish council, school board and a Justice and
Peace Committee (dedicated to fostering community awareness of local, state and national problems) formed.
In 1969, Rev. Alfred Casola joined the parish and introduced the new Rite of Baptism, improved procedures for receiving communion, and the new Rite of Reconciliation, all according to Vatican II's decree for reform and renewal.
Rev. Harold F. Langley took helm of Sacred Heart in 1978 and was known to all as an avid sailor, chaplain to the fire department and a skilled musician who shared his many musical talents with the congregation.
The current pastor, Rev. Thomas Gallagher, was appointed to Sacred Heart in 1993. Before his appointment, he served as superintendent of schools for the Rockville Centre Diocese. He also served at Sacred Heart as an administrator before becoming
pastor. Gallagher endorses Stewardship, the sharing of one's time and talent to help the parish and others as a way of participating in the Catholic faith.
Dedicated to people
Sister Marie, who has been with Sacred Heart for the past three years, talks of how the parish has grown in faith with Stewardship, "People take charge of the parish, they take ownership of it," she said. "The role of the lay people has really been made very strong." Sister Marie said, the parish social ministry, outreach, social justice, advocacy and charitable works program have all grown in recent years. She gave an example of a parish-sponsored letter-writing campaign to reform and reauthorize welfare legislation to assist the working poor.
For many in the tightly-knit North Merrick community, Sacred Heart church is more than a place to worship on Sunday mornings. It is a place to make friends, to educate their children and take part in sports and other social functions.
Cecelia Lero, a parish member for 18 years who is starting her 15th year as director of Sacred Heart religious education program, said when she first joined Sacred Heart, she immediately noted how welcoming people were at Sacred Heart. "People were warm and friendly," she said.
"Two of my children made first Holy Communion here," adding, "All were confirmed here."
Lero said, "Our motto here is heart to heart, and we try to live it to the best of our ability."
Marie Faust, a member of Sacred Heart since 1961, was initially
nervous about her move here from Queens. "My sister and I moved on the same day to the same town," she said. The parish quickly became a part of both her and her sister's life.
Her sister became a secretary in the religious education office, and Faust took a part-time job cooking for the priests. Later, Faust
became a part-time receptionist for the church and then a full-time secretary at the front desk.
Originally when she moved from Queens, Faust didn't know
how to drive. "My girlfriend down the block, who is a parishioner, taught me how to drive," she said.
Faust had two children baptized at Sacred Heart. All three of her children attended Sacred Heart School, were confirmed in the parish, and her daughter was married at Sacred Heart. Her daughter even brought her children back to be baptized in what her daughter still sees as "her church."
"This was my life," Faust said, "my social life, my spiritual life."
Sue Carroll, co-coach of the award-winning Sacred Heart girls track
team, said, "All my connections in life are here," adding, "When I go to
Mass, I feel surrounded by people I've known growing up."
Sue Carroll and her husband, Jim, with whom she coaches the squad, were both from Merrick, but moved away after they were married. They returned in 1987. She explained that Sacred Heart is like an extended family and believes that the church is a living church made up of the people.
Carroll has another family connection with the church. The previous pastor, Rev. Langley, acquired bells from an old church in Brooklyn. Coincidentally, the church turned out to be, Carroll said, "my great-grandmother's parish."
Rev. Gallagher, Sacred Heart's current pastor, who has, in one
capacity or another, been involved with Sacred Heart for 30 years, holds many hopes for the parish in the future. "Increase lay leadership, increase lay ownership," freeing up priests' time. Lay participation in the church is becoming increasingly important as the Roman Catholic Church faces a shortage of priests, leaving many communities, such as Sacred Heart and Cure of Ars in Merrick, with only one priest.
Rev. Gallagher would also like Sacred Heart to reach out even more to those in need. Eventually, he would like to see the parish school to become tuition free to help more students attend Catholic school. Another project Rev. Gallagher would like to tackle is one of building a new church that could better accommodate the parish. Feasibility studies and financial surveys need to be done first.
"We serve 3,200 parishioners every weekend," he explained. Four hundred and eight people fit comfortably in the church. The large number of families means an extensive Mass schedule, which is difficult for one priest to handle.
The number 3,200, Gallagher noted, is only 21 percent of families registered with the parish. "Could you imagine if
everyone showed up?" he said.
A year to celebrate
Upcoming events to celebrate Sacred Heart's Golden Jubilee include:
