Most Holy Trinity Church was founded on Montrose
Avenue in October of 1841 by German immigrants under the care of their pastor,
the Rev.
John Stephen Raffeiner. Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church (the official name of
St. Mary's) had been founded on Maujer Street in May of 1853 by Irish
immigrants under the care of their pastor, the Rev.
Peter McLoughlin. The two parishes were
located just five blocks apart, but in their heyday, they served their respective
immigrant communities with tremendous pride and great success. Added
together, the two parishes served the people of the Williamsburg community for
more than three hundred and twenty years. Most Holy Trinity and St. Mary's
merged on September 1, 2007 forming the new parish of Most Holy Trinity – St.
Mary. The new parish continues the long and proud history so well
established by their predecessors.
THE FOLLOWING
IS INFORMATION REGARDING THE CURRENT MERGING PROCESS OF OUR TWO PARISHES:
We continue to thank all of the parishioners of Most Holy
Trinity and St. Mary's during this time of the merging of our two parishes.
MEMO GIVEN
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2007
Last Sunday
(September 23, 2007) at St. Mary's Church, and today (September 30, 2007) at
Most Holy Trinity Church, we welcomed Msgr. Kevin Noone, the Vicar for the
Brooklyn West part of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Msgr. Noone came to speak
to the people at all of our Masses about the upcoming "closing Mass" at St.
Mary's to be held on Sunday, October 28, 2007. He announced that on the
last Sunday of October there will be a special Mass schedule for each of our
churches. Each church will have only one Mass on that day; there will be a
9:00 AM Mass at Most Holy Trinity and there will be an 11:00 AM Mass at St.
Mary's. The Mass at Trinity will be trilingual (English-Spanish-Polish) so
as to accommodate at many Trinity parishioners as possible. The Mass at
St. Mary's will be bilingual (English-Spanish). Following the Mass at St.
Mary's there will be a solemn procession from St. Mary's to Most Holy Trinity.
Once the faithful gather inside of Most Holy Trinity, there will be a Solemn
Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Following the Mass, procession
and Benediction, there will be a lunch for everyone in the gymnasium located
next to the church. This will mark the beginning of a new era for the new
parish of Most Holy Trinity--St. Mary. After that day, there will be no
regularly scheduled Masses at St. Mary's. It is hoped that as many people
as possible will participate in the Mass at St. Mary's and/or the procession
that will follow. May God bless us all during this difficult, yet
hopeful, time of merger and transition.
MEMO GIVEN
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2007:
1) PARISH OFFICE: Both Ms. Pauline De Sena, the secretary of St. Mary's, and Ms.
Lucy Deras, the secretary of Most Holy Trinity, continue to be employed by our
new parish of Most Holy Trinity -- St. Mary. Although there are now no regular
office hours at St. Mary’s, Pauline can still be reached between 10:00 AM and
3:00 PM at 718-384-0765 for information specifically pertaining to St. Mary's
(such as parish records, etc). Lucy can still be reached at 718-384-0215 --
please call this number for any general questions regarding our parish
schedules, events, Mass times, etc., as well as for any inquiries that must be
made in Spanish.
2) The number for the RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OFFICE is 718-486-6276. Sr. Karen
Lademann, OP, our Coordinator of Religious Education, will be available every
Sunday from 9:30 AM until 12:30 PM in the Religious Education Office (at MHT),
and/or at other times by appointment.
3) WEEKLY WEDNESDAY HOLY HOUR AND MASS: Following the custom of St. Mary’s, we
will have a weekly Holy Hour and Mass on Wednesday evenings beginning at 6:00
PM. The different languages of our parish will be used during the Holy Hour and
Mass.
4) DIVINO NIÑO: The small Divino Niño statue, formerly gracing the sanctuary at
St. Mary’s, has been given a new place of honor in the sanctuary of Most Holy
Trinity. It can now be found to the right of the large statue of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus (on the left side of the sanctuary). Because we wish to honor the
St. Mary’s Parish custom of Divino Niño devotions, we will now pray them in
Spanish every Thursday after the 8:30 AM Mass (and in English too every Thursday
after the 7:15 AM Mass).
5) CHECKS: When writing offertory or donation checks, please make them out to
“Most Holy Trinity – St. Mary”. This will assure us of the ability to deposit
them into both our existing and new bank accounts. We appreciate your
understanding of this banking detail.
Let us continue to pray for one another during this
important time of transition!
