After 6 1/2 years of service at RA.,
Fr. John Tosi was appointed as the Diocesan Director of Liturgy. This assignment began in
June, 1991. During that same month, Fr. Frank Lynch arrived to replace Fr. Tosi.
In September, 1991, Sr. Angeline of
the Trinitarian Community retired to her Mother House in Philadelphia -- after 20 years of
devoted, and very fruitful, service to this parish. The following Spring, 1992,
Fr. Joseph Miller, with the approval of Bishop Thomas V. Daily, resigned from his priestly
ministries. He had served this parish- for 2 1/2 years, starting in June 1990. Unfortunately,
the Diocese had no replacement for Fr. Miller. Therefore, Fr. Lynch and Msgr. Bynon were the
only two parish priests on staff until December 1, 1992, when Fr. George Stack was assigned to us.
With the onset of a new year, 1993,
"parish life" was somewhat stable and pleasant. In June of 1993, Fr. Lynch was appointed as
pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Astoria, N.Y. With this move, the rectory staff was reduced
once more to the pastor - Msgr. Bynon - and one associate - Fr. Stack. Fortunately, as the
Pastoral Staff assumed more responsibilities, the parish, itself, remained stable.
Then, the supreme test for the parish.
-- as a whole -- took place on, Columbus Day, 1993. To be specific, at 2:30 AM, a workman,
while returning home, happened to notice flames -- and smoke -- escape from the Church.
Immediately, he pulled the fire alarm and rang the rectory bell to inform the priests. As
many parishioners have witnessed, our beautiful, renovated Church was in danger of becoming
completely destroyed! However, the firemen, steadily -- and methodically -- worked their way
through the dense smoke, which engulfed the front lobby and staircase. They managed, to gain
entry into the rear of the Church and snuffed the flames "right then and there". Thankfully,
these brave men saved the Church from very severe damage.
Unfortunately, the school suffered
far more damage than the church. To begin with: an entire stairwell had to be replaced; the
fire alarm system needed extensive repairs; many windows and lights had to be replaced.
As you may well imagine, it took a "mammoth cleaning effort" to restore the school to an
adequate status for the purpose of conducting routine school activities. Amazingly, initial
-- but still limited -- access was possible in a mere 5 days, and 5 nights. Consequently,
the first phase was done -- and done extremely well. In due time, both church and school
took on the appearance of their "pre-fire" glory.
It is noteworthy that the "grace"
attached to this tragic event is attributed to the generous outpouring of support from
school parents and parishioners. Undoubtedly, both groups did all that they possibly could
do to help clean up our church and school -- to which we are forever thankful and appreciative.
From another perspective, it appears
that this same tragic event -- difficult as it was ¬prepared the parish for its next loss
- the sudden, and shocking, death of Deacon Frank Ott on March 14, 1994. Many parishioners
-- as well as his family -- can attest that Frank was a remarkably "good man" -- a man
committed to his parish -- and one who truly gave his TIME and TALENT to serve the homeless
through our parish shelter. Because of his well-organized efforts, our Homeless Shelter
continued for an additional two winter seasons. Soon, however it became obvious that the
provision of increased city-wide services signaled that our shelter-- like many others --
was being underutilized. In view of that reality, the only reasonable alternative was to
terminate this service, permanently.
Less than a year later, on January 1, 1995,
the parish was "put to the trial" when Fr. Stack requested a sick leave. A few weeks afterwards,
Fr. Blauvelt was assigned to R.A. In addition, during June of the following year (1996),
Fr. Amato was assigned to our parish. Notably, for the first time since April 1992, this parish
had once again been restored to its full complement of a pastor, and two associates.
In 1996, parish life continued to operate
smoothly and, at a rather fast pace -- particularly with the Ministry Fairs, which enabled
inquirers to speak with other parishioners, already participating in a specific parish ministry,
or activity. These "Ministry Fairs soon became annual events and, ultimately, attracted almost
400 parishioners to participate in some phase of parish life. In relation to a vast array of
parish ministries, "Appreciation Parties" [an evening reserved to specifically thank those involved
in 39 different kinds of ministry throughout the parish] have been scheduled each year. [Currently,
this takes place shortly before Thanksgiving Day.]
It is worth commenting that, at this same
juncture, in June, 1996, we found ourselves in a very appropriate -- and peaceful -- time period,
to celebrate. And, celebrate; the parish of R. A. did -- with a Spring 1996, 40th Anniversary Mass,
and party, for its pastor, Msgr. Bynon. By all accounts, this was a "magnificently enjoyable ",
and a truly "memorable" occasion!
During this same month, the parish
commenced its participation in the diocesan "Alive in Hope", Campaign. Here, R. A., once again,
demonstrated its very generous spirit, and faithful commitment by far surpassing the assigned
goal of $409,000. Consequently, through our sharing with the diocese [in the monies raised] the
parish benefited by having additional funds which afforded us, the opportunity to "put on a new
face": new sidewalks in front of all the parish buildings, pointing, and new windows at both
convents -- as well as the rectory and a complete sprinkler system throughout the parish grounds.
In September, 1998, Gerard Sauer joined
the parish staff to engage in a year of "ministerial" living and working in preparation for his
ordination in June, 2001. Gerard introduced a Youth Ministry. At the same time, he captivated
the youth with the dream of participating in the "International Youth Rally" to be held in Rome,
during the Summer of 2000. That dream became a reality, which resulted in the shared pleasure
of the entire parish.
Now, the parish was moving into 1999.
But, by that June, we would experience another change of personnel -- Fr. Bob Blauvelt would
be "moving on" to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs -- and. Fr. Kevin Cavalluzzi would be assigned to replace him at R.A.
To date, it has become more apparent
that quietly, and over time, this parish would be undergoing another significant change -
welcoming new people into our church and school. While these newcomers [especially our Hispanics
and Indonesians] have brought their cultures -- and their languages -- into our community, the
parish has been finding the heart to accept [and appreciate] these new residents -- who have
demonstrated a sincere love for the church and, an extremely high reverence for Catholic education.
