A History of Mary Queen of Heaven Parish
In April 1927, Bishop Thomas E. Molloy, D.D., the Bishop of Brooklyn, sent for Father Thomas J. Crawford, who was then stationed at St. Edmund’s parish, and asked him to establish a new parish. Father James F. Kehoe, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, had previously informed the Bishop that his parish had grown so large that it was no longer possible to give adequate service to the wonderful people of the area. At that time, St. Thomas parish also served the people of what is now Mary Queen of Heaven, St. Bernard and St. Columba parishes.
Father Crawford carefully searched the area and quickly decided on the location of the first, but temporary Church. It was an empty storefront on Avenue N and East 58th Street. The street level of the store became the Church and the upstairs became the rectory. Father Crawford brought his mother with him and she became the first rectory housekeeper/cook. She was also the one who suggested “Mary Queen of Heaven” as the title for the new parish. Father Crawford accepted her suggestion, thus insuring forever the fact that “heaven” would dwell here in our corner of Brooklyn.
It became obvious almost immediately that the little store was inadequate for the needs of the people. Therefore property was secured on Avenue M and East 56th/57th Streets. A house at 1319 East 57th Street was purchased to become the new rectory. A large tent was erected on the land where our parish school now stands, to serve as the new, but again, temporary Church. One of the tasks assigned to the men of the new Holy Name Society was to come regularly to check out and tighten the ropes of the tent, thus insuring that it would remain in an upright position. The tent, erected June 1927, while much better than the store, was also inadequate for the needs of the people. Plans were quickly drawn up for a permanent Church. The Church was to have two phases - first a basement Church and then eventually a large upper Church. Construction began in the summer of 1927 and marvelous to relate, was ready for the Christmas Midnight Mass on December 25, 1927.
The need for the upper Church was never absent from Father Crawford’s mind, and so the efforts of drawing up plans and gathering money soon began. Unfortunately something of major proportions soon occurred - the Depression of 1929. It was not long before troubled parishioners were ringing the rectory bell asking Father Crawford for financial help with things like mortgage payments, rent, and food for families struggling without work. Knowing the people were more important than buildings, Father Crawford responded to their needs and when it was all over he had succeeded in giving away all of the money once intended for the new Church. Today, our upper Church is scattered far and wide in the persons of all those who were helped by this good and caring Priest.
Father Crawford next turned his efforts into giving his people a parish school. Ground breaking took place in 1949. The school was opened for business on February 1, 1951 with 624 students filling the classrooms of the new building. The Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill sent twelve nuns to staff the new source of parish pride. In the beginning they resided at St. Edmund’s Convent and commuted daily to their classrooms. Soon a house was made available for them at 1618 East 53rd Street, just off Avenue N. Soon there was a drive for funds to construct a convent for them. Construction began in November 1960 and the building was dedicated on May 16, 1962. Success reigned at the school. Parents lined up before dawn outside the school on registration day. Sad to say, some were disappointed when they were told that all of the seats were filled and their children had to be placed on a waiting list. Some classes had as many as 73 children, with more than one class per grade. By 1959 the school was operating with three sessions and classes had over sixty to a classroom. The first graduation for ninety-eight students took place in June 1954.
In recognition for his wonderful record of service to his people, Father Crawford was elevated to the title of Monsignor on May 30, 1961. He retired in June 1966 after forty-six years as our founding Pastor. God called him home to his heavenly reward on July 3, 1966.
Our second Pastor, Father James McNamara, was assigned in July 1966. He was a jolly man with a winning smile but, unfortunately, not in the best of health. The house on East 57th Street which opened its doors in 1928 served as the MQH Rectory for 40 years. The present rectory was constructed by Father McNamara, and was blessed by Bishop Mugavero, D.D. on December 4, 1968. Father’s stay with us, unfortunately, was not a long one. He passed away on February 27, 1974; gone but certainly not forgotten.
The following three months after the passing of Father James McNamara, the parish was ably administered by our senior curate, Father John J. Fullum. Then Bishop Mugavero ended the suspense by appointing Father John A. Burns as the new Pastor. He arrived on June 10, 1974 to become our third Pastor and he was greeted with warm and welcome feelings by the people of the Parish. Almost immediately he was challenged to solve a serious financial problem - a $296,000 debt. He announced that the parish would solve the problem without any campaigns or fund raising drives. An appeal was made for each parishioner to increase their Sunday Mass contribution each week by $1. It worked marvelously and in just forty-two months Mary Queen of Heaven was debt free. This was all the more remarkable because in 1975 the country went through a major recession. Once debt free, it was felt that Parish spirit could be increased by turning attention to the Church building. It was obvious that, at least for the present, the dream for an upper Church would not become a reality. It was announced that the Parish would renovate the Church and “DO ALL THE WORK OURSELVES.” The first Saturday over one hundred men, women and even children arrived to lend a hand. The first task was to remove all of the old pews which were in terrible condition and transport donated pews from Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Forest Hills back to Brooklyn. Then began the renovation project as our volunteers tore the Church interior down to its walls and replaced just about everything. The volunteers were on hand every Tuesday and Wednesday evening for the next 15 months. Not only did they replace the heating and electrical systems, panel the walls and the pillars and put in a dropped ceiling; they did something equally important - they formed amongst themselves friendships which have lasted to the present day. During that time people coming to Sunday Mass were always curious to see what additional progress had been made since the previous Sunday. It was with great pride and satisfaction that we welcomed Bishop Mugavero to our “new” Church for its blessing and rededication on January 26, 1976.
Equally amazing as what was accomplished with our Church was the way that we paid for it all without any drives or special appeals. Many may recall the famous “Green Baskets”. These were baskets lined with green felt that were put at the Church entrances. The people were asked to throw in any loose pennies or coins they had in their pocket or purse when they came to Mass. Of course, larger coins and even bills were usually mixed in with the pennies and were most welcome. Our “Green Baskets” became famous throughout the diocese and were imitated by parishes as far away as Florida and New England. The final piece of the renovation picture took place in July 1979. The entire cost for the project, including new pews, stained glass windows, new sound system, church bells, the “Bawl” room for crying little babies, and furnishings like new vestments, came to about $83,000. Every penny of it was donated via the “Green Baskets”. This is partly the origin of the later effort to help feed the poor of the parish with our food pantry when we placed the barrels at the church entrances and encouraged people to drop in food items and again their extra pennies (and their larger cousins) into the barrels. You can easily understand why we labeled those barrels “Pennies from Heaven”. You see, we are a special part of heaven; it says so right in our parish name – a fact which all but insures success to our efforts.
Many wonderful Priests have served our people through the years of our existence. Especially worthy of mention was Father Sylvester A. Marsh who blessed our Parish by his presence for a short eight years. Those who were here during that period all agree that our Father Marsh was truly a saint. To perpetuate his presence among us a statue of St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars and the Patron Saint of Parish Priests, was erected in front of the rectory honoring our wonderful priests. It was blessed in June 1985 by Bishop Mulrooney. To its base have been attached plaques honoring those priests who have died while serving here at MQH.
Through the years other improvements have been made. An air conditioning system was added in 1987, and in 1996 an elevator was installed to assist the elderly and the handicapped who come to worship with us. Of great importance was the ordination of several young men who came forward to serve Christ and his people as priests. Father John Egan (1945), Father Daniel Sullivan and Father George Forsythe (1946), Father Joseph Nolan and Father Joseph Maguire (1947), Father John Hull (1948) Father Bernard Haddigan (1960), Msgr. Steven Ferrari (1980), Father James Moss (1982) Father Frank Tumino (1998) and Father Brendan O.S.B. (Michael Moss) (2001). Our parish life and service was also enhanced by the ordination to the Permanent Deaconate of Charles Smith (1986) and John Joseph Murphy (1990). An additional honor came to the Parish in 1988 when our then Pastor, Father Burns was elevated with the title of Monsignor. Other accomplishments worthy of note was the appearance each month of the publication of “My Lady”, wonderfully written by Father William McLoughlin. It contained articles about happenings in the Parish and informative pieces by this remarkably talented writer.
In March of 1997 Monsignor Burns retired as our third pastor. He was with us 38 years, 23 of them as our pastor. He continued to reside in our parish until his passing in January 2018. He was succeeded by Father Martin Kull who was installed as pastor on June 15, 1997. On the following Sunday, June 22, 1997, our Church caught fire and suffered severe and extensive damage. Thus began the work of again renovating and rebuilding our church, this time under the direction of Father Kull. The “new” church was blessed and rededicated by Bishop Thomas V. Daily, D.D. on May 23, 1998. In May of 1999 Bishop Daily made a change in assignments and named Father William Dulaney to serve as Pastor of Mary Queen of Heaven Parish. He served enthusiastically and well for two years before health considerations forced him to request that the Bishop replace him.
All of which brings us to our sixth pastor, Msgr. Jamie J. Gigantiello, installed on April 20, 2002. A man in perpetual motion who proved to be a tremendous blessing to our Parish. He encouraged parishioners to step out of their comfort zone and take up roles as lay ministers, he beautified the church, the rectory and the grounds surrounding them; turned the convent into the “Msgr. John A. Burns Parish Center”, brought back to life the Teen Club and Parish Festival and the impressive and moving Children’s Mass on Sundays.
So many great things have been accomplished in our parish in the past and there are still many more wonderful things to come in our future. Our current Pastor, Fr. Thomas Leach, continues to propel us forward, inspiring us through his keen knowledge of scripture and his thoughtful and powerful homilies.
Part of the mission of Mary Queen of Heaven parish is to live and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to all, to be a vibrant and welcoming community of faith by worshipping God through prayer and sacrament, to teach and share our faith, to serve others, and to invite people of all races and cultures to be a part of this community. Through this mission and the work of the priests and parishioners of Mary Queen of Heaven, this parish community is truly a “Touch of Heaven in Brooklyn”.