Thursday, February 05, 2009

Celebrating the Resurrection of St. Brigid's at Solas

Congressmember Nydia Velazquez, second from left, to the right of her, Edwin Torres and stained-glass artist Patti Kelly and friends celebrated with the Committee to Save St. Brigid’s on Sunday. Isn't that a Lithuanian on the far right?

The most recent edition of The Villager features coverage of the feast of St. Brigid, a party to celebrate the resurrection of a parish that many, especially the Archdiocese of New York, had written off as doomed. A contingent from Our Lady of Vilnius attended the celebration, which is vividly and accurately documented in Albert Amateau's Villager piece Committee celebrates the salvation of St. Brigid’s. It was a pleasure to be among this diverse and cohesive group of people who stood firm againsts all odds and kept the faith. It was inspiring to receive a warm welcome from Ed and Dolly, witness the fruits of their efforts and share their joy.

On August 24, 2006, I started this blog with a post about St. Brigid's, which I called "the canary in the archdiocesan coal mine." The post, called St. Brigid's - A Blessing for Another Church As Yet Unsaved was occasioned by the news of a judge keeping the TRO against demolition in place. The title of the post alludes to a 2005 piece by columnist Dan Barry, A Prayer for a Church Unsaved.

An Our Lady of Vilnius "Valio! Valio! Valio!" to the people of St. Brigid's.

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