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Other parish
societies over the years have been:
the League of the Sacred Heart, the Antone Guild, Pa-
rish Council, Ushers' Society, and Teen Club. The Cho-
ir, after flourishing for many years under Rita Kaljian,
was later directed by Lisa Kelly and Jim Schaefer, and
is currently under the direction of Matt Murray, who
had been song leader at St. Patrick's Cathedral and for
Pope John Paul II in his 1979 Mass at Yankee Stadium.
The parish school went through a period of great
change during this difficult period for Catholic educa-
tion, adjusting to the changing face of both Church and
society. After a period of 15 years with several lay prin-
cipals, the Sisters of Charity of Halifax signaled their
high regard for this early Queens outpost of their com-
munity by reassuming in September 1988 the principal-
ship (a most unusual step) in the person of Sister Kath-
leen Michael, who retains that position in this our cen-
tenary year. Under her careful guidance, the parish
school achieved accreditation by the Middle States Asso-
ciation of Elementary Schools in October 1991.
Monsignor Egan died suddenly at the Jesuit
Retreat House in Auriesville, New York, of a heart at-
tack on June 14, 1990. The homilist at his Mass of
Transferral was the Rev. John E. Delendick. The funeral
Mass homilist was the Rev. James J. Haggarty.
Most Recent Years
In September 1990, Bishop Thomas Daily named
Msgr. D. Joseph Finnerty as the eighth pastor of St.
Sebastian's Parish. It was one of the first appointments
made by the newly appointed bishop of Brooklyn and
Queens. Monsignor Finnerty had just completed his first
six-year term as the pastor of the neighboring parish of
St. Teresa. He was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the
parish of St. Saviour in Park Slope. Monsignor Finnerty
prepared for ordination to the priesthood at St. Mary's
Seminary in Baltimore, the oldest seminary in the United
States. Here he studied theology while the Second
Vatican Council was taking place in Rome. Ordained by
Archbishop Bryan J. Me Entegart in St. James Cathedral
on June 1, 1963, he began his priestly ministry with the
excitement of Vatican II's call for renewal in the church
in his heart. He worked as a newly ordained priest in St.
Paschal Baylon Church in St. Albans where, besides his
duties as a parish priest, he taught religion in the parish
high school. St. Paschal's Parish was a predominantly
black neighborhood and under the direction of his first
pastor, Msgr. Archibald V. Me Lees, young Fr.
Finnerty was involved with Protestant and Jewish leaders
during the civil rights struggle of the 1960's. |
For his next assignment, Archbishop Me Entegart sent him
as a theology professor for college seminarians to the newly
opened Cathedral College in Douglaston. It was there that he
met college students James
Frost, Sean Ogle, and Kenneth Grande,
who would later
join him as priests in the ministry at St. Sebastian's.
After teaching at the college for ten years, Bishop
Mugavero
assigned him to St. Brendan's Church in
Brooklyn. At St. Brendan's,
he was involved in the liturgical renovation of the church and the
restoration of
other parish buildings. This experience prepared him for
the major restorations that he would be called upon to
direct at St. Teresa's and at St. Sebastian's. During these
early years of his priesthood, our pastor served the diocese as a
member of the Priests' Senate, the Liturgy
Commission, the Ecumenical Commission, and the Art
and Architecture Commission of the Diocese.
His graduate studies in theology at Fordham University prepared him
to become a visiting lecturer in theology at
Queens College, the Diocesan Pastoral Institute,
Fordham University, and various diocesan workshops
for priests, religious, and laity.
His first pastorate was at the neighboring parish
of St. Teresa. His first years as pastor saw him involved
in efforts to meet the many different groups of people
that make up that large urban parish in the midst of
Queens County. While at St. Teresa's, Bishop Mugavero appointed him to be
the first Coordinator of the Irish Apostolate of the Diocese, serving the needs of the new
wave of Irish immigrants who settled in our diocese during the 1980's and 1990's. Ever sensitive to the fact that
he was everyone's pastor, Monsignor Finnerty spent the
summer of 1985 in the Dominican Republic to study
Spanish so that he could minister more effectively to the
many Hispanic parishioners. Here at St. Sebastian's, his
desire to foster greater devotion to the Santo Nino de
Cebu, the patron of the Philippines, and St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first canonized Filipino saint, encouraged deeper
bonds of love and affection with our large Filipino community.
When he became the pastor of St. Sebastian's, he
devoted all his efforts to fostering new lay leadership
and to strengthening the parish school and religious education programs. Soon after his arrival, the new pastor
of St. Sebastian's was forced to make decisions regarding the restoration of aging buildings that were in need
of extensive repairs. Hearing the story, the people responded with generosity of time, talent, and treasure.
Together with the pastor, parish priests, religious, and
dedicated lay leaders, the parishioners restored the interior of the chapel, the church, the rectory, the convent,
and parish center with a generous response to each of
these campaigns, work supervised by John Gillooly, Director of Buildings and Grounds. At a time when the
economy of the nation was at a low ebb, the people of
St. Sebastian's contributed more than a million dollars
for their parish. At a Mass of Thanksgiving on September 11, 1993 in the newly restored church of St. Sebastian's, Bishop Daily came to express his admiration and
gratitude for the quality of Catholic life and commitment
that the people of St. Sebastian's give to the diocese.
Monsignor Finnerty, his associate priests, the
religious, and staff rejoice in the ethnic diversity of St.
Sebastian's, which makes it such an exciting place to mi-
nister to God's people from so many different countries.
Indeed, the pastor frequently reminds the parishioners
that "the whole world is represented here in St. Sebastian's." This commitment to Christian hospitality and
genuine welcome, so important for the parish, is not lost
on visitors and new members of St. Sebastian's who are
happy to call our parish their spiritual home. |
