LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 150th Anniversary of St. Igna-
tius Loyola Parish of Hicksville, New York

WHEREAS, Religious institutions, and the many spiritual, social and
educational benefits they confer, play a vital role in the development
of the moral fabric of a responsible citizenry; and
WHEREAS, It is the tradition of this State and this Nation to pay
tribute to those institutions and individuals who have contributed to
the ethical and spiritual values of their communities; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body takes pleasure in commemorating the
150th Anniversary of St. Ignatius Loyola Parish of Hicksville, New York,
to be celebrated on Saturday, February 7, 2009, at Msgr. Tarrant Hall;
and
WHEREAS, When Bishop John Loughlin began his episcopacy on November 9,
1853, the Brooklyn diocese consisted of 30 churches and mission
stations, and a Catholic population of 15,000 individuals; only 15
parishes had resident pastors and 23 priests had the care of it all;
when St. Ignatius Loyola parish took on an identity, in 1859, there were
only 12 churches in what was to become Nassau County and Suffolk County;
and
WHEREAS, It would not be until 1872, with the arrival of Father
Lawrence Fuchs, that St. Ignatius would have a full time, non-mission
riding pastor; Henry and Elizabeth Pasker, deeded over two lots of valu-
able land right on the main street, upon which a church was built with a
capacity of 150 persons; the cornerstone was laid on August 21, 1859,
the very year Father Goetz came to Hicksville; undoubtedly, the naming
of the parish was in no small way influenced by Father Goetz' name,
Ignatius; and
WHEREAS, This church served the parishioners for 32 years, and, after
it was moved to make way for the new edifice in 1891, it then served the
congregation as a parish hall for another 15 years until it was taken
down to make way for the first school; and
WHEREAS, Little is known of the pastorate of Father Casper Mueller,
who replaced Father Goetz in 1863; evidently Father Mueller was a resi-
dent assistant in Father Goetz' parish in Winfield and took over St.
Ignatius when Father Goetz became overworked; and
WHEREAS, Father Joseph Hauber became pastor in 1868, attending to St.
Ignatius from his own parish, St. Boniface in Foster's Meadow, now
Elmont; it was he who organized the Altar Society in May 1868; he also
had a sacristy built onto the church and organized picnics to help
defray the cost; and
WHEREAS, In November 1870, Father Lawrence Schneider became pastor; he
purchased a plot of land adjacent to the church and built the first
rectory; Father Schneider's records indicate that he ministered to the
needs of Catholics in widely surrounding areas, baptizing in Farming-
dale, Deer Park, Amityville and Breslau City; and
WHEREAS, When Father Lawrence Fuchs came to Hicksville on September 1,
1872, the parish had been without an attending priest for four months;
this 28 year old priest, ordained only three years, was destined to lead
St. Ignatius through remarkable growth; he become beloved not only by
his parishioners but also by the community at large; he attained the
title of Very Reverend and Dean of Nassau County and served the congre-
gation for 51 years; and
WHEREAS, In May 1891, the old chapel was moved to the adjoining plot
just to the south of its original position; on July 4, 1891, the corner-
stone was laid by the Right Reverend John Loughlin, the first Bishop of

the Diocese of Brooklyn; five months later, on December 15, the Bishop
returned to dedicate the new church; and
WHEREAS, In 1906, with much justified pride, Father Fuchs announced
the plans for his dream - the parish school - to the congregation; the
cornerstone was laid on July 29th by the Right Reverend Monsignor Peter
Dauffenbach of Brooklyn, a classmate of Father Fuchs; the following
September (1907) the new school opened its doors to the first 104
pupils; and
WHEREAS, In 1890, property on Jericho Road, now North Broadway, was
donated to the Diocese of Brooklyn for the erection of an orphanage for
boys, the St. John's Protectory, under the care of the Sister of St.
Joseph; in 1900, additional adjoining property was donated bringing the
total acreage to 155; its farms and dairy operated until 1937, when the
boys were transferred to St. John's Home; the land was finally sold to
developers in 1952; and
WHEREAS, In 1907, the Sisters of St. Dominic came to St. Ignatius to
teach Sunday School traveling each week from Nazareth Trade School in
Farmingdale; in 1910, the Sisters were given charge of the elementary
school; until this time, Sunday School classes were held first in the
old church building and later in the 1907 school building by Sister M.
Bonaventure, O.P. and Sister M. Honorata, O.P.; and
WHEREAS, A small cottage, which stood on Carl Street just west of
Broadway, served as the first convent; the Order then purchased property
to build a new convent, named for St. Peter of Verona; the new building
was opened in March 1954; in 1998, after 90 years of service to the
parish, the sisters moved out of the convent; their presence is missed
but the memory of their service will remain; and
WHEREAS, Hicksville and St. Ignatius grew by leaps and bounds after
the first World War; population and prosperity kept pace and before long
Father Fuchs was thinking about a new and larger school; on March 15,
1922, Father Fuchs turned over the first spade of dirt and the exca-
vation was begun; as work progressed, Father's health began to fail; he
would not live to see the completion of the school, he died on June 8,
1923, in the 51st year of his pastorate; it was Father Francis X. Wunsch
who had the honor of opening the new school; and
WHEREAS, One of Father Wunsch's first decisions was to give his bless-
ings to institute a council of the Knights of Columbus, a national order
of Catholic men, in 1924; the council was named for Joseph Barry, a
parishioner who was one of the three Hicksville men to lose their lives
in the first World War; Father Wunsch became the council's first
chaplain; and
WHEREAS, Father Wunsch left his unique mark on the parish too; in
1925, he built the transept of the church, increasing its capacity; the
exterior of the building was stuccoed, two confessionals were added, new
Stations of the Cross were erected, and additional stained glass windows
were installed; Bishop Thomas Molloy came to dedicate the renovated
church on November 25, 1926; he also had the rectory enlarged and the
grounds beautified with lawns, trees and gardens; and
WHEREAS, Father Bittermann succeeded Father Wunsch officially on June
23, 1931; during this time, the depression years, Father Bittermann
managed to pay off the parish debt, and make plans for a new rectory;
work was begun on the feast of St. Ignatius in 1939, and in April 1940,
a beautiful English manor style building was completed, providing room
for three priests, a guest and a housekeeper; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, St. Ignatius Loyola Parish saw its
second major renovation, work was completed in August 1944; paneling,
gilding and decoration were applied to the ceilings and columns and the
front entrance was remodeled permitting entry straight into the church

from the street rather than from the two original right angle entrance
doors; and
WHEREAS, A very great honor was bestowed on the church's pastor on May
7, 1954, and by extension, on the parish; Father Bittermann was named a
Domestic Prelate with the title "Right Reverend Monsignor" by Pope Pius
XII; Monsignor Bittermann also had the honor to be the Dean of Central
Nassau county with the additional title of "Vicar Forane," and Diocesan
Consultor to the Bishop; in 1960, Monsignor Bittermann celebrated the
Golden Anniversary of his priesthood; however, perhaps the greatest
accolade paid Father Bitterman was given by his assistant, Father Ball-
weg, who came to him right out of the seminary in 1940, and remained
with him for 26 years; and
WHEREAS, On January 30, 1969, Monsignor Bittermann was given the title
of "Pastor Emeritus," and succeeded by Father Frederic Harrer, the
church's eighth pastor; Monsignor Bittermann died on May 11, 1970, in
his 85th year, just ten days short of the 60th anniversary of his ordi-
nation; and
WHEREAS, Father Harrer was responsible to complete the implementation
in St. Ignatius parish of the many and far reaching decrees and changes
to come out of the Second Vatican Council; almost immediately a parish
advisory council was established through which the voice of the laity
was brought to the forefront; national attention was attracted to the
parish in the May 24, 1976, issue of TIME magazine; in it, St. Ignatius
was depicted as being one of the typical American parishes coping with
the changes brought home by Vatican II and
WHEREAS, In 1975, the parish sponsored an 11 member Vietnamese family,
bringing to St. Ignatius the Hao family; 1975 was also the year which
saw the birth of the Human Services apostolate in the parish under the
direction of Sister Beata Maria Berger, O.P.; Sister Beata was soon
joined by Sister Kathleen Murphy, O.P. who continued the program after
Sister Beata's departure; Sister Kathleen McCarthy, O.P. took over oper-
ations in 1995; and
WHEREAS, On December 17, 1972, a Mass of re-dedication was offered in
the newly refurbished church; the interior of the church was vastly
changed; the original altar and altar rail were removed and a new offer-
tory platform and altar was erected in the sanctuary, a new organ was
installed at the front in the north transept facing the altar, a Blessed
Sacrament chapel was added, and the baptistery was moved to the altar
area; and
WHEREAS, During his 21 year pastorate, Father Harrer completed three,
and was working on his fourth round of parish census visits to every
family in the parish; he oversaw a wide ranging Youth program, and a
short-lived experiment that used the services of Altar girls, initially
disapproved by the diocese but later permitted; on January 28, 1990,
Father Harrer retired and became the congregation's second Pastor Emeri-
tus; he returned to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of his ordination on
April 30, 1995; and
WHEREAS, Father Edward Tarrant came to St. Ignatius at the request of
Bishop McGann on June 18, 1988, to serve as administrator of the parish;
Father Tarrant became the ninth pastor upon Father Harrer's retirement
on January 28, 1990; under his guidance, the Annual Bishop's Appeal was
revitalized, new and innovative services were provided and the means to
fund them established; the grounds and buildings also began to take on a
new look; and
WHEREAS, In 1990, a parishioner approached Father Tarrant to ask him
if he would approve a plan to permit volunteers from the parish to take
over the many gardens and the landscaping of the parish grounds; he gave
his approval and the original "Adopt-a-Garden" volunteers grew from the

three, led by Jane E. Schreiber, to a group of 50 dedicated men, women
and children who literally turned the parish grounds into a show place;
national notice was achieved with the publication of the story in the
October 1995 issue of U.S. PARISH, a national newsletter; and
WHEREAS, On July 29, 1996, the parish was honored in the elevation of
Father Tarrant to papal honors and the title "Reverend Monsignor"; on
November 6, 1998, Monsignor Tarrant was additionally honored by the
parish in the re-naming of the newly refurbished auditorium-gymnasium as
the "Monsignor Edward L. Tarrant Parish Center"; on June 30, 1999,
Monsignor Tarrant retired and was named "Pastor Emeritus" by Bishop
McGann; and
WHEREAS, In his place came Monsignor Donald T. Bennett, the first new
pastor to come to the church as a Monsignor; shortly after his arrival
Monsignor Bennett's expertise was put to the test; the parish plant
began to display serious and immediate problems; to correct these prob-
lems Monsignor Bennett successfully undertook a major reconstruction
project; following in the footsteps of his many predecessors Monsignor
Bennett has also brought to this parish his own special spirituality;
and
WHEREAS, St. Ignatius Loyola Parish stands on the threshold of tomor-
row, prepared to meet the challenges of the coming decades while retain-
ing that spiritual resolve which characterizes its past; and
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to take note of
enduring religious institutions and to bring such institutions to the
attention of the people of this Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 150th Anniversary of St. Ignatius Loyola Parish of
Hicksville, New York, to be observed on February 7, 2009, fully confi-
dent that this commemoration reflects the belief in those values which
enhance the dignity and purpose of life; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to St. Ignatius Loyola Parish, Hicksville, New York.