LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 125th Anniversary of Our Lady
of Angels Parish on September 25, 2016

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 Nation to pay tribute
to those institutions and individuals who have contributed to the
ethical and spiritual values of their communities; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 125th Anniversary of Our Lady of Angels Parish, to be cele-
brated with a Mass on Sunday, September 25, 2016; and
WHEREAS, On September 24, 1891, in the rapidly growing village of Bay
Ridge, then part of the suburban Town of New Utrecht, Long Island, Our
Lady of Angels Church was founded by the first Bishop of Brooklyn, John
Loughlin, as the 153rd parish in the diocese, and the next-to-last
territorial parish he would establish; and
WHEREAS, Our Lady of Angels Church first mass was held on 67th Street
between Second Avenue (Ridge Boulevard) and Third Avenue on September
27, 1891, by its founding pastor, the Reverend Martin J. Loftus; and
WHEREAS, One year later, on September 25, 1892, the cornerstone was
laid for Our Lady of Angels' original church on the corner of Fourth
Avenue and 74th Street, by Charles Edward McDonnell, second Bishop of
Brooklyn; and
WHEREAS, Bishop McDonnell proudly dedicated the newly completed church
on September 24, 1893, the first to be built under his supervision; this
"cathedral in the woods" was designed in the Italian Romanesque style of
architecture and had a seating capacity for 600 worshippers; and
WHEREAS, The second pastor of Our Lady of Angels, Reverend Matthew J.
Flynn, saw the fast-growing parish's need for catholic school education
and initiated a fund raising program; in 1922, Fr. Flynn presided over
the cornerstone laying of a new 30-classroom school building, complete
with auditorium and gymnasium; and
WHEREAS, In September of 1924, Our Lady of Angels' elementary school
opened, staffed by the Sisters of Charity from Halifax, Nova Scotia; the
18 girls and 24 boys comprising the first graduating class of June 1928,
received many honors and awards, personifying the school motto "usque ad
optima" meaning "reach out for the highest"; and
WHEREAS, The extension of the Fourth Avenue Subway to Bay Ridge in
1916, sparked a decade of tremendous population growth during which time
Our Lady of Angels took its place among the largest and best parishes in
the diocese; and
WHEREAS, Upon the death of Fr. Flynn, Monsignor Francis J. O'Hara
became Our Lady of Angels' third pastor and immediately turned his
attention towards the monumental task of building a bigger and better
church, initiating construction on April 13, 1928, and setting the
cornerstone on December 9, 1928; and
WHEREAS, Six months later, on Sunday, June 23, 1929, the new church
was dedicated by Thomas E. Molloy, third Bishop of Brooklyn; following
the architectural style of the original 1893 church, the new church was
also "Romanesque" in design and was constructed of the same distinctive
brickwork as the school with a seating capacity that was twice that of
the old church; and
WHEREAS, Our Lady of Angels' fourth pastor, Bishop Edmund J. Reilly,
initiated construction of a major new addition to the original school
building which opened in September 1958, to meet the educational needs

of the still-growing parish; a friary was also erected in 1958 for the
Franciscan Brothers who had arrived to teach the boys, allowing the
Sisters to teach the girls; and
WHEREAS, Bishop John J. Boardman, Our Lady of Angels' fifth pastor and
well known for his work as Director of the Society for the Propagation
of the Faith, dedicated a new convent in 1968, while leading the parish
through the many changes resulting from the Second Vatican Council; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, an era in
which the number of families in the parish remained generally high, Our
Lady of Angels continued to be blessed with strong, faithful leadership
under its sixth and seventh pastors, Monsignors Francis B. Donnelly and
Peter L. Altman; and
WHEREAS, Monsignor James M. Cavanaugh, Our Lady of Angels' eighth
pastor, presided over an era in which the number of parishioners began
to noticeably decrease due to an aging population and the inability of
young families to afford Bay Ridge's escalating real estate prices; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend James E. Devlin, Our Lady of Angels' ninth
pastor, spiritually supported the many parishioners affected by the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; he also initiated the parish's
second major renovation program in 2005, and was instrumental in keeping
the school open as enrollments decreased while laying the groundwork for
the transition of Our Lady of Angels School to Holy Angels Catholic
Academy in 2009; and
WHEREAS, In July of 2009, Monsignor Kevin B. Noone, a graduate of Our
Lady of Angels' Class of 1958, became the parish's tenth and current
pastor; this esteemed man is presently leading the parish through a time
of significant demographical change, including the introduction of a
Spanish liturgy, as he initiates the parish's third renovation program
and its 125th anniversary observance; and
WHEREAS, Our Lady of Angels stands on the threshold of tomorrow,
prepared to meet the challenges of the coming decades while retaining
that spiritual resolve which characterizes its past; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Our Lady of Angels Parish on
September 25, 2016; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Monsignor Kevin B. Noone, Our Lady of Angels Parish.