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The Franciscan Friars Conventual have sold St. Francis Friary on Staten Island to the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York and New England.
The $7 million sale of the property, located at 500 Todt Hill Road, took effect April 21.
The Franciscans founded the friary on Staten Island in 1925 as a seminary and spirituality center.
It functioned for 90 years under the auspices of the former Immaculate Conception Province in Rennselaer. Immaculate Conception Province merged in 2014 with St. Anthony of Padua Province in Ellicott City, Md. When the two provinces united, they each officially ceased to exist and combined members to become Our Lady of the Angels Province. The official seat of the province became the Ellicott City site.
The Rennselaer site remains a friary and satellite office of the province.
The decreased number of friars in the province, the limited ministerial activities taking place there and the high costs of maintaining the facility were the principal reasons cited in 2014 when the Franciscans voted to close and sell St. Francis Friary.
The friars are no longer present on Staten Island or elsewhere in the archdiocese. They do, however, serve the churches of St. Adalbert in Elmhurst, Queens, and Most Holy Trinity and San Damiano Mission in Brooklyn.
According to the order, the Franciscans were sensitive to the concerns of the local Staten Island community as options for potential buyers were explored.
The friars decided to forego a higher price that could have been realized by selling to a developer so that the property could remain in religious hands and continue to serve as an oasis of spiritual strength and peace on Staten Island. The order said a spirit of Christian ecumenism prevailed, with a keen sense of brotherhood toward the Coptic Orthodox Church, which has suffered greatly in Egypt and elsewhere, even as it flourishes in the United States.
The Coptic Orthodox Church plans to use the former friary as the headquarters for its Diocese of New York and New England. The sizable chapel will afford them worship space for larger diocesan gatherings.
The Franciscans said they are confident the people of Staten Island will welcome their new neighbors with the same warm hospitality that the friars experienced throughout their ministry on Staten Island.
