St. Ann’s Strength Is in Its Parishioners

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From humble beginnings, literally in a barn, through the adversity of Hurricane Sandy, St. Ann’s parish on Staten Island has more than endured. It has thrived. St. Ann’s pastor, Father Joy Mampilly, has a very good reason for that. It’s the parishioners.

“It is a closely knit family parish,” explained Father Mampilly. St. Ann’s has about 1,500 registered families, mostly old stock Italian and Irish American Staten Islanders. “People like this community and are very fond of each other. So before Mass and after Mass they will spend time in conversation. The enthusiasm, the family spirit and the spiritual depth of the people, those things are very evident. ”

From the outside, St. Ann’s Church is an unassuming structure. Built of beige bricks, it sits snuggly at 101 Cromwell Ave. at the corner of Jefferson Street, in a pleasant, tree-lined, well-maintained residential neighborhood. It is the interior of St. Ann’s that is noteworthy. A light airy feeling pervades the space. The imposing altar is bathed in warm shades of peachy pink. The stained glass windows, the originals, filter light in a mosaic of colors.

The parish’s beginnings were much less picturesque if more evocative of the birth of the figure at the center of the Faith. Yes, St. Ann’s parish was born in a stable on the fairgrounds on Richmond Road in 1914. Services were later moved to another barn located up Richmond Road. Father Joseph G. Murray, the first pastor, rented the barn for $1 a year.

In 1922 the cornerstone was laid for the present church. The first baptism was celebrated there in August 1923. From the beginning the spirit of volunteerism was present in the parish. The church was built for less than $40,000 with parishioners providing much of the sweat equity by giving freely of their time and talents to help construct the church building. One parishioner who worked in a lumberyard, for example, worked with six other men to make the original wooden pews.

That spirit of volunteerism remains a hallmark of St. Ann’s to this day.

“I’m inspired by the enthusiasm of our volunteers,” Father Mampilly said proudly. “Most of the ministries, including RCIA and also altar servers, all these are run by parish families here. The altar servers, the RCIA, also the baptism preparation team, all these are done by volunteers. They volunteer, seeing there is a need for it, (because) we don’t have the personnel. I am by myself in this parish. We have over 255 volunteers. So that has been a major force in our parish community. And they bring their families and so on so it’s very different.”

As an example Father Mampilly pointed to the prayer shawl ministry, a team of about 30 to 40 parish women that meets every Friday to knit shawls for the sick of the surrounding community. As they knit they also pray for the people for whom they are knitting.

“We have had people both in our community, also outside, when they are sick, call asking for a prayer shawl, knowing it’s more than a shawl—it comes with a prayer. Those things are very heartwarming,” Father Mampilly said.

The parish also operates a well-stocked food pantry as part of its social outreach ministry. Parishioners bring food items when they come to Mass. Volunteers have a list of needy families in the area, especially in public housing, that need help with the groceries. Father Mamphilly noted that each family gets food according to their needs. “Families get food they are able to make use of,” he explained. “Not like a pre-fabricated food basket, it’s a food bag more like a shopping bag. What they need they get so there is no waste.” There is also an active teen ministry and other parish societies. The coordinator of parish social outreach is Dona Ruggiero.

That spirit of unity and solidarity held the parish in good stead when Hurricane Sandy hit in the fall of 2012. The parish lost two members who were killed in the storm. More than 300 parish families were directly impacted as the storm devastated Staten Island’s shore communities. Many were forced from their homes.

“That family spirit was evident especially when we were affected by Hurricane Sandy,” Father Mampilly said. “It only strengthened us because we rallied around each other. It brought us even closer together. And we were so appreciative of the Archdiocese helping us in a very generous way by distributing 306 $500 gift cards. It is indicative of the strength of our people. Nothing could hold them down.” The parish now offers a Mass each October on the beach on the anniversary of the killer storm.

In 2012 St. Ann’s was able to retire its accumulated parish debt, again with parishioners generously contributing according to their means to clean the financial slate. After retiring the debt a little money was left over to start an endowment fund.

St. Ann’s Parish School, under the leadership of principal Bernadette Ficchi, has 252 children registered in grades pre-K through eighth grade. There are another 232 children in religious education coordinated by Kathy Daly. The parish offers three Masses daily and nine weekend Masses.

St. Ann’s closed its centennial year celebrations with a visit from Cardinal Dolan June 28. The centennial year was packed with special events, including a speakers’ series, a Seder celebration with Rabbi Michael Howald of Temple Israel Reform Congregation of Staten Island, a parish barbecue, and a parish dinner dance, at the Vanderbilt on South Beach. The church was packed for the Cardinal’s visit and Mass.

“People were looking forward to the visit by the Cardinal with great excitement because it was the closing of the Centennial Jubilee year,” said Father Mampilly, “and the Cardinal’s visit always brings so much enthusiasm and so much happiness to people and also to parish life.”

And Father Mampilly is certain that special parish spirit will live on for another 100 years.

“There is a promise of this parish becoming even more vibrant as we go forward,” he said, “because of the sacrificial spirit of the people and their faith.

“Being part of this spiritual journey has been so renewing for me as a priest and for all the priests here.”