Croatian Parish in New York celebrates 110 years of existence

by croatiaweek
October 24, 2023
in Entertainment

By Ane Strazicic Rodriguez

The Croatian Parish of St. Cyril and Methodius and St. Raphael in New York celebrated its 110th anniversary on Sunday, October 22, 2023.

The Thanksgiving Mass was led by the Custos of our Custody for the USA and Canada, Father Marko Puljić. Father Marko had been in our parish in New York, first as a chaplain and later as the parish priest.

Therefore, he received a special welcome and gratitude from the crowded church of parishioners who came to celebrate this significant day for all Croatian immigrants from New York and the East Coast of America.

In his sermon, Father Marko said, “Give to God what is God’s! Surrender yourselves to God!”

Precisely this, how to surrender oneself to God and remain in His presence, was the main task of this Croatian parish, as well as any other Catholic parish anywhere in the world. Over a hundred and ten years, in this and the old church on Fiftieth Street, it was clear and loud that we belong to God.

It was, remains, and should always be the fundamental task of the community of believers gathered around the altar of Christ, and thus this Croatian parish of St. Cyril and Methodius.

The altar of the old and this church gathered you with your priests, the friars of our Croatian Franciscan Custody of the Holy Family, and helped you build the community of parish and family life. I thank God for all of you parishioners who have in various ways integrated yourselves into the life of this parish and its activities, all the honorable sisters and friars who have worked here, especially those who are now active: Father Nikola, Father Lovro, Sister Izabela, and Sister Mirela.

Dear brothers, my friars and honorable sisters, dear and valuable parishioners, I congratulate you on this great anniversary and, on behalf of all the members of our Custody, express great joy and gratitude for all the good that has been done here and that is being done, especially in such a thorough renovation of the church and all these wonderful large spaces of the Croatian Center.

I also thank God for all those who contributed to the building of our Croatian community with our neighboring churches in Astoria and New Jersey, where our Croatian immigrants gather for Holy Mass in the Croatian language. Yes, this unity is extremely important. It should be preserved and built upon!

Let us offer our prayer to the Lord today to help us be and remain people who are ready to talk to each other, treat each other nicely, and thus testify in today’s world that Christ is within us, in our words and deeds, because we receive Him in Holy Communion.

Let us be ready to build a better world in which we live, but above all, let us always be ready to give God with our whole being what is God’s, which is us and our lives.

May the good Lord share with us all the abundance of His Peace and Goodness, and may His Holy Spirit lead this Croatian parish of St. Cyril and Methodius in all the days and times that lie ahead of us. Amen.

The parish priest of our Croatian Parish in New York, Father Nikola Pašalić, addressed the faithful with gratitude, “Dear friends, dear brothers and sisters, esteemed parishioners, here we are today together to commemorate a beautiful jubilee: the 110th anniversary of the Croatian Parish of St. Cyril and Methodius and St. Raphael in this great city.

It was a long time ago, at the end of October 1913, when the Croatian community of believers gathered around their young but visionary friar, Father Irenej Petrička, who came from the Homeland to spiritually care for his compatriots, the Croats in New York and the surrounding area. Since then, Croatian Franciscans have been caring for the spiritual needs of the entrusted Croats in the wider area of New York and its surroundings.

Much good has happened since the founding of this parish up to today. This parish has seen a plethora of friars who, according to their abilities, dedicatedly and diligently worked in God’s vineyard, bearing witness to their steadfast faith and promoting Croatian culture and language.

From the very beginning, both on 50th Street and on 41st Street, the parish, parish staff, and parish premises have been a refuge for all those seeking any kind of help: spiritual or material.

Many of the sacraments have been administered since the establishment of this parish: baptisms, first communions, confirmations, marriages, holy confessions, and farewells of our dear departed to their eternal resting places in faith, hope, and love. There have been many gatherings through family blessings and other religious and fraternal gatherings.

History writes its verses and lines, and the question is whether the current generation coming will be ready to continue what has been written and inscribed over the 110 years of this parish and this community. We hope they will and that they have the strength for it. Much beauty has been inscribed and written, both by the friars who served as parish priests or chaplains, by the honorable sisters as the community of the Daughters of God’s Love to the School Sisters of the Franciscan Sisters of Christ the King, and by the many believers who with their dedicated work participated in the life of this community, writing verses and lines of the history of Croats in New York and its surroundings.

I mention only some: the radio, the folk dance group, the school, the altar servers, the readers, the collectors of alms, the financial and pastoral councils, our associations of the Holy Rosary and the Most Holy Name of Jesus; there is also the Cardinal Stepinac Club and the Croatian Land. To all of you who have at any time and in any way written verses and lines of the history of this parish, sincere thanks.

We remember all the deceased friars and sisters, as well as the parishioners who have woven their lives into the good of this community. We ask for grace and eternal peace for all of them from the Lord.

May the words of St. Francis be an inspiration to all of us to continue writing verses of our community of believers:

Gospodine, učini me oruđem svoga mira:
Gdje je mržnja, da donosim ljubav!
Gdje je uvreda, da donosim praštanje!
Gdje je nesloga, da donosim jedinstvo!
Gdje je zabluda, da donosim istinu!
Gdje je sumnja, da donosim vjeru!
Gdje je očaj, da donosim nadu!
Gdje je tama, da donosim svjetlo!
Gdje je žalost, da donosim radost!
Gospodine, učini da ne tražim:
da me tješe, nego da ja tješim druge;
da ne zahtijevam da me razumiju,
nego da se trudim razumjeti druge;
da ne tražim samo da me ljube,
nego da i ja ljubim druge!
Jer tko se daruje, prima:
tko prašta, bit će mu oprošteno
i tko umire sebi, rađa se za vječni život!

Translation:

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me bring love!
Where there is offense, let me bring forgiveness!
Where there is discord, let me bring unity!
Where there is error, let me bring truth!
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith!
Where there is despair, let me bring hope!
Where there is darkness, let me bring light!
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy!
Lord, let me not seek:
to be consoled, but to console others;
to be understood, but to understand others;
to be loved, but to love others!
For it is in giving that we receive:
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life!”

Yours: Father Nikola, Father Lovro, Sister Izabela, and Sister Mirela.”

After the Holy Mass, the celebration continued in the Grand Parish Hall, where first, the children of the Croatian School Cardinal Stepinac and the Folk Dance Group Cardinal Stepinac, who operate under this parish, performed a medley of Croatian folk dances and thrilled all the attendees with their performance, showing that the transmission of Croatian cultural heritage to the coming generations continues in our parish.

The ceremony continued with a rich feast, with Croatian wines and delicacies prepared by the hardworking staff of the Croatian catering place LaFortuna, whose owners, Ojdana and Jere Kursar, our fellow Šibenik natives, have been preparing food for parish events for years.

We especially thank them for all the donations and assistance they have provided to this parish since the time of the Homeland War and the creation of the independent Republic of Croatia.

Thanks to the diligent members of the Rosary Society, there was an abundance of traditional homemade cakes on every table. The President of the Parish Council, Mrs. Ruža Skoblar, also thanked everyone on behalf of the Parish Council, and Father Lovro Šimić proudly led the program of this significant celebration.

The well-known Viktor Šarić took care of the entertainment and dance. Singing and dancing continued until late hours, and the young tamburitzans, with their teachers, showed that Croatian songs and Croatian tamburitzans will always be present in New York.

The celebration was graced by the presence of the always welcome: the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to America, Mr. Pjer Šimunović; the Consul General of the Republic of Croatia in New York, Mr. Nikica Kopačević, and Mrs. Lidija Babić, the First-Class Consul, and the Military Attaché of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bruno Lukić, with his wife.

With pride, we can say that the 110th anniversary of the Croatian Parish was celebrated solemnly in unity, with the hope that there will be many more such celebrations in the future, for as long as there are Croatians, there will be a Croatian Parish in New York.