When parishes in the Diocese of Rockville Centre were founded

This is a list of the parishes of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in the order they were founded, starting with St. Patrick in Glen Cove (1856) and ending with St. John Chrysostom Malankara in Hempstead (1999).

The parishes that have been a part of my family's history are:

• 1856—St. Patrick, Glen Cove. At first, Brooklyn pioneer priests, Revs. Edward Maginnis and John McCarthy who traveled from Jamaica, offered Mass here. An influx of Irish Catholics fled from the Famine to work here in a starch factory. This led to formation of a parish in 1856. Rev. Patrick Kelly was the first resident pastor. A new church was dedicated in 1900. In 1915 a parish school opened with the School Sisters of Notre Dame in charge

•  1871—Our Lady of Loretto, Hempstead. There were few Catholics in this town prior to 1850, after which Irish and German immigrants began to settle in large numbers. The first Mass, celebrated in the home of Barney Powers in 1840 by Rev. John O’Donnell, was attended by only 7 persons. Bishop Loughlin sent Rev. Eugene McSherry to be pastor in 1871. A Catholic school opened under the Sisters of Charity BVM in 1927. The present church and rectory were dedicated in 1954.

• 1898—St. Martin of Tours, Amityville, was a mission of St. Kilian’s in Farmingdale until established as a parish in 1898. On Christmas Day, Rev. Benno Ferstl, OSB, the founding pastor, offered Mass in a small building. Men of the parish actively participated in the building of the first church which was completed and dedicated in 1899; a new church was dedicated May 24, 1964. The school, built in 1921 was staffed by Dominican Sisters from Amityville.

• 1901—Corpus Christi, Mineola, a mission of St. Brigid, Westbury, was canonically erected with Rev. James F. Flynn as the first pastor. A small chapel, built with funds collected by 23 Catholic families in 1895, was replaced by a church in 1908 which served the parish well until 1971 when the present church was dedicated. The school, staffed by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville, began in an estate residence in 1922. The cornerstone for a regular school building was laid in 1954.

•  1928—St. William the Abbot, Seaford. A butcher shop was the site of the first Mass in Seaford in 1913. Rev. Theodore J. King of Bellmore accepted the offer of the butcher’s Catholic daughter to use it. Father Galvin of Bellmore was authorized by the bishop to build a church where the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1926. In 1928, St. William became a parish with Rev. Francis X. Debold as pastor. The Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk opened the school in September 1954.