No Blessings for St. Patrick's Old Cathedral School

In the 80s an Irish organization in the Bronx made 2 outings to the Catskills every year. For a few years we attended a mass said i nGaeilge in a nearby church. But the bishop soon put a stop to it. Then our Irish mass was said at a resort for 2 more years, but the same bishop forbade that also. Last Pentecost Sunday, prayers were said in 5 foreihn languages in my wife's Methodist church agus dúirt mise na paidreacha sin i dteanga na nGael.

When Cardinal Egan was a Bishop in CT, he was a "closer of schools". He has never been a supporter of Catholic education - it is a shame to see that he continues if legacy in NYC.

I remember being told years ago that the Vatican owned a well known street in New York, and collect the Ground Rent from each building on it. Is this true ??

Too bad the school did not seek the help of Caroline Kennedy. An ancestor of her Bouvier grandfather (on her mother's side) was on the Board of the parish.

St. Luke's in the South Bronx, with the help of Oprah Winfrey and a very successful Hispanic Alumnus, is decoupling from the diocese and becoming a private charter school. It will maintain its ties with the parish, but its assets will not be controlled by the diocese or the parish (subject to the diocese). This is happening with many inner-city Catholic schools throughout the US.

Hear, hear. My old grammar school in Brooklyn, St. Francis Xavier in Park Slope, was built in early 20th century. It's still going strong because people in the community won't let it die, and it has a great alumni base to support it. Most of its students are now Hispanic, and most of the Sisters of St.Joseph have gone, but it still maintains a very high educational standard. I am very proud of the education I received there.

As Tip O'Neill Said "All Politics is Local". The Vatican has very little to do with the day to day operation of the parishes. Auctioning the Art Collection May Seem an Ideal but What About the Folks Who Donated the Stuff for the Vatican to Hold in Trust. Should Only the Rich Get to See Works of Art and not the Poor? I Think Bread and Roses Works Best.

I can't understand why the school couldn't be protected by the city landmarks commission? And you are right, the Vatican could well afford to keep that school going. I was at the Feast in Little Italy years ago, As I passed Old St. Pat's there was a sign outside that said " Catacombs are open to the public today." I went down in the basement where tombs run the from Mott St. as far over as the Hudson river. The names of those buried in the walls etc. were all Irish. The dates were in the 1840's during the famine years. I was born and raised in Manhattan, went to catholic schools as did my Mother and Father and none of us ever heard of the history of that Cathedral . Since then I have read every thing I could about St. Pat's, the school and don't forget the rectory where " Dagger John" begged the draft rioter's to stop to stop. So much Irish American history is disappearing.

You should visit Fatima...the church is decked out in jewels and marble and granite in unbelievable quantity...yet the people who live at the base of the mountain beg in the streets for food for their children.