In 1917, a group of Catholic men petitioned Bishop Charles E. McDonnell of the Diocese of Brooklyn, to establish a parish in Central Park as Bethpage was called prior to 1936. They had to travel to St. Kilian's in Farmingdale or to St. Ignatius in Hicksville to attend Mass. Some of the men who pursued this goal were Joseph Walsh, Sr., Frank A. Nolan, Harry A. Stolz, and William J. Ahern. We thank them for their relentless dream!
The bishop, however, turned down the petition because he felt that such a small farm community could not support a third parish in the area. Nonetheless, the bishop was so impressed with the fervor of these earlier ‘Bethpage’ Catholics, that he purchased the land which is the site of our church and school building today. Undaunted in their efforts, around 1920, these men conducted a pledge drive campaign with great success. Their zeal produced pledges of $10,000, an amazing sum for such a sparsely populated community. Armed with these pledges, another petition was presented to the new bishop, Right Reverend Thomas E. Molloy. The time was now ripe for a new parish!
Bishop Molloy appointed Rev. Daniel A. Dwyer as the founding pastor. Father Dwyer arrived in Central Park on Friday, October 12, 1923 and that Sunday, October 14 th he offered the first mass in the Roosevelt Republican Clubhouse on Broadway, one block north of the Long Island railroad tracks. A small group of Catholics, many of them young children, attended the beginning of what would one day grow into the parish we know today.
God does indeed work in strange ways. Just when the small congregation under Father Dwyer's lead was most in need, a man named Martin Metzner, a local Jewish storekeeper from Lake Ronkonkoma, fortuitously came upon the scene. This beloved philanthropist approached Bishop Molloy with an offer to assist the efforts of any parish in great need. Bishop Molloy introduced Mr. Metzner to Father Dwyer. Shortly after the ground breaking, Mr. Metzner contributed $25,000 (about $350,000 in today’s dollars!) to the church building fund. How proper and fitting that our church is named after this benefactor's patron saint.
Father Dwyer set up residence in a house on Herman Avenue, while the Republican Club continued to serve as our first Church in those early months. On a chilly November 18, 1923, in his residence, Father officiated the first wedding in this newly established parish for Antonio Finamore and Stella Ruggiero.
Father Dwyer was soon able to rent the house that is now the St. Vincent de Paul building. Several months later, the building was bought by the parish and served as church and pastor's residence. On March 21, 1924, on the land the Bishop purchased a few years earlier, ground was broken for the church building. Not only did contractors work on the building, but much of the labor was done by the parishioners themselves. The new church building was solemnly dedicated on November 9, 1924 as St. Martin of Tours Church.
Shortly after the completion of the church, an apparition of the Blessed Mother holding her infant Son appeared etched in the wall under the stained-glass window of St. Joseph. Most early parishioners attributed this to the leakage inside the terra cotta wall. Yet it was there and the word spread throughout the county, the diocese, the entire Eastern seaboard. Pilgrims by the thousands flocked to this little country hamlet to see "the miracle." Special "Pilgrim Trains" were added to the Long Island Railroad's regular runs to accommodate this vast outpouring of religious belief. After several months, the virgin and child faded from the wall only to be replaced by what seemed to be a ciborium with a host above it, and the crowds continued to come. So, our little microcosm of Catholicism here in Central Park had become known to many thousands of Catholics throughout the East. For the first few days of the apparition our pastor and his small flock were stunned. But not for long! Hundreds of cartons of candles were purchased, and many candle holders placed in appropriate positions. The ladies of the newly formed Women's Guild rose to the occasion and spent hours every day scraping out the burnt candles and replacing them with new ones. Each day the church floor had to be scrubbed and made clean for the new rush of pilgrims. In a period of three to four months, thousands of dollars poured into the parish coffers. This timely event enabled Fr. Dwyer to have the sidewalks paved, the property cleared and graded and the finishing touches added to our now famous church. The event was duly noted in the Central Park Courier of Thursday, October 15, 1925, as follows: "Large numbers of persons from Brooklyn and Manhattan and Long Island are making special trips to view the miracle with which the Catholics of St. Martin of Tours have been blessed. An apparition or reproduction of the Blessed Virgin and the Infant appeared on the walls of the church."
Each Sunday Father Dwyer celebrated two Masses at 8 A.M. and 10 A.M. The back half of the church was cordoned off so that the faithful would all sit in the front. After the 8 o'clock Mass, two sisters from St. Ignatius in Hicksville would take the children aside for religious instruction. The men of the parish at the very outset formed the Holy Name Society, and the women banded together to form St. Martin's Guild. Mr. Harry Stolz, the first trustee of the parish, was also the first president of the Holy Name Society, and his wife was the first president of St. Martin's Guild. The two groups ran card parties, dances, picnics, and many other affairs whose proceeds helped, in a great measure, to defray the expenses of the parish. Another group formed jointly by the men and women was the St. Martin Players. Their first major production was "Buddies" staged in the St. Martin of Tours auditorium in Amityville. Clifford Alexander directed the show which was performed on April 22, 1927. Thereafter, many shows were produced and performances were given at the Jones Institute, a home for the elderly in Hicksville and the Sanitarium in Farmingdale.
Over the course of time, and it was quite a difficult time with the country and world going through two World Wars as well as the Great Depression of 1929-1941, the parish succeeded in developing new ministries. For example in the 1940’s, the men of the parish, under the leadership of Father Michael J. Hartigan, joined the Knights of Columbus and named the new Council after Father Hartigan.
Nearly thirty years after the dedication of St. Martin of Tours Church, it became evident that a school was needed to educate our children. Early in 1952, the fund drive’s goal was to raise $200,000. After three months the pledge total had eclipsed that goal. The school ground breaking ceremony took place in May 1954 and opened in September 1955 with the Most Reverend John J. Boardman, D.D., officiating. The school was dedicated on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1957.
The parish was faithfully served by the priests of the Diocese of Rockville Centre from its roots. However, in July 1986, Bishop John McGann, Bishop of Rockville Centre, requested the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Redemptorists, to care for the parish. The first priests to minister here were Father George Keaveney, C.Ss.R., pastor, along with Fathers John Radley, C.Ss.R., James Small, C.Ss.R., and Richard Furey as associate pastors.
In 1988, Fr. Vincent Crotty, C.Ss.R., joined us for the next 16 years. In 1989, Fr. Mark Tucker came into our midst followed by Fr. Brendan Greany, C.Ss.R., in 1991. Gerard Kowalczyk joined the parish team in 1992. Fr. Raymond Collins, C.Ss.R., was appointed pastor in 1993 and both Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R., and Fr. Thomas Schmidt, C.Ss.R., joined us in 1996.
Seventy years after the groundbreaking for our original church and thirty-six years after the groundbreaking for our school, the parishioners of St. Martin’s embarked on a new beginning. We decided to enlarge our beautiful, but very old, church building. The goal to obtain over $1,500,000 in pledges seemed almost impossible. A tenacious group of volunteers gave generously of their time and talents, and in only a few months, our goal had been reached. Our church was going to have a brand new beginning!
On July 2, 1995, the parish began “spreading its wings” by ceremoniously closing the doors of the church. The pastor, Father Raymond Collins, C.Ss.R., reminded us of the almost 71 years of service that had taken place in the church. The procession at the 12:30 Mass that Sunday was awe-inspiring. The tears that could be seen, and the hopefulness that was expressed was the message for our church and its people. During the extraordinary harsh winter of 1995/1996, the construction slowly progressed. Once spring arrived, however, progress was very swift. To the amazement of all, our church was dedicated on September 15, 1996, as planned. To this day, the doors of St. Martin's remain open and welcoming for all the faithful to find the love and presence of God.
For 37 years, the school was an integral part of parish life and a visible presence in the community. In close collaboration with the children's parents, the faculty (Sisters of Mercy and dedicated lay teachers) educated over 2700 students. In 1992, the school building became part of the La Salle Regional School, and Catholic Elementary Education continued in the parish for another twelve years.
Fr. Thomas Siconolfi, C.Ss.R., became Pastor in 1999 and served us in that role until 2005. He was accompanied by Fr. John McKenna, C.Ss.R., in 2001, who was the force behind our Annual Parish Block Party and our Good Friday Stations of the Cross in Bethpage State Park. John Patton was also with us for a brief time starting in 2000. For seven years starting in 2001, Fr. Paul Borowski, C.Ss.R., worked with the youth of our parish in our LifeTeen Program. In 2005, Fr. John Tizio took on the pastoral leadership role and joining him was Fr. Henry Sattler, C.Ss.R., who helped move the parish into the electronic age, as well as Fr. James Szobonya, C.Ss.R., who quickly brought a new sense of preaching by using "props" to demonstrate his homilies. Fr. Karl Esker, C.Ss.R., joined us in 2008, and in 2010, a gentleman who came to our parish as a Redemptorist deacon became ordained to the priesthood as Fr. James McCabe, C.Ss.R., and joined the team. In 2011, Fr. John Tizio, C.Ss.R., was transferred to St. Mary's in Annapolis, Maryland while Fr. Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R., became our next Pastor sharing his sense of humor and warm Irish charm. He was soon joined by a young cleric from India, Fr. Ciya Thomas, C.Ss.R., who quickly made our parish his home. In 2017, Fr. Denis Sweeney, C.Ss.R., came into our midst and he would often lead us in prayerful song during his Masses.
Throughout the course of parish life, St. Martin of Tours has seen five men ordained to the diaconate. Our first two deacons were Frank Carrillo and James A. Biggin. Deacon Jim was ordained in 1985 followed by Eugene H. Capobianco in 1987. Sadly they have all been called home to God. Deacon Thomas R. Hennessy was ordained to the diaconate in 2000, followed by Deacon Christopher P. Quinn and Deacon Ronald Lacsa in 2019 and 2020, respectively. St. Martin of Tours is so blessed by these men in service to our Lord and our parish. Deacons Jim, Eugene and Tom were also conferred as an Oblate of the Most Holy Redeemer.
In September 2013, under the leadership of Fr. Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R., our parish embarked on a Paving the Way Capital Campaign. Once again, our parishioners responded generously, raising $1.67 million in three years. With joy in our hearts and profound gratitude to almighty God, we beautified our house of worship and upgraded our original school building to facilitate and ensure that the faith formation of our children will continue for generations that follow. “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord.”
The Redemptorist Congregation was blessed to have Father Michael Cunningham, C.Ss.R., from the parish of St. Martin’s, ordained a Redemptorist priest in May of 2019.
Over the period of some 33 years, the Redemptorist Order of priests actively led and inspired the life of the Parish of St. Martin of Tours. However, due to global trending of a decline in priestly vocations, the Order faced a challenging decision to downsize their priestly resources and it was decided to return the spiritual leadership of the parish back to the Diocese. Fr. Patrick Woods, C.Ss.R., lovingly led the Parish of St. Martins through the transition.
In August of 2019, Most Reverend John O. Barres, Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, appointed Father Christopher Costigan from St. Martha’s Parish in Uniondale, to lead St. Martin of Tours as our new pastor. He was joined by Father Sylvester Ileka and Father Vincent Schifano.
In early 2020, the country was affected by a worldwide pandemic known as COVID-19. In March of 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo mandated that all non-essential businesses and religious organizations remain closed in order to control the spread of the virus. With that mandate enforced by the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Father Chris quickly embraced social media by means of our ParishAPP and SMT Facebook. He used these platforms to keep parishioners informed with up-to-date daily postings. He also set up a YouTube channel so that people could virtually attend Mass which Father broadcasted from the rectory chapel. In late May 2020, restrictions were eased so that Mass could be celebrated on the back steps of the Church as people attended Mass by remaining in their cars and tuning in to an FM transmitter that Father Chris set up.
Finally, in June 2020, the church slowly opened for daily and weekend Masses. Father Chris provided a reserve-a-seat link for weekend Masses for parishioners in order to assure that the church remain within safety guidelines.
In September 2020, a new parish website was unveiled to best serve the parishioners of this faith-filled community. We look forward to the Century Celebration of St. Martin of Tours Parish, Bethpage NY in 2023, and we petition our patron to encourage and grace us with the same fervor and passion as the very first parishioners did back in the early days of our parish. Thanks be to God! May it be so!
Plentiful Redemption, our Parish memory book celebrating 33 years with our Redemptorists, is available for viewing in pdf format at the following link:
The following video, Plentiful Redemption: Celebrating Our 33 Years With the Redemptorists, is a compilation of images made possible by the parishioners of St. Martin of Tours who so graciously shared photographs of cherished memories taken with our Redemptorists.