St. Catherine’s Priory Blessing
June 25th, 2007 by Fr. Pius, OP
On Thursday, June 21, 2007, Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York, came to our church of St. Catherine to bless our new priory there. St. Catherine’s is located on east 68th street in New York’s Upper East Side. In addition to the parish, the friars of St. Catherine minister to three hospitals located in the area: Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, and New York Presbyterian.
The new priory is located in the new research facility of Memorial Sloane-Kettering. Formerly the site of an dold priory and elementary school, these were sold to Memorial Sloane-Kettering for their new cancer research building. As part of the sale, space was reserved in the building for a new priory for the Dominican friars. In addition, the lower floors will provide much needed meeting and classroom space for the parish of St. Catherine.
To the right is a picture of some of the friars assigned to the Priory of St. Catherine in New York city. In addition, Br. Hugh Vincent Dyer, OP, has been assigned to the priory for the summer. He will be assisting in the ministry of the parish as will as visiting and bringing communion to the sick in the nearby hospitals. He will be joined later in the summer by newly ordained Frs. James Cuddy, OP, and Dominic Legge, OP, who will assist in the ministry of the parish for the summer.
The Mass in honor of the dedication of the new priory was held on the feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ. St. Aloysius was an early follower of St. Ignatius of Loyala and a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). St. Aloysius died as a young man taking care of the victims of the plague. It was fitting that the dedication of our priory dedicated to the care of the sick occurred on the feast day of this saint who provides such a great example of dedication in the service of those suffering from disease.
The Mass was celebrated by H.E. Edward Cardinal Egan, and he was assisted by dozens of priests and friars. Many friars who had been assignedto St. Catherine’s were able to attend the blessing. In addition, the Prior Provincial, Very Rev. Dominic Izzo, OP, served as one of the major concelebrants together with Very Rev. Edward Gorman, Pastor and Prior of St. Catherine’s. Rev. Br. Pius Pietrzyk, OP, served as the Deacon for the Mass. Also attending were Brs. Ezra Sullivan, OP (in the picture at left), and Austin Litke, OP, who have been assigned to assist in the care of terminally ill cancer patients at St. Rose Home. St. Rose Home is operated by the Hawthorne Dominican Sisters.
