History of Our Lady of the Snows

Our Lady of Snows Parish was born when Father William Murray celebrated Mass on an open field and promised the people gathered there, "Together we shall build a new spiritual community. Together we shall face our future with hope." He had been appointed by Bishop Molloy to found a parish, which would serve the needs of the growing population of Northeast Queens, especially the Glen Oaks Area.
This history tells the story of how that open field came to be filled with a Church, School, Rectory and Convent, and how, in the year 2002, plans are underway to build a new Church which will provide a fitting place of Worship for present and future residents of our parish.

 

A construction brigade cleared the field and dug the foundation for a chapel, which was a pre-fabricated building purchased from the War Assets Administration. They finished on August 5, 1949, the feast of Our Lady of the Snows. Meanwhile religious instruction classes were started for 50 children. On January 27, 1949, three Sisters of St. Joseph came to help start up a school.
The parish grew rapidly and soon a larger Church and a school were needed. In 1952, ground was broken for a school auditorium, which would serve as a Church until a permanent structure could be built. The first Mass was celebrated there on May 3, 1953.

More Sisters arrived to staff the School of Religion and Fr. Daniel Stewart (who became Pastor in October, 1952) purchased a house. Sr. Joseph Anna was first Superior of the new convent, which opened in September 1954.

Five years later, construction began on the school but the building was not ready for occupancy by the September 1959 opening day. Classes were held in the Church-Auditorium and Chapel for the first year under the supervision of Sr. Catherine Eugene, SSJ, the first principal. Seven years later, an addition to the school and a new convent were added.

The 1960s arrived and with them the doctrines of Vatican ll. Father Richard Lavelle, Pastor, hired the first lay director of Religious Education.

New Parish activities were organized. These included the Ecumenical Welcoming Committee, Adult Ed classes, Liturgy Committee, Teen-Age Council, and Athletic Assn. PATHWAYS began publication as the monthly parish newspaper. Congregational singing was encouraged at all the Masses, and a Folk Mass was started. In 1967, the Home-School Association was formed.

The 1970s brought more spiritual bonding as a community. The parish was evaluated by a team from the Sisters of St. Joseph, and they commented that, "this is a unique community in which there is total involvement and mutual respect of all the members for one another."

The first Mass of Anointing for the Sick and Elderly was held in 1974. Lay Ministers of the Eucharist were installed in March '79, joining the Lectors (started in 1961) and Altar Servers in the service of the Altar.

Meanwhile, the building originally designed to be a school auditorium still served as the Church. In March 1979, Fr. Henry McCormack held an open meeting to discuss renovations that were necessary to bring the Church up to Vatican II specifications. On October 15, 1979, Bishop Mugavero came to dedicate the "new" Church.

In 1980, the Bishops suggested that the emphasis in parish ministry should be on the family. "The Family" in the broadest sense, included single parents, the divorced and the elderly. Our parish programs reflected this emphasis.

The Youth Group ran a bread and soup supper and organized a Youth Mass. The Folk Group went to a weekend of prayer. Adult Religious Education flourished. The Family Mass was introduced. The Human Concerns Center was started in 1982 to meet the diverse needs of the community, with Food Pantry, Respite Workers, Friendly Visitors, Bereavement Counseling, and an annual Mass of Anointing.

On a social level, parties, dances, retreats and trips were sponsored by various parish organizations. These included block parties, a “Day at Shea”, and a cruise to the Statue of Liberty. The Youth Center was opened on Friday night. Parent volunteers formed the OLSAA and coached track, soccer and softball teams.

OLS School celebrated its 25th anniversary. The students reached out to the larger community, visiting the Glen Oaks Nursing Home and collecting toys and food for distribution at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The candidates for Confirmation helped at Long Island Geriatric Care Center on Saturdays when Mass was offered for the patients.

Father James Tugwood, who joined OLS as Pastor in January 1988, re-activated the United Societies of the Parish, a group composed of the Presidents of the Associations and Societies, to plan the activities that take place during the year.

Both laity and religious were deeply involved in the spiritual and social missions of the parish. The Family Ministry programs included the SOLOs, Moms' Club, Single Parents' Group, Counseling and other projects. A CYO Program was initiated with parents involved in all phases of the program. For several years, mothers of elementary school children ran a Vacation Bible School, completely staffed by volunteers.

In 1997 a Youth Ministry Office was set up. Cornerstone Retreats were started and, as a result of this program, many younger men and women have come forward to be leaders and participants in the numerous apostolates that are a mark of OLS Parish life.

September 1998 saw the opening of our 50th Jubilee Year. It began with the Opening Mass and a pictorial history of the Parish. There were Choir Concerts, a Show Tunes Festival, Days of Prayer, a Celebration of the feast of Our Lady of the Snows with Bishop Barbarito, a Block Party with a Time Capsule, an Open Air Mass with Bishop Daily, Parish Dinner Dance and Closing Mass with Bishop Catanello.

OLS suffered a tremendous loss on Ascension Thursday 1999, with the sudden death of our Pastor, Fr. James Tugwood. The overflow crowds at the Mass of Transferal and Funeral Mass were a tribute to the work he had accomplished here.

By the end of June, Bishop Daily assigned Msgr. Ray Chappetto as our new Pastor, and he immediately began to get to know us by greeting us after all the Masses on Sunday. Our annual picnic in September let him see us in play as well as in prayer.

The new millennium was not far off and the Diocesan Program of "Open Wide the Doors to Christ” was announced. OLS began the program with 8:00PM Mass on New Year's Eve at which Msgr. Ray blessed the doors of the Church. Bishop Catanello came to celebrate Mass on Evangelization Sunday, and we had a Parish Mission led by the Franciscan Fathers in early April. The Youth 2000 Vigil was held at the end of April. There was a multi-media Presentation of the Passion in April and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and evening prayer of Vespers in November.

The Evangelization Program grew & the Faith Sharing Groups continued. The Family Mass added a Children's Liturgy of the Word. The Ushers became Ministers of Hospitality, and new Parishioners were welcomed by a phone call and an invitation to a special Sunday Mass.

Our Indian congregation, which had been growing in number since the late 90s, organized several events in the Syro-Malabar Rite in Malayalam for the parishes in our cluster. They played host at an Indian Mass following the recitation of the Rosary at Cunningham Park on March 25; organized an Indian Community Retreat in July, and sponsored an Indian Classical Dance Recital in November.

In May 2001, Msgr. Ray announced a program of Listening Sessions open to all parishioners, to address the problems of overcrowding at our Sunday Masses and the necessity to reduce our schedule because of the shortage of priests. The results of these sessions were that we need a new Church with a larger seating capacity. The present Church would revert to its original purpose as a gymnasium/auditorium. Bishop Daily approved the project and Msgr. formed a building Committee.

We will continue our efforts to make a new Church a reality for the present and future members of our loving community of the people of God praying and working together in His name.