August 25. 1964
On this date, Archbishop Bryan J. McEntegart,
Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn established a new parish wish
was named St. Paul the Apostle to honor the reigning Pope, Paul
VI and appointed Rev. Francis J. Kelly as pastor of the new parish
in Corona, Queens. Rev.
The
parish boundaries were set by the Expressway on the South,
The
following weeks saw the beginnings of parish organizations such
as the Men’s & Women’s Guilds.
The first parish census was taken and over 500 people registered
to be members of the new church.
In
the Fall of 1965, nuns from Our Lady
of the
Fall of 1966
By this time, it became obvious that there was a critical
need for a building which could house the religious instruction
classes and could also be used for recreational and social events
by the parish. Since
there were several parishes nearby which could accommodate the
parochial education of our children, plans to build a parish school
were put aside to build a parish center with an attached rectory.
November 1969
Most Reverend Francis j. Mugavero, Bishop of Brooklyn, dedicated the
new parish center. After
blessing the cornerstone, Mass was celebrated in the new building.
The total cost for the construction was about $600,000.
The parish had $285,000 at hand for construction work and
started a campaign to raise another $150,000.
Fall 1973 - 1988
The parish pre-school program began under the capable leadership
of Sr. Mary Ann Carotenuto. She was later followed
by Sr. Karen O’Neill and then Brother Bartholomew Boscia
all of whom served as Directors of Religious Education for the
parish. Mrs. Anan Baratau,
who was an aide at the pre-school, now directs the Saturday and
Sunday catechetical program for the children of the parish.
1980's
This era was characterized by significant population changes
affecting the community.
Many of the founding parishioners moved away and new comers,
many of whom were Hispanic, took their place in the parish.
This ethnic shift lead to the
need for a Mass in Spanish on Sundays. Many Africans and non-Hispanic
In 1983, many members of the parish
engaged themselves in a serious self study in trying to understand
their mission and purpose within the wider Church community and
the world. This resulted in the parish
vision statement, published in the booklet, Renewal.
The parish committed itself “to build a foretaste
of the
1990's
At the start of this decade, the condition of the “temporary”
church building began to deteriorate.
The roof was leaking and during very wet weather, the floor
would flood. Parishioners
were not surprised to see their humble pastor, Fr. Paul Jervis,
arrive at the church one rainy night only to see a flooded building
full of people. He
removed his shoes and socks and celebrated Mass for the faithful
members of his flock who were there.
In 1996, during the Alive in Hope
campaign, Fr. Paul announced to the parish that a new church was
needed which would be free of leaks and floods and which could
accommodate the larger crowds which were now filling the space
for the Sunday Masses. The
parish raised $364,380 in pledges to the Alive in Hope Campaign
far surpassing its goal of $118,000.
Fr. Paul could envision another fund raising drive to secure
the money needed to build a new church.
During
the construction, Mass was celebrated in the parish center.
As
a result of 9/11, workmen for our building job were scarce as
many hands were needed to clean up the debris of the
The new church is complete enough
to be dedicated by Most Reverend Thomas V. Daily of